The people of Ashton are set to be treated to their first-ever street art festival this weekend as Art Battle Manchester is set to descend on the market town.
Running for over a decade now, Art Battle MCR has gradually been building a loyal following across Greater Manchester and now they’re taking their talents over to Tameside.
Dubbing it the ‘Ashton Underlined Paint Jam’ (very, very good punnage there), the free festival will see over 20 of the UK’s top street artists arrive in Ashton to transform the hoardings outside the town hall into a dynamic outdoor art gallery.
Curated by internationally renowned street artist, Jay Sharples, the town’s inaugural Paint Jam promises to be a lively celebration of art, culture, and community, whilst also being crucially free for all to attend.
Set to deliver fun for all the family – no, we don’t mind using that old chestnut when it’s actually true – the day will also feature live music from local DJs, top-notch food from local independents and activities for all ages.
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For instance, kids will be able to unleash their creativity with supervised spray-painting sessions, as well as enjoying dynamic break-dancing and skateboarding performances will provide entertainment for the whole family.
It’s all about expression this weekend.
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Kicking off from 10:30am and running until 5pm on Saturday, 18 May outside Ashton Town Hall, you don’t need to book tickets, just simply turn up and soak up the colour and creativity.
Art Battle co-founder John Macaulay said of the event: “The Ashton Underlined Paint Jam is right up our street – it brings art outside the gallery for the enjoyment of all.”
Funded through the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) for Communities and Place for the Ashton Creative Improvement District awarded to Tameside Council, the Ashton Underlined Paint Jam aims to enhance the cultural vibrancy of Ashton town centre and get people creating.
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And if you’ve never been to an Art Battle event in Manchester before, trust us, you’re seriously missing out.
Ozzy Osbourne to be posthumously honoured with BRITs Lifetime Achievement Award
Emily Sergeant
Ozzy Osbourne is set to be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 BRITs tomorrow.
The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard has announced that global rock icon Ozzy Osbourne, the celebrated founding member and frontman of Black Sabbath, and pioneering ‘godfather’ of British heavy metal – who sadly passed away last July – will be honoured at this year’s ceremony this weekend (Saturday 28 February).
Ozzy will be honoured with the BRITs Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition and celebration of his ‘inimitable impact and influence’ on music worldwide.
The award will be accepted on Ozzy’s behalf when the BRITs comes to Manchester for the first time ever at Co-op Live.
With over 100 million worldwide album sales achieved over five decades, a legendary catalogue of music – including 19 studio albums, and eight live albums with Black Sabbath, as well as 13 studio albums as a solo artist – Ozzy Osbourne is undoubtedly one of music’s most influential icons of all time.
The many industry accolades awarded to Ozzy across his career include five GRAMMYs, an induction into both the UK Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (both with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist, in separate years), and the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement – and now the BRITs honour is the latest to add to the list.
“Ozzy Osbourne has been a mighty force in modern music,” commented Stacey Tang, who is the Chair of the 2026 BRIT Awards Committee and Co-President of RCA Records at Sony Music UK.
“Possessing an unmistakable voice and unique presence, he reshaped the sound and spirit of rock, inspiring generations of artists who followed. This Lifetime Achievement Award recognises a remarkable legacy built on originality and enduring influence, that continues to connect with fans worldwide.”
The BRIT Awards are coming to Manchester for the first time in its history in 2026 / Credit: ITV / BRITs / Co-op Live
To celebrate Ozzy’s win, an all-star rock tribute performance – that will close the show on the night – will pay homage to him.
A special arrangement of ‘No More Tears’ – the title track from Ozzy’s multi-million selling 1991 album of the same name – has been curated by Sharon Osbourne.
The performance will boast a phenomenal line up of British and international musical talent, featuring musicians that played as part of Ozzy’s band over the years, and fronted by Robbie Williams, who has been invited personally by Sharon to be part of this special moment.
The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard will take place on Saturday 28 February from Manchester’s Co-op Live, and audiences at home can watch on ITV live or stream later on ITVX.
Comedian and actor Jack Whitehall will return to presenting duties in 2026 – his sixth time hosting the show.
Featured Image – John Matthew Smith (via Wikimedia Commons)
Art & Culture
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | February 2026
Danny Jones
Well, hello again – glad to see you’re back here looking for more new music and rising artists from in and around Manchester.
Not to toot our own horn, but we’re confident you won’t be disappointed.
