Ramona and The Firehouse is launching an in-house radio station this week as part of a huge new live entertainment programme at the venue, designed to champion and support independent musicians and artists across Manchester.
Kicking off on Wednesday 26 January, ‘Ramona Radio’ will host a weekly live radio show from its Swan Street venue – broadcasting a weekly party with guest DJs, servers and the crowd going ‘On Air’ live from the Tipi.
The first event in the new series will see legendary house selector Tristan Da Cunha take to the decks – bringing his expansive genre-spanning vinyl archive along with him.
The venue on Swan Street will launch its own radio station. Image: Ramona and The Firehouse
Promising depth and breadth across a range of genres, house music fans can look forward to hearing some rare gems and genre-defining cuts played out as part of the honorary Glastonbury resident’s set.
The radio show will be hosted by Ramona and The Firehouse’s very own music curator Jonjo, and as part of the new programme whole sets will be streamed live, supported with a new weekly podcast.
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Following on from the Wednesday night radio show launch, the venue will be running parties throughout the week as it launches its new programme ‘The NIght Village’ – with further sets coming from the likes of Onipa, Dance Regular and Manchester art-rock band Everything Everything.
Image: Ramona and The Firehouse
The Ghanian/ London-based afro-futurist collective Onipa will bring their signature high energy performance to Ramona fusing Afrobeat, UK Jazz and electronic music for Thursday night’s ‘Campfire Live’, whilst local champions Everything Everything can be expected to bring their usual blend of alternative and indie to the Tipi later this week.
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The performances will mark the start of a new musical chapter for Ramona, which has already made a name for itself by channelling the techno culture for which Detroit is known from within its sister bar restaurant, The Firehouse.
The sister venue also hosts weekly ‘runway parties’ in its bar every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with local dance crews acting as the stars of the show – with performances ranging from garage two-step superstars, Dance Regular, to the vogue inspired flamboyance of House of Ghetto.
Ramona Radio will launch this week. Image: Ramona and The Firehouse
Speaking on the upcoming new music programme launching this week, head of music and entertainment at Ramona and the Firehouse, Jonjo, said: “We’ve been curating independent UK-based electronic, jazz and world music since we opened the doors.
“Moving into 2022 we’re ready to take things up a notch with our first bands from the continent, an upgraded sound system and the best up and coming acts and labels every week. And all for free – surely the city’s best kept secret”
At the new late-night parties, music lovers can easily flit between the two venues – soaking up the atmosphere in both, free of charge.
Image: Ramona and The Firehouse
Guests can also enjoy Detroit-style pizza, a killer collection of margaritas plus other inventive and beautiful dishes like their chargrilled chicken, truffle tots, Detroit hot wings and ultra cheesy garlic bread.
To find out more about the upcoming music events, check out the full programme for the Night Village launch weekender below.
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Ramona and The Firehouse Night Village Launch Weekender – Full Programme Thursday 27th January: Campfire Live @ Ramona presents Onipa Arthouse – Dance Regular @ Firehouse presents The Broken Beat – Garage-Dance Crew
Friday 28th January: Everything Everything DJ Set @Ramona Firehouse Presents Vogue – House of Ghetto
Saturday 29th January: Supernature Disco + Joe Redmore (WHP) [email protected]
Sunday 30th January So Flute @Ramona
Sunday 30th January Mikey Don @Firehouse
Feature image – Ramona and The Firehouse
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Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced
Daisy Jackson
Niall Horan will be back in Manchester this year on a huge newly-announced European arena tour.
The former One Direction star (and chart-topper in his own right) has just announced his Dinner Party Live On Tour tour.
The tour comes in support of his upcoming fourth solo studio album, Dinner Party, which promises to be ‘cinematic and organic’.
Niall Horan will be performing at the Co-op Live in Manchester this September, along with gigs in other UK cities including Sheffield, Glasgow, and Newcastle.
He’ll then head right across Europe, playing music from his multi-Platinum-selling songbook.
Niall first shot to fame as one-fifth of One Direction, but has one of the group’s strongest solo careers, with three chart-topping albums and massive hits like Slow Hands, Heaven, and Our Song.
Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced
He’s also worked on some exciting collaborations with the likes of Anne-Marie, and most recently Myles Smith.
£1 from every ticket sold for Niall Horan’s Dinner Party tour will be donated to the LIVE Trust, which is dedicated to protecting, expanding, and supporting grassroots music across the UK.
Niall Horan will be at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Friday 25 September.
Tickets will go on sale from 10am on Thursday 2 April HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
24th January 2022 
