With word from Boris that clubs can finally open from Monday 19 July in what’s being dubbed as ‘Freedom Day’, what better way to spend your first week out of lockdown than in a different club each night of the week?
Bit ambitious? Maybe, but it has been a while.
Either way, we’ve taken the opportunity to plan out our perfect week of club nights anyway. Here’s our pick of bunch from 19 – 25 July to celebrate getting our music scene back on its feet. All tickets are available on Skiddle as we speak and selling fast.
A bassy Levelz reunion on Monday
How about starting the week off with Levelz’s Lockdown Lift-off at Mint Lounge on the big day itself?
Get ready for the usual Levelz crew consisting of Skittles, Chimpo, Chunky and the rest of the lads there, providing bars and beats for an atmosphere they definitely won’t let you forgot. They’ve been gunning for this night for 16 months since their last visit to Mint Lounge in March 2020 – and so have we.
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If you had tickets to the rescheduled June date, they’ll roll over. Otherwise, last remaining tickets are on Skiddle here.
Three floors of music with THREEDOOM on Tuesday
When Hit & Run took over WHP in 2019. Image: gbmultimedia/IG
Three of Manchester’s biggest student nights will come together under one roof at Factory on Tuesday 20. Hit & Run, Ghosts of Garage and Lean & Bop will join forces to provide three floors with three different genres of music.
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For Hit & Run, we’ll have drum and bass heaters from the likes of Poison Ivy and Mystix alongside Truthos Mufasa and Sparkz, and the B2B from Sabrina and Kira will be their Manchester debut.
Representing Ghosts of Garage will be Hit & Run’s own Rich Reason, ThtGrl, Warped DJs, Offbeat DJs, Area 808 DJs and Emanate Audio DJs, with T-Man on the mic.
And on the final floor, resident Lean & Bop DJs will provide some grime, hip-hop and RnB sounds, joined by DJ Yami.
Urban music platform Origin will take over the Northern Quarter’s Off The Square on Wednesday 21. The team is renowned for showcasing the very best emerging hip-hop and RnB talent from the city – and this latest Origin event will be no different.
Manchester powerhouse Motto Estate are set to headline. The nine-strong collective represent a variety of backgrounds, making their music all-embracing and rich in different cultural and social influences.
It’ll all be hosted by radio presenter Emma Rose, with support from Dunamis, Ace Cxbain and Webbo to complete the lineup.
For a more groove-fuelled evening, get down to Stage & Radio for ‘Out The House’ on Thursday for local lads Mandalo. The Manchester DJ duo have family ties to fellow Mancs Solardo and now being signed to the Sola label we can only expect the same success for this pair.
For their own productions, Mandalo merge their wide range of dance music influences – including 808 State and Jamie Jones – to craft their own sound. As for their DJ sets, just know your feet will be sore by the end.
There’ll be music from 7pm from CAIT, DJAAL, Boy Sean, BabaNoot as well. So, you might as well get down early. Skiddle still has tickets for this one here.
Feel-good disco vibes at The Bread Shed on Friday
Presented by Antwerp Mansion, the acclaimed Discopia returns on Friday 23 July, back and bigger than ever. Bring in your first weekend of freedom with the funky house and disco sounds of Dom C. Taylor, Wallace and DJ Ray for a bit of music escapism. Expect to hear everything from Purple Disco Machine and The Shapeshifters to Fat Boy Slim and Mella Dee to put you in the party mood. Good vibes only.
An empty Joshua Brooks as the new team prepare for a huge refit ahead of the club’s relaunch. Credit: Joshua Brooks
You might have seen that Joshua Brooks is back and under new ownership. With this, a complete overhaul and redesign of the club inside and out – and you’re in for a treat.
Its relaunch features a double-header weekend of big names. On Friday 23, Darius Syrossian will return to Joshua Brooks with his Moxy Musik event which has been at South in recent years.
But on the Saturday, house legend Mark Knight will round off the opening weekend. You’ll be in good hands with the Toolroom Records bossman. He knows how to fill the dance floor with the best house music around. It’ll be an all night long set so strap yourselves in.
Originally planned for 17 July, the Jika Jika Presents Denis Sulta party at the brand-new open-air venue Square One has been rescheduled to Sunday 25 July.
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Sulta is known for his enigmatic energy behind the decks. Plus he manages to pull off the most random of selections in his mixes. You won’t want to miss this one.
Stay up to date with Manchester music with The Manc Audio.
Featured image: Factory Manchester. Thumbnail image: The Bread Shed
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Rare picture of David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport unearthed
Danny Jones
A rare picture taken from the night of the late, great David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport has been unearthed by a local whilst digging through his loft.
Imagine having that kind of history just squirrelled away in an attic…
As revealed by Stockport Music Story, after being supplied with the image by David Maynard, the snap was shared more than half a century on from the much-mythologised moment in Greater Manchester music history.
In fact, it was put on display and posted on social media quite literally 56 years to the day since Bowie played his only Stopfordian set on 27 April, 1970.