Obviously, everyone is busy wrapped up in BRITs fever, us included; however, we’ve also been having a very good time sitting in the comfort of our headphones and listening to the sound of our hometown.
Let’s get stuck in, shall we?
Greater Manchester music you should check out
1. Roukaya B
First on our list this month, what better place to start than Audio North‘s inaugural Artist of the Month, Roukaya B? Yes, she does happen to be a Manc (a nice bonus), but this new series – which has just debuted over on our dedicated music Instagram page – looks at talent all across the top of the country.
This soulful Salfordian and energetic singer-songwriter had a great musical education, and it shows, as there’s plenty of new school takes on rap and UK hip-hop, as well as plenty of familiar R’n’B flavour from down the years in her style too.
We recently got to chat with her following the release of her latest single, ‘HEAT’, but we love the rhythm behind ‘Out of Sight’ and ‘I Got It’ is still one of our favourites for that beat alone. Hear more from the woman of the moment and Audio North’s first-ever AOTM.
Next up is someone whose work still needs some refining, but we can’t deny that there’s something that keeps us coming back to check on him every few months or so, which means he must be doing something right. His name is Fxsion, and he’s been coming up on the local grime scene for years now.
We’re not going to try and claim we love every lyric, every flow and every track, but there’s definitely something to like in most of the tunes he’s released so far, and you can tell that the production levels and technical skill are improving not just in terms of audio, but the visuals that go along with it all too.
The first song we ever heard from Fxsion was ‘From The Ground’ with Yung Fume, and we still enjoy how he rides the beat, but his music has come quite a way since then, and we’d say two of his best examples at present are more recent releases like ‘Get With The Plan’ and ‘Brightside’.
3. Sâlo
In at number three is someone we’ve already written about this month, but couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity of hyping for you all once again. We’re talking about Sâlo: also an up-and-coming, genre-bending, Salford-raised solo star who, like Roukaya, we’re expecting big things from in 2026.
Mixing in everything from drum and bass, as well as other electronic-influenced genres, with her classical piano training, jazz, neo-soul and more, to try and put her in just one category would be pointless. Try out ‘So I Stay’, ‘Give Me Time’, or ‘Yearning’, and you’ll get a different vibe every time.
The child of a family who fled her home country for the safety of Britain, we’d urge you not only to listen to her music but also to learn about her incredible backstory. You can read more down below.
From the new kids on the block to those who’ve been at it for ages at this point, K-Klass ran so that a lot of these young artists could walk, and they’re still going all these decades later. These guys first made it big back in the 1990s, and they’re still showing people how a proper re-up is done.
While they might hail from the likes of Chester and Wrexham, they broke through right here in Manchester at the likes of the legendary Haçienda nightclub and have forgotten more about what it takes to make it in the city’s scene than most will ever learn.
Obviously, they’re still best known for mixes like ‘Rhythm Is a Mystery’ and ‘Let Me Show You’, but we’re glad to see that apart from performing live, they’re also enjoying another fresh period of productivity studio-wise. Case in point:
And finally, on our list for February, our last pick of the month is Lei Hope, an alternative R’n’B artist who was born in Zimbabwe, raised in Leeds, and now based in Greater Manchester. Our aesthetic, if there is such a thing, is one he’s taken to like a duck to water
We love stories like this that put us in mind of other previous artists of the month like Nxdia and so many others who’ve blown up after arriving here. In the case of Lei Hope, a friend who also recently performed at city centre venue Low Four Studio put us on to him, and then we began our deep dive.
Starting with ‘Cranium’ and working backwards, there’s a wonderful softness to the youngster’s work so far; he loves a funky guitar and a fair bit of bass, and there’s definitely some indie-pop pulling focus away from some of those more obvious R’n’B traits. We’re big fans of ’21’, and ‘Day Job’ might be his best yet.
That’s it for Feb; we hope you enjoyed what we, or rather, this city’s incredible talents served up.
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It’s also worth noting that everyone on the lineup for this month has roots not only here in 0161 but all over the UK and beyond.
At a time when we need reminding that people of all colours, creeds and genders help contribute to the incredible creative culture we’re known for the world round, maybe more than ever, we’ll never stop being proud of all the different kinds of people that help put the great in Greater Manchester.
Last but not least, if you want to see who made it on our first round-up of the year, you can find a whole other batch of good listening down below.
Danny Jones -
17th May 2024 
