Art & Culture

Manchester City’s Nathan Aké donates piano to grassroots music venue

How wholesome is this?

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia - 2nd April 2025

Footballer and Manchester City star Nathan Aké has donated a piano to an iconic city centre grassroots venue in Manchester.

To celebrate ‘International Piano Day’, the Dutch defender has teamed up with legendary instrument-makers Casio by donating a state-of-the-art piano in one very lucky music venue.

Aké and Casio are donating pianos across the UK through their joint project titled ‘Playing For Change’.

The iconic grassroots venue that’s receiving this prestigious instrument is none other than Band on the Wall, which has been pumping out live music under this name since 1975.

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Processed with VSCO with kp5 preset
Credit: Supplied

This new addition will help the venue as a whole, but more importantly, it will come in very handy for their Saturday Music Club.

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Running every weekend, this session helps young people discover music and develop their skills, now via the fantastic PX-S7000 Casio piano.

Band on the Wall is a much-loved and adored Manchester city centre music institution, and they aren’t the only place benefitting from the Manchester city star and Casio.

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So far, 12 disadvantaged schools in the UK have benefitted from this joint effort from Aké and Casio, all of which were surprised with their very own digital piano.

This newest partnership won’t come as a surprise to fans of the Man City centre-back, as he’s been known to play the piano since teaching himself in 2020, and now he’s spreading his love of music to communities nationwide.

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Neil Evans, Head of Casio EMI, commented: “It’s exciting for us to support Band on the Wall with a gift of a brand new Privia piano.”

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“We’re hoping it’s used often and inspires people into learning the piano and increasing their access to the joys of music, which is at the core of Playing For Change.”

As for Aké, while he might be sidelined for the foreseeable following surgery on a fractured foot, the Netherlands international will hopefully be able to get lots of practice playing those keys.

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

Featured Images — Publicity Picture (via Supplied)/pantkiewicz (via Flickr)

Art & Culture

Influential indie veterans The Wedding Present to embark on 40th anniversary tour

Danny Jones Danny Jones Wedding Present Manchester gig date tickets

Influential indie band The Wedding Present are about to begin a big live tour across the UK for their 40th anniversary, and one stop is right here in Manchester.

As boundary-pushing veterans of the genre for the best part of four decades, The Wedding Present have always been one of the most pioneering auteurs of the Northern music scene, and nothing has changed even after all this time.

The Leeds-formed icons are a favourite not only of ours but even more so among our friends over at The Hoot, and with an artistic legacy as strong as Yorkshire’s, that’s saying something.

David Lewis Gedge’s long-standing project rather quietly announced its major retrospective series of live shows back in June – so quiet, in fact, that we missed it until now – but as they gear up for a handful of very special dates, we’d urge Manc gig-goers to give themselves a Wedding Present.

Gedge and co. will be coming to the O2 Ritz in Manchester for just the second show of merely half a dozen confirmed for The Wedding Present 40th Anniversary Tour, having played the venue many times.

In fact, even after visits featuring live configurations over the years, the current lineup played the Ritz as recently as May 2023; the show was met with strong reviews pretty much across the board, and it seemed to signal somewhat of a falling back in love with the crowds of the North.

For anyone unaware of the self-styled ‘semi-legendary band’ (their PR’s words, not ours), The Wedding Present are probably in similar territory to fellow underdogs and Manc natives, James, when it comes to the amount of music they’ve put out over the years, inspiring generations of those who came after.

You might assume we’d name one of their most famous tracks, ‘George Best’, as our favourite, for rather obvious reasons – but you’d be wrong: it doesn’t get much better than ‘Dreamworld’, if you ask us.

Their rich back catalogue encompasses not only so many different eras but also sounds, styles and various other eccentricities; so much so that their multi-genre-spanning music has even produced its own musical.

But before we dive any deeper down into the rabbit hole, let’s get back on track.

Set to play Manchester on Friday, 10 October, The Wedding Present will be kicking off the tour in Bristol at the start of next month.

There are other dates in the likes of Sheffield, Liverpool, Chester, Holmfirth, Buxton, Newcastle and more, but only a few are officially part of the anniversary tour.

Tickets are live as we speak, so if you fancy going along to see them, you can grab yours HERE.

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

Featured Images — Karl Kathuria (supplied)

Art & Culture

A unique Manchester attraction is offering FREE entry to anyone who shares its ‘birthday’ month

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

One of Manchester’s most unique attractions is offering free entry for two weeks to celebrate its first birthday.

But there’s a catch… free entry is only granted to people born in one specific month.

Museum of Illusions – which is is one of the largest and fastest-growing private museum chains – is celebrating the first birthday of its debut UK attraction in Manchester this September by giving away free tickets to anyone who shares its birthday month.

Since opening on Market Street in 2024, Museum of Illusions has welcomed more than 200,000 visitors through its doors to experience the dozens of mind-bending illusions and interactive exhibits inside, and has quickly established itself as one of the city’s top attractions in what is a very competitive market.

Manchester’s Museum of Illusions is celebrating its first birthday / Credit: Supplied

Loved by locals and tourists alike, the museum blends fun and education for visitors of all ages, and is fully-accessible too, ensuring everyone can enjoy the fun.

Manchester‘s Museum of Illusions is not only the first in the UK, but it’s also the second-largest in Europe, just behind Copenhagen – so yes, it’s a pretty big deal.

To mark the milestone and celebrate its first anniversary, visitors born in September can enjoy free entry to the museum from Monday 22 September through to Friday 3rd October (excluding weekends).

All they need to do to access this offer is show a valid ID when they arrive.

The museum will also be dressed for the occasion too, adding a birthday touch to its already-captivating mix of optical illusions and immersive exhibits.

“Manchester has truly embraced the Museum of Illusions, and we’re so grateful for all the support we’ve had in our first year,” commented Steve Buchan, who is the General Manager at the Museum of Illusions in Manchester.

The unique attraction is offering free entry to anyone who shares its birthday month / Credit: Supplied

“Welcoming over 200,000 visitors in just 12 months has been incredible. 

“Free tickets to anyone celebrating their birthday in September feels like the perfect way to give something back. It’s our way of saying thank you for the incredible support, and of course, to invite even more people to experience the fun, curiosity, and wonder the museum brings.”

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Is your birthday in September? You can visit the Museum of Illusions in Manchester anytime from Monday 22 September – Friday 3rd October (excluding weekends).

Featured Image – Supplied

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