A new independent arts venue will open below the arches at Manchester Central in May.
53Two Bar has been launched to support local artists, creators and producers after what has been a very difficult year for the creative industry.
Opening in a Grade-II listed heritage site beneath the former train station, the 150-capacity bar will be a ‘community hub’ for the arts sector – serving coffee and cakes during the day and drinks and live entertainment at night.
The venue is also supporting local producers by serving beer from local breweries and pasties from Bolton-based HM Pasties – as well as a range of support services for people working in the industry.
53Two Bar will also operate as an ‘artists members club’ after 11pm where creative industry workers can relax for a late-night drink.
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A day of excitement for the team! Opening day announced! This is the bar only but a huge step for us. The 30th May is our first public night but we have 3 VIP invite nights before that so eyes peeled for a special invite. We can’t wait to see you! 💜💙https://t.co/CkfCdRh3yupic.twitter.com/uIEYXLI4Te
Ahead of its official launch, the space will be used as a studio and private cinema room for streaming live performances and plays.
Simon Naylor, Director of 53Two said: “53Two Bar will continue our tradition of creating an inclusive, accessible place for Manchester – full of laughter, creativity and conversation.
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“Everyone’s welcome, especially anyone working in the arts who has struggled during lockdown.”
The 53Two Bar will open on May 30.
Featured image: 53Two
Art & Culture
Stage and Radio issue defiant statement in response to concerning development plans
Danny Jones
Manchester centre bar, music venue, and nightlife institution, Stage and Radio, has shared an impassioned and defiant statement in the face of proposed plans to be built next to the venue.
And when we say next to, we mean next door – and by that we mean practically on their doorstep, not to mention that of other local businesses.
Situated within one of the city’s most important creative and cultural hubs, in the form of the Northern Quarter, the gig space, club and popular meeting place finds itself under serious threat.
Speaking in the accompanying caption, they said: “Comment below and we’ll DM you a link to take action (It’s also in our bio!).”
They go on to say, “We’re urgently asking for the public to support Stage & Radio by voicing concerns by 10th June 2026 about a future development going up within a few meters of the venue.”
Unsurprisingly, the post has been met with an outpouring of not only shared rage, frustration and confusion, but more importantly, they’ve received a huge amount of support in the comments, too.
Fellow Manc favourite nighttime venue, Hidden, added, “Sit tight @stageandradiomcr you’re not going anywhere; meanwhile, several people across multiple sites have simply written, ‘Stage and Radio 4 Life.”
New developments and residential ventures continue to pop up all over the city and surrounding regions, as they always will, but these potential additions don’t look to be very welcome under the current proposals – a similar case has been made for the regeneration of Chorlton Cross Shopping Centre.
Lots of people are excited by the idea, but not everyone is in total agreement that the prospect of adding new, much taller and likely expensive properties into the mix is what’s best for the area.
Demolition and regeneration plans for a former shopping centre in a popular Manchester suburb are set to begin next month. 🌆🔨
As for Stage and Radio, we’ve had the pleasure of spending a fair few late nights there (not to mention well into the early hours of the next morning) over the years.
Releasing a direct statement to The Manc and Audio North, they told us: “We are deeply concerned about whether residential flats positioned directly beside an established grassroots music venue can realistically provide appropriate residential amenity and conditions suitable for long-term human habitation, while also protecting an existing venue from future conflict.”
S&R also noted these circumstances are not entirely unlike those that have jeopardised the future of fellow NQ neighbours and live music venue, Night and Day Cafe, in recent times.
The countdown is now ticking away for Stage and Radio – quite literally, as you can see by the banner now showing on the homepage of their website.
If you want to help save not just this venue but the culture, community and artistic scene it stands for, you can sign the protest petition and get involved in the fight right HERE.
The best Northern music artists of the month | May 2026
Danny Jones
Hello again, long time no see, eh? Well, not really, it was only this time last month, but we are back not just with fresh music suggestions for you, but something new full-stop.
For a few years now, we’ve simply rounded up some of the best bands and artists coming out of Greater Manchester on here, and we’ve loved every single song of it.
But with The Manc Group‘s now dedicated music page, Audio North, not just becoming a beast all of its own, but having got underway with a fully-fledged ‘Artist of the Month’ series, it only made sense to merge the two and start singing the praises of names from as many regions as possible.
These regular lists will still always be Northern, but from here on out, you’ll be getting much more than just Mancunian musicians to wrap yourselves around. Let’s get this thing started.
Five Northern artists we’ve been listening to lately
1. Holly Rolfe
Where else to start this reworked round-up than with Audio North‘s very own singularly selected Artist of the Month for May, Leeds’ Holly Rolfe, who is a self-confessed pop girlie looking to take on not just the North, but the UK and who knows where else next.
We’ve been lucky enough to chat and create content with her on multiple occasions over the last few weeks, and we daren’t try and choose favourite tracks so early in her career, but we will shout out that EDM feature on ‘I’ll Come Back To You’ by Rameses B. Give her a go and thank us later.
Now, as always with these monthly listicles, it isn’t necessarily always up-and-coming artists that focus on; so long as there’s new music or new discoveries being made, and we’re more than over the moon to tell you that Northern cult favourites The Coral have released their 13th studio album – and it’s great.
The Merseyside five-piece have returned with what may have just become our new go-to summer soundtrack for 2026. The opener ‘Let The Music Play’ is a great introduction to this latest rocksteady style, as is ‘Ride That Train’ – and ‘Leave It In The Past’, actually…
Just listen to the whole thing.
We’re delighted that our brand new album ‘388’ is OUT NOW, recorded live in the studio to a Tascam 388 tape machine.
One of all the ‘alt kids’ among the audience, Safeguard are a fast-growing, no-nonsense pop-punk outfit from Leeds, and they’ve got all the grit you’d expect from a Yorkshire band, only with those obvious noughties and 2010s American influences.
They’re actually coming up on a decade together, but now they’re gaining some real ground. If you like early Story So Far or Neck Deep, you’ll get on just fine with this lot, and as for recommendations, start nice and easy with ‘Sweetpea’ or ‘You Will Reappear’ and work your way backwards to ‘Harbour’ etc.
Second from last this month, we’re going for the ever-rising Royston Club, who hail from just across the border in Wrexham – with an English contingent, mind you – and are absolutely nailing it on the indie rock scene at the moment. We’ve seen them before, but our recent live experience has left us obsessed.
We were left pretty blown away by the energy they brought to the party this late May bank holiday at NBHD Weekender 2026 (full review HERE), and you can tell that they’ve stepped up a level in almost every aspect. ‘Shivers’, ’52’ and, of course, ‘Cariad’ – simple as.
Last but not least for this new format, we’re shouting Sheffield underdogs, The Rosadocs, who have remained largely under the radar but deserve much more, as far as we’re concerned. Striking a similar balance between alt-rock and indie, these lads have a great sense of drama about them to our ears.
Notably, Keelan Graney’s vocals range somewhere between fellow Yorkshireman Alex Turner and Frank Carter, only maybe with a little bit more pitch, bravado and almost Scottish twang (?), somehow. Our first track was ‘No.54’, but ‘Cross To Bear’ is a beautiful ballad, and ‘Stand Alone’ is fit for festival crowds.
Anna Willis -
23rd April 2021 
