Manchester Rum Festival is back once again next week, and it’s all looking set to be the event’s “biggest and best” year yet.
Known for bringing a massive selection of rare rums and from all over the world to Manchester each year, the beloved festival is back in a few days time, and organisers are gearing up to transform one city centre hotel into the tropics.
As always, visitors to the beloved festival can not only expect to get to sample some of the best rum brands and buy bottles of their favourites to take home, but they’ll also get to taste some limited-edition drink collaborations, and tuck into delicious Caribbean street food from some of the region‘s best traders.
For the first time ever, anyone who grabs a ticket to this year’s event will get the chance to buy a limited-edition bottle of the official Manchester Rum Festival rum – which is a collaboration with Outlier Distilling Company of the Isle of Man.
Other brands making their much-anticipated debut at this year’s festival include Rhum JM from Martinique in the Caribbean, Takamaka – which is the the first ever rum from the Seychelles – two rums from the Portuguese island of Madeira, 970 and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, and Ron Piet from Panama.
ADVERTISEMENT
Tilambic from Mauritius, Eminente from Cuba, Paranubes from the mountainous Oaxaca region in Mexico, Bone Idyll from closer to home in Kingston-upon-Thames will also be making their Manchester debuts.
Manchester Rum Festival for its “biggest and best” event yet next week / Credit: Supplied
Organisers are, quite rightly, calling it a “truly global representation of rum”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Also for the very first time, MONIN will be at this year’s festival with the official cocktail bar for all those who fancy sipping on a Pina Colada, Mojito, or Daiquiri while they make their way around the event, with festival sponsors Stratford Sodas also set to serve up the perfect rum mixers.
And to top it all off, there’s even set to be a handful of local DJs spinning calypso-inspired sets all throughout the day to really bring those “tiki vibes”.
Visitors will get to sample some of the rarest rums from all over the world / Credit: Manchester Rum Festival
“The 2023 festival is set to be the biggest and best yet, with rum brands from all over the planet descending on Manchester for what has become a must-have diary date for rum lovers,” Manchester Rum Festival founder, Dave Marsland, said ahead of this year’s event.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It really is a fantastic day out, and has cemented itself as a brilliant annual event for rum fans across the UK and beyond.”
Manchester Rum Festival 2023 is taking over the Mercure Manchester hotel in Piccadilly Gardens on Saturday 8 July from 12pm right through to 7pm – with tickets already on sale and setting you back £25 each.
The Streets at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and all you need to know
Danny Jones
The Streets are coming to Manchester this weekend to play their landmark album, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, on tour and in full for the first time in full since its release in 2004.
It remains one of the most influential albums of the 21st century, having had a huge impact on culture and UK music, and we couldn’t be more excited to FINALLY hear it in its entirety live and direct.
Speaking on the seminal release, frontman Mike Skinner says he “wrote it as a story from beginning to end, even studying screenwriting to shape it and without the faintest idea how people would react.”
Ahead of this bringing it back to the stage in its entirety, he said: “We’ve been looking for something bold to do with the live show, and we landed here: some tracks have never been played live, others haven’t surfaced in years.” With that in mind, we can’t wait for their 2026 Sounds of the City set. Speaking of…
The Streets at Castlefield Bowl for Sounds of the City
Are there tickets left for The Streets’ Manchester dates?
Skinner and his band are set to fill Castlefield Bowl, and we’ve been blessed with not one, but two nights at this iconic outdoor stage in the heart of the city, on Friday 10 July AND Saturday 11 July – lucky us.
While tickets for the first gig are all sold-out across the board, you can still grab general admission for the second show this Saturday; secure yours HERE.
Known for their lively stage presence, tongue-in-cheek demeanour and unwavering crowd engagement, Skinner and co’s latest visit is not one to miss lightly.
Oh, and if you too were ‘Prangin Out’ about the footy clashing, ‘Dry Your Eyes’ and fear not: you no longer have to choose, thanks to a welcome update ahead of England’s crucial World Cup quarter-final against Norway.
Saturday, August 1, 2026 – Scarborough Open Air Theatre – Scarborough
Friday, August 7, 2026 – Audley End Estate – Essex
Friday, August 21, 2026 – Earlham Park – Norwich
Saturday, August 22, 2026 – O2 Academy Birmingham – Birmingham
Friday, August 28, 2026 – Rock N Roll Circus – Sheffield
Thursday, August 5, 2026 – Depot Mayfield – Manchester
Yes, in case you weren’t aware, the gang are also playing The Warehouse Project as part of the WHP26 programme; tickets for that are also live.
Get them before they go!
Support acts and stage times for The Streets at Castlefield Bowl
For ‘Those That Don’t Know’, there are set to be some amazing support acts joining The Streets on tour. We are lucky enough to get rising Mancunian artist Antony Szmierek, as well as rap and grime MC CASISDEAD for the two days at Castlefield Bowl.
