Manchester’s inaugural Festival of Libraries, which took place virtually and in-person across the city-region last week, was a sprawling patchwork of events representing what libraries can be.
From virtual artist residencies and talks by famous writers to interactive activities for children and tours of Manchester venues, the five days of the Festival proved to be a glorious celebration of libraries and all they provide us.
A central theme flowing through the events was curiosity: Not just about what libraries are, but what they provide and what they mean to us.
For celebrated children’s author Michael Rosen – who starred at the Festival – libraries are essential given how they provide us with two of the most powerful tools of life: Reading and writing.
“We make comparisons between the stories we’re reading and the story of me.”
Rosen spoke as part of an ‘Inspired by Libraries’ series, where notable figures in the creative world were paired with a Greater Manchester library service.
Alice in Wonderland characters at Central Library /Photo: Anna Willis
Radzi Chinyanganya, a children’s television presenter and debut author, also talked to a group of children in person at Altrincham Library, where he explained how libraries helped him with his GCSES, and enabled him to learn about Karate.
For children, libraries are such a magical place, and the lectures really emphasised just how formative they can be. I saw this in action when I went along to Central Library’s ‘Sunday Funday’. Greeted by characters from Alice in Wonderland, it was wonderful to see young faces light up as they recognised the Mad Hatter and Captain Hook.
Children were able to take part in an interactive story with children’s author Kristina Stephenson, playing with puppets and learning about the fantastical world of Stephenson’s best-selling series. Upstairs was the chance to create a pop-up inspired by books and libraries.
Whilst the sessions themselves were creative and enjoyable, it was the ability for children to be creative and imaginative that brought an excitable fizz to the air.
Another strand of the Festival was a series of artist residencies, where local musicians, poets, and creatives worked together with youth groups in a series of workshops facilitated by libraries across Greater Manchester.
James Holt, a singer-songwriter from Bolton, worked with ‘Us Girls’, a youth group in Stockport, on a song and music video based around what libraries meant to them. He told me how, when he brought his ukulele along in the last session, one of the girls learned some chords and was thrilled by having been able to learn something new.
He says it’s those “little moments” that might encourage people to check out the library, come to a group, or maybe pursue music as a result of the Festival.
One noticeable element to the festival was its broad range of artistic mediums and formats. Hawk Dance Theatre, a Manchester-based contemporary dance company, performed ‘Getting From A to B’ in several of Greater Manchester libraries during the week.
Choreographed within libraries themselves, it proved to be an adventure around the library, examining the choices and decisions we face in our lives.
Stephen Holland, UK comics laureate, spoke to a live audience at Altrincham Library about the power of visual storytelling and Guy Garvey, lead singer of the band Elbow, talked about his love of libraries with Chetham’s Library.
‘Getting from A to B’ by Hawk Dance Theatre /Photo: Festival of Libraries
As a UNESCO City of Literature, Manchester has partnered with artists in other cities of literature across the world. Kate Feld talked to Alicia Sometime, writing from Melbourne, Australia, and Anna Polanyi, in Iowa City, via Instagram Live about their projects and experiences of working with Manchester’s libraries from half-way across the world.
“Librarians are the glue that holds the world together,” Alicia said.
The whole Festival was put together at lightning speed, and the quality and quantity of events demonstrated the passion that each of the libraries hold for celebrating themselves and each other.
Martin Roberts, Libraries Liaison Manager for Stockport Council, told me that library staff are effective at pivoting to new events and activities as required, managing the jump between digital and in-person events with ease.
He hopes the Festival will particularly inspire young people, such as ‘Us Girls’ who worked with James Holt.
“A large part of my view about libraries is also that we want to make sure we bring cultural opportunities for young people who otherwise might not experience them,” said Martin.
“Not only do I believe that this free resource is a space that people should use, it’s this space where they won’t be challenged when they come in, they won’t be expected to buy anything, but it’s a space where people can gain knowledge and gain independence.
“I think they’re all opportunities for people in society, especially those starting out.”
Photos: Anna Willis, Festival of Libraries
Art & Culture
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | August 2025
Danny Jones
2025 has been a belting year for music so far, be it legendary bands getting back together, veterans getting back in the studio, or rising new stars in the making, making waves – and Manchester has been right at the centre of all of it.
In case you’ve not found yourself on this site at this particular time of the month before, let’s give you a quick rundown: every few weeks, just before turning over another page on the calendar, we round up some of the best music we’ve heard from artists in and around Manchester.
Very much a Ronseal deal, we know.
Get your ‘add to playlist’ thumb at the ready and prepare to dive into yet more marvellous local music, both new and old.
New Manchester music we’ve been listening to – August 2025
Let’s start things off with one of the most heartwarming, albeit frustrating, stories of an independent musician just trying to make it in an industry that is already challenging enough without having your tour van full of gear nicked. Sigh…
We’re talking about Michael Gallagher, who not too long ago upped sticks from Hartlepool in the North East and made his way to Manchester city centre, bringing a nice brand of upbeat, radio-friendly indie music with him. He’s actually been at it since 2018, but more people are taking more notice of late.
If you enjoy artists like Circa Waves, early Declan McKenna and Vistas; Pigeon Detectives or pretty much most mainstream indie bands of the past decade or so, you’ll love this lad – we certainly do. Our top picks include ‘Hannah’, ‘Rum & Raisin’, and since ‘Pour Me Another’ is dedicated to our shared love of the black stuff, we couldn’t not include that one.
2. Foxglove
The budding Manchester group have more music coming in 2025. (Credit: Foxglove via Facebook)
Fancy some euphoric indie and alt pop with vocals that would suit pretty much any genre, if you ask? We’d recommend giving Foxglove a go. With Abi White’s infectious vocals, brothers Ryan and Liam Croney hit all the familiar and classic Manc-coded notes on guitar and drums, plus Joe Myers’ trusty bass-playing, we’re tipping them for a big year.
