After continued and increasingly huge success, Day Fever is coming back to Manchester once again this spring and it’s going tobe as brilliant a knees-up as it always is.
For those of you who don’t know, you’re about to.
Co-created by Line of Duty and This Is England star Vicky McClure, as well as Reverend and the Makers frontman Jon McClure (no relation, just a fun coincidence), Day Fever invites fellow veteran floor-fillers all those who remain forever young at heart to indulge in a daytime disco experience.
Essentially, this day into evening party is a welcoming space where adults can relive their glory days on the dance floor without sacrificing their beauty sleep. After all, that precious kip gets more important the older you get, am I right?
Day Fever has become an instant hit here in Manchester. (Credit Supplied)
It’s hard not to be a part of the wellness era that we all seem to have entered since the start of the decade, but if you’re not yet ready to shake off those early carefree and rebellious party days from years gone by just yet, then Day Fever really does make for the best of both worlds.
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Starting at 3pm, the event has a strict curfew of 7pm, so you’ll be back in time to bid adieu to the babysitter or settle in for a few episodes of your favourite series before clocking in those crucial eight hours plus.
Everyone’s seen those AI-generated photos of what workers will look like in 50 years due to the incessant screen time consumption, right? What better way to give those eyes a break and loosen those stiff joints than by dusting off those disco shoes for an afternoon groove?
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As Sheffield-born and bred musician Jon McClure is not only a Northern favourite but, naturally, a bit of a dab hand behind the DJ decks, you can expect nothing but bangers from an equally beloved venue, with New Century Hall returning as willing volunteers for the Day Fever Manchester date.
We spoke to Jon briefly before the most recent run of special New Year’s Eve shows back in December and you could tell how excited he was to see the event going from strength to strength in 2025.
Described as ‘the daytime disco that doesn’t ruin your Sunday’, Day Fever will be an event not to miss with nostalgic TV shows, films and adverts shown on a big screen during the event so you can relive those good old glory days.
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The first Manc date of this year’s programme takes place on 22 March with a following event on 19 April and a third – but hopefully not final – one on 10 May. There are also regular equivalents happening in the likes of Leeds, London, Glasgow and pretty much every major city in the UK now.
Day Fever is steadily becoming more and more massive with each edition, so we’re just keeping our fingers across this just the first handful of many shows in 2025.
You can grab your tickets HERE but be quick about because they’ll be gone before you know it.
Featured Images —Press Shots (supplied via Day Fever UK)
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Harry Styles announced as latest performer at the 2026 BRIT Awards
Danny Jones
Yes, in what is set to be his Co-op Live debut (yes, the venue he’s literally invested in), Harry Styles has been confirmed as the latest blockbuster performer at this year’s BRITs.
The lineup for the 2026 BRIT Awards was already pretty stacked, but this just takes the cake.
Not long after FINALLY announcing his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally and releasing the new lead single, ‘Aperture’, the Cheshire-born singer-songwriter is coming to the Co-op Live arena for the very first time as part of the ceremony’s live music lineup.
Absolute scenes. Screaming, crying, throwing up.
we've got news… Harry's coming home 💋🪩@Harry_Styles will be making his live TV performance debut of music from his new album 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.' at The BRIT Awards 2026
Watch the performance live Saturday 28th February on ITV1 & ITVX in the UK and on… pic.twitter.com/Aax3lV03xM
The 31-year-old former One Direction member turned solo artist and global megastar recently revealed a raft of live shows this coming May (and there’s been plenty of discussion surrounding ticket prices), but he’s sadly overlooked Manchester for now.
However, anyone who already secured a seat at the first-ever BRITs here in Manchester will no doubt be doing cartwheels now following the announcement.
As if that wasn’t a mega enough name, he will be joining the likes of the wonderful, already award-winning and fellow multi-time nominee, Olivia Dean.
As quite literally two of the biggest musicians on the planet right now, we couldn’t pick a better roster if we dreamed it up ourselves.
Speaking of Ms Dean, she is also one of several acts confirmed to be playing a series of intimate acts across the country – and her’s is right here in Manchester.
You can see the full lineup of gigs HERE – all we’ll say is that there’s some seriously big hitters playing very small capacity venues on this list.
What a great few weeks for music, eh?
Taking place on Sunday, 28 February, public tickets for the show unfortunately sold out some time ago for what will also be his first-ever live musical TV performance.
Perhaps his booking is at least partly why we haven’t got a standalone Harry Styles Manchester gig on the ‘Together, Together’ tour, but we’re still keeping everything crossed that he’ll announce a second leg of shows here in the UK.
You’d think he’d fancy properly headlining the gaff he helped pay for, or maybe a return to the Etihad Stadium across the way, right?
Find the complete shortlist of nominees, as well as the rest of the live music lineup for the 2026 BRITs ceremony here in Manchester, down below; and if you see on screen trying to clutch at Harry’s ankles, we’re sure you’ll understand…
Featured Images — Leticia Moraes (via Flickr)/Press shots (supplied)
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Sounds From The Other City releases 2026 lineup with 100+ acts playing on 17 stages across Salford
Emily Sergeant
More than 100 exciting artists are set to perform on 17 stages dotted across Salford this spring.
In case you hadn’t heard, 2026 is the year Salford is celebrating 100 years since it was first declared its own city, and to celebrate such a monumental occasion, the popular Sounds From The Other City (SFTOC) festival has now released its full lineup ahead of its return on the early May Bank Holiday weekend.
Salford’s long-running independent festival of new music is known for its genre-spanning showcase of new artists from across the UK and beyond.
This year’s festival is curated by some of the most exciting promoters, record labels, radio stations, magazines, and tastemakers in the North.
Music lovers will get the chance to see artists in a wide range of independent venues and unconventional spaces across the city – with 17 stages around Chapel Street and The Crescent, from pubs and churches, to concert halls and galleries.
Artists announced today include the uncategorisable masked provocateur Lynks, South African ‘future ghetto funk’ trailblazer Moonchild Sanelly, Manchester-based artist jasmine.4.t, who has recently been named BBC 6 Music Artist of the Year 2025.
Other artists to look out for include Grey Lantern, FaT OuT, ambient pop artist Pollyfromthedirt, genre-straddling South London six-piece, Blue Bendy, South London trio ashnymph, and Manchester quartet Pyncher.
The Sounds From The Other City festival has released its 2026 lineup / Credit: Breige Cobane (Supplied)
One of the undeniable highlights of the lineup is that the spiritual home of the festival, Islington Mill, will be programmed day and night by the legendary Band on the Wall, multi-award-winning Reform Radio, Manchester’s infamous queer day-rave BENT, and the LGBTQ+ POC collective Swagga, with performances from Sorvina, Renee Stormz, and Chimpo.
“This year, we’re shining a spotlight on Salford’s independent venues and the selectors in the North who shape our programme,” commented Emma Thompson, Co-Director of From The Other, as the lineup was announced this week.
“Giving these organisations the space to showcase the artists they champion is vital, not just for discovering emerging talent, but to recognise how important these spaces are for our scene.”
Sounds From The Other City 2026 takes place on Sunday 3 May, and tickets go on sale this week – with Early Bird ticket access available to mailing list subscribers from tomorrow (Thursday 29 January) and the remaining tickets going on general sale from Friday 30 January.
Prices remain unchanged from 2025 with tiers at £30/35/40/45, and you can get tickets when they go live here.
Danny Jones -
7th March 2025 