They’ve also kindly given us a very clear rundown of the stage times for each artist’s set, too:
Thankfully, bringing back an album to play start to finish means that we pretty much know almost for certain what they’re going to be playing. Here’s the tracklist as it appears on the original album:
Set 1: A Grand Don’t Come For Free in full
It Was Supposed To Be So Easy
Could Well Be In
Not Addicted
Blinded by the Lights
Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way
Get Out of My House
Fit but You Know It
Such a Tw*t
What Is He Thinking?
Dry Your Eyes
Empty Cans
That being said, we’re almost certainly going to get a few more hits as part of the encore, be it ‘Turn the Page’, ‘Who’s Got the Bag’ and ‘Let’s Push Things Forward’, just to name a few.
What would you most like to hear from elsewhere in their discography for the Sounds of the City (SOTC) double bill? Let us know in the comments.
Transport and travel advice
Getting to Castlefield Bowl
Castlefield Bowl (M3 4JR) is on Rice Street just down Liverpool Road, which cuts off the main Deansgate strip in the city centre, and you can enter Manchester’s much-loved outdoor amphitheatre via Duke or Castle Street.
Tram
It’s just a six-minute walk from the Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop, or ever so slightly further is the St Peter’s Square tram stop, where you can find regular trams running all over Greater Manchester from both. You can check the first and last trams from the stops HERE.
Train
ADVERTISEMENT
The nearest station to Castlefield Bowl is Deansgate train station, being a mere six-minute walk or Manchester Oxford Road, which is only 15 minutes away, with Piccadilly and Victoria being slightly further afield but still not miles away, clocking in at just a few minutes from the gig.
Whichever route you choose, none are unrealistic – just be sure to check last train timings to not get caught short.
Bus
A variety of buses stop close to Castlefield Bowl on their route, such as the 33 or 33b, which stop just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE
ADVERTISEMENT
Getting to Castlefield Bowl by car and parking info for The Streets
If you’re driving there, Great Northern Warehouse’s (M3 4EE) car park, as well as two other NCPs near Bridgewater Hall and on Quay Street in Spinningfields.
You can also park your car for free and get the tram to the gig from one of Greater Manchester’s 24 Park and Ride sites.
Walk/cycle
If you’re that bit more climate conscious, then there are plenty of options for you too. Why not use the TfGM journey planner to find the best cycle route for you?
If you’re up for saving some pennies, the planet and want to take in your surroundings on a summer evening, then walking is a great option to beat the queues. Even walking a portion of your journey may be a wise idea!
ADVERTISEMENT
Just make sure you save some energy for an all-night party (here’s hoping England can take it long into the early hours).
If you’re wondering what the vibes have been like at SOTC 2026 so far, here’s a taster from night two…
Safe to say @wetlegband continue to 'level up' when it comes to live shows. 🔥
Featured Images — Ben Cannon (supplied via SJM Concerts)/Audio North/Atlantic Records
What's On
UK Management College to host ‘biggest ever’ summer festival in Manchester this weekend
Emily Sergeant
UK Management College is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a massive summer festival in Manchester this weekend.
UK Management College (UKMC) has empowered thousands of students to achieve their academic and professional ambitions over the past decade, building a ‘vibrant and diverse’ learning community along the way, and now to mark the institution’s 10th anniversary, a landmark celebration called SummerFest will be taking place this weekend.
More than just an annual gathering, this year’s SummerFest is set to be the largest celebration in the college’s history.
Taking place this Friday (10 July) at Heaton Park, the event will bring together students, staff, partners, families, and friends for a day of celebration and recognition, while looking ahead to the ‘exciting’ future of the college.
Festival attendees can look forward to a packed programme of live entertainment, festival-style food and refreshments, interactive activities, awards and recognition ceremonies, and plenty of other experiences designed to bring the entire UKMC community together.
You can also expect exclusive announcements throughout the day and a lottery draw with some incredible prizes to be won.
UK Management College is hosting its ‘biggest ever’ summer festival in Manchester this weekend / Credit: Supplied
“SummerFest 2026 is more than a celebration of our tenth anniversary,” explained Michael Taylor, who is the Head of Marketing at UKMC, “it is a celebration of every student, every colleague and every success story that has shaped UKMC over the past decade.
“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together and look forward to welcoming our community for what promises to be an unforgettable day.“
The event will begin with arrivals from 11am for UKMC staff and students, before opening to all attendees from 3pm onwards.
Ready to celebrate how far the UKMC has come? And get excited about where it is heading next? SummerFest is taking over Heaton Park, near Dower House, this Friday ready to kick off a weekend of sunshine.
It’s free to attend, and you can find out more here.
Emily Sergeant -
28th June 2023 