Maynard himself is featured in the newly discovered photograph (second from the left) and was one of the select and lucky few who were in the room for that very special show.
Organised by a group of teens on behalf of the Stockport Schools’ Students’ Union, the performance took place at the long-gone Poco a Poco music venue and club over in Heaton Chapel.
The storied space hosted many big names over the years – Gerry Marsden, Freddie Starr, Hank Marvin and more – but sadly closed in May of 1987 following a fire.
It went on to become the popular Hinds Head pub, which still serves punters to this day, but once had the honour of hosting a true artistic great and British icon.
For anyone wondering, this is indeed the same night on which David Robert Jones (yes, that’s Bowie‘s full birth name) missed his train home and had to sleep on the railway platform.
Here’s a BBC segment covering the tale back on its 55th anniversary in April 2025.
It may be a small and somewhat curious claim to fame, but native love the legend of it all nonetheless.
As for the other individuals pictured alongside him, Stockport Music Story (SMS) said: “The names of the people we know are David Maynard (2nd left), Roz Wood (3rd left), David Bowie, Bill Frost (2nd right), Stewart Rigby (right).”
They go on to add: “It would be amazing to find out who the other people in the photograph are and what they remember from that night.” We sincerely hope they do.
You can now see the plaque up close and personal at Stockport Station for yourselves and as for SMS’s growing archive of the region’s creative culture, you can find out tonnes more about other pieces of SK heritage right HERE.
Featured Images — David Maynard via Stockport Music Story/Stockport Council
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Ne-Yo and Akon at Co-op Live, Manchester – stage times, tickets, setlist and more
Clementine Hall
It’s finally time for Ne-Yo and Akon to reach Manchester, with three shows planned at the Co-op Live arena.
This is the first time that the two R&B greats have headed out on a joint headline tour, and it’s been all anyone can talk about on social media since the tour began (the inflatable ball crowd surf, hello?!).
Both artists are Grammy Award winners and come with their own formidable back catalogues of chart-topping hits.
For Ne-Yo, that includes songs like Miss Independent, So Sick, and Closer; while for Akon, he’s responsible for huge tracks like Smack That, Lonelty, and Right Now (Na Na Na).
Between them, they’ve shaped and defined radio, nightlife, and pop culture for decades.
This 2026 tour will see the pair performing on the same stage – for Manchester that’s the Co-op Live arena – for a co-headline Nights Like This tour, with a unique back-and-forth set throughout the show.
Ne-Yo and Akon will be at the Co-op Live on Friday 1, Saturday 2, and Wednesday 6 May.
You might have already seen some pretty iconic videos of their tour already circulating the internet, so it’s safe to say you’re in for a treat.
The nostalgic gigs will feature everything from slow jams to club anthems, with a party atmosphere throughout.
Are there tickets left for Ne-Yo and Akon at Co-op Live in Manchester?
Good news – yes! There’s still fairly decent availability for all three dates of Ne-Yo and Akon in Manchester.
You can see the latest availability for Friday 1 May HERE, Saturday 2 May HERE, and Wednesday 6 May HERE.
Judging by previous nights of the tour, the current set list is looking like this…
Ne-Yo
The Way You Make Me Feel (Michael Jackson cover) (Snippet)
Miss Independent
Because Of You
Nobody
Champagne Life
One in a Million
Akon
Akon’s Beautiful Day
Smack That
I’m So Paid
Locked Up
Soul Survivor (Jeezy cover)
Ne-Yo
She Knows
Single
Mirror
Sexy Love
Akon
Bananza (Belly Dancer)
Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill) (Wyclef Jean cover)
Bartender (T‐Pain cover)
Body on me (Ashanti cover)
Dangerous (Kardinal Offishall cover)
Songs Ne-Yo/Akon Produced
Let Me Love You (Mario cover)
Titanium (David Guetta/Sia Cover) / Take A Bow (Rihanna Cover) / Drunk In Love (Beyoncé Cover) / Irreplaceable (Beyoncé Cover) / Just Dance (Lady Gaga)
Akon
Don’t Matter
Danza Kuduro (Remix)
The Sweet Escape (Gwen Stefani song)
Shut It Down (Pitbull song)
Angel
Ghetto
Sorry, Blame It On Me
Lonely
Ne-Yo
So Sick
Mad
NIGHTS LIKE THESE
Simple Things
Up Out & Gone
Beautiful Monster
Closer
Akon
QUE CALOR (Akon crowd surfs in an inflatable ball)
I Wanna Love You
Right Now (Na Na Na)
Beautiful
Sexy Bitch (David Guetta cover)
Til the Sun Rise Up (Bob Sinclair cover)
Ne-Yo
Let’s Go
Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)
Time of Our Lives
Give Me Everything
Encore:
Play Hard (David Guetta cover) – Akon & Ne-Yo on stage
Stage times for Ne-Yo and Akon at First Direct Arena
Doors open: 6.30pm
Gig starts: 8pm
Gig ends: 11pm
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live.
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Getting there by car and parking
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Hannah Starkie -
9th July 2021 