We also love how the city has played as the backdrop to all of their artwork thus far – it really does ground those tuneful guitars and the twinkly overtones of their sound into a romantic, rose-tinted Mancunian lens.
They’re kicking on 2025 too and following the release of ‘Busy Beach’ (which we’ve had on repeat for most of the month), we’re enjoying seeing how the style can shift from the likes of the UKG-reminiscent, ‘Tell Me A Story’; we don’t mind admitting we’re pretty keen on their latest single, ‘Lost’, too.
3. Doves
Now, they should* need no introduction, but we sometimes find that Doves still go under the radar as one of those bands that plenty of people have been exposed to without quite realising that their music belongs to them. Quite often the way with bands who got going in that era, we’ve found.
Sharing some similarities to The 1975 in having met at school in Wilmslow, the Manchester band were spawned after Jez and Andy Williams met bassist Jimi Goodwin; fast forward the best of three decades later and the alternative rock veterans still have such an enchanting and enigmatic style about them.
We’ve always gone in for their moodier numbers like ‘Snowden’, so it’s no surprise we’re a little obsessed with their newest atmospheric number, ‘Lean Into The Wind’, but as one of those artists people often realise they’ve heard countless times without realising who it is, you can’t go wrong with their biggest hit:
The long-standing Manchester band are heading on their first tour in 15 years with new music to boot.
4. Better Joy
Penultimately, we’re sticking Manchester-based alt pop project, Better Joy, in at number four. If, like us, you like immersing yourself in quiet, introspective nights spent tethered to headphones, you’re going to love this one.
Led by singer Bria Keely, you can expect nods to everything from The Cure and the Cocteau Twins to Pale Waves and plenty from the 80s in general. From ‘plugged in’ to ‘quiet thing’, you get slightly different flavours each time. We also like her cover of ‘You Get What You Give‘ by one-hit wonders, New Radicals; she even recreated the album cover. Her new EP, at dusk, drops on Halloween, too, so we’re keeping our eyes peeled for what’s next.
She’s also one of several artists playing an up-and-coming new music showcase over in Stockport; in fact, she’s headlining local music mag and promoter, The Rodeo‘s stage at the stunning St Mary’s Church as the magical venue continues to attract more live gigs. Her new EP, at dusk, drops on Halloween, too, so keep your eyes peeled.
Is she technically a Manc, no? Do we care? No. She moved here as a teenager to pursue her dream of becoming a musician – just like Michael – and besides sharing Irish roots (and no, stop right there: he shares no connection to Oasis), she’s also an example of how hard work pays off eventually.
The ‘Duboyne Diana’ has gone from arriving here from County Meath as part of a two-piece band and becoming a bit of a cult hero around these parts, so much so that she’s just sold out two whole nights headlining O2 Victoria Warehouse after stunning at Glasto 2025. An icon in the making.
We’re going to start you off with some of her biggest hits: current favourite, ‘Take A Sexy Picture of Me’, the ever wonderful ‘I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby!’, and sorry, but if you thought we were going to overlook the fact that she’s got a track called ‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’, you’d be dead wrong.
As always, we’re more than happy to be directed to more new music coming out of Greater Manchester, and with less than half the year remaining, let’s make our 2025 listening as memorable as possible.
A new music showcase is taking place at a beautiful and historic Stockport venue
Danny Jones
A new live showcase is coming to Stockport town centre as part of a wider music, art and cultural celebration next month.
And by new, we mean the artists; if you went to the last edition, you’ll know it delivers some serious talent.
Teaming up with the likes of Manchester-based music magazine and promoters, The Rodeo, as well as ticketing platform Skiddle, Stockport is set to welcome the return of Mercury Climbing Festival.
This week-long celebration of music, art and culture around parts of the Greater Manchester borough’s historic old town, and there are some exciting names on board already.
As for Mercury Climbing 2025 itself, the multi-day festival spread across several locations boasts the best in native and Northern music, visual arts, and comedy.
Popping up across a total of eight different spaces, including the likes of the brand-new Stockroom, pubs, and headline music venue St Mary’s Church – quietly one of the coolest places we’ve ever seen a gig – you have plenty of reason to be excited about this one.
Speaking of St Mary’s, while artists such as local legends Badly Drawn Boy, Manc indie outfit The Covasettes and Riding The Low – fronted by actor Paddy Considine – are set to play the stunning ceremonial space, The Rodeo is also hosting its own dedicated stage at the church.
Highlighting emerging new talent on Saturday, 20 September, Manchester-based solo indie project Better Joy is set to headline, with Denver County Council (who featured on our Manc artists of the month round-up), Henry Webb-Jenkins, Katie & the Bad Sign, plus more to be announced in support.
The last time we saw a ‘Live at St Mary’s’ event, we can’t stress this enough: it was nothing short of an unforgettable experience.
You don’t get to enjoy a ‘religious’ gig experiences like this often…
Taking place from Friday, 19-26 September, the festival as a whole will transform Stockport’s historic Old Town into a vibrant cultural hub.
And it isn’t just music: there are local food and drink traders getting involved, artwork from the one and only Stanley Chow, as well as plenty of other entertainment.
Above all else, the event is not only steeped in SK and Greater Manchester’s rich heritage, but it’s a great way of supporting new art coming out of the region.
The Rodeo’s St Mary’s stage gets underway from 4pm and is scheduled to finish at 10:30pm, but the wider Mercury Climbing programme is an all-day festival that won’t end until late. You can grab your tickets right HERE.