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There are free live music sets taking place all over Manchester city centre this week — here’s where to find them

They're part of a new music festival and conference that hits Manchester this Wednesday.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 10th October 2023

As part of the brand-new global music conference and festival called Beyond The Music, which finally lands this Wednesday, a whole host of live music sets will be taking place in the city this week and, the best part is: they’re all free.

Looking to strike a chord with shoppers, tourists and mere passers-by with a number of pop-ups, including a live music stage in Exchange Square, the main hub at Manchester Central and several local hotels, the city-wide event is completely free to attend and is happening this Thursday and Friday.

The series of special one-off Beyond The Music performances are being brought to the general public with the help of Manchester’s Accommodation Business Improvement District (BID), and the likes of local music collective, The Untold Orchestra, who’ll be headlining the main live stage.

The line-up will celebrate Manchester as the iconic music city that it is, home not only to the likes of Oasis, The Smiths, Blossoms and Aitch, but also world-renowned professional orchestras such as The Halle and BBC Philharmonic.

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Big Society
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The Untold Orchestra
Credit: Supplied

The classical music programme will sit alongside the traditional rock and electronic music acts at the festival as the event seeks to promote Manchester’s hugely diverse music culture and heritage.

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The live music stage is being programmed by Manc orchestra, The Untold Orchestra, a full seven-piece band who are focused on changing the reputation surrounding orchestras and who they are for.

Putting on shows celebrating everyone from Nina Simone, David Bowie and to Drake and local hip-hop acts, as well as hosting creative projects with different artists and communities across Manchester, collaboration is at the centre of what they do. 

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Ahead of their busy season of winter shows, workshops and highly anticipated charity launch, The Untold Orchestra x Beyond The Music takeover highlights the original music and poetry of some of the orchestra’s members and collaborators in an afternoon demonstrating again, how much great music there is in Manchester. 

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Funmi Says
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Mali Hayes

A total of seven performances will take place on the live music stage in Exchange Square from 12 noon until 7pm on Friday, 13 October, kicking off with smaller ensembles before closing with a full band. The line-up is as follows:

  • 12pm — Indie pop trio, Big Society
  • 1pm — Solo loop cello, Polly Virr
  • 2pm — R&B duo, Mali Hayes
  • 3pm — Five spoken word poets: Esther Koch, Funmi Adeyo, Jack Coverdale & Reneé Stormz
  • 4pm — Electronic pop and soul vocalist, Ellen Beth Abdi
  • 5pm — Electronic pop and soul artist, Yemi Bolatiwa
  • 6.15pm — The Untold Orchestra playing well-known hits, featuring Jenna G and Will Jacquet

Each performance will be around 40 minutes long and, as mentioned, the Manchester Accommodation Business Improvement District has also commissioned a ‘Dawn Chorus’, where a series of intimate classical performances will be carried out in the foyers of six Manchester hotels on Thursday.

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Hotel visitors staying at the Hyatt Regency, The Midland, Moxy, Yotel, Leonardo Hotel Manchester
Central and the Kimpton Clocktower will be treated to a series of very special shows performed by students from our proud music studies institution, the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM).

Whether they know it or not, guests will be woken up by beautiful performances that will take place between 8-10am at the Hyatt Regency and Midland, and from 9-11am at all other venues. Not a bad way to start the morning.

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As for anyone who’s interested in Beyond The Music Festival proper, the brand-new music series kicks off this Wednesday (11 October) and is set to be quite the collection of shows.

Boasting over 150 different up-and-coming artists from the Greater Manchester area and beyond, playing at 11 different independent venues around the city until Saturday, 14 October — we’re talking Castle Hotel, Band on the Wall, The Peer Hat and more — this new festival is going to make a splash.

You can still grab your tickets to enjoy the latest Manchester festival on top of the free live music sets down below:

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Supplied

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Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue

Danny Jones Danny Jones Embrace album launch gig tickets The Met Bury Wax & Beans

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.

Now that’s grassroots in action.

Once again, if you do miss out on any of these shows, the Yorkshiremen are playing bigger gigs for a very special anniversary, including over at Manchester Academy 1.

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…

First batch of special releases for Record Store Day UK 2026 announced

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Publicity picture (supplied)

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Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Niall Horan announces massive Manchester arena show

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
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.

Niall Horan UK and Europe tour dates in full

  • 22 September – Utilita Arena, Birmingham (UK)
  • 23 September – Utilita Arena, Newcastle (UK)
  • 25 September – Co-op Live, Manchester (UK)
  • 28 September – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (UK)
  • 29 September – Utilita Arena, Sheffield (UK)
  • 2 October – The O2, London (UK)
  • 7 October – Barclays Arena, Hamburg (Germany)
  • 8 October – Uber Arena, Berlin (Germany)
  • 10 October – Royal Arena, Copenhagen (Denmark)
  • 13 October – Lanxess Arena, Cologne (Germany)
  • 15 October – Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  • 16 October – Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  • 25 October – Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona (Spain)
  • 28 October – Unipol Forum, Milan (Italy)
  • 29 October – Unipol Arena, Bologna (Italy)
  • 31 October – Olympiahalle, Munich (Germany)
  • 3 November – Tauron Arena, Krakow (Poland)
  • 5 November – AFAS Dome, Antwerp (Belgium)
  • 6 November – Accor Arena, Paris (France)
  • 9 November – 3Arena, Dublin (Ireland)
  • 10 November – 3Arena, Dublin (Ireland)
  • 15 November – SSE Arena, Belfast (UK)

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Featured image: Publicity picture

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