We recently popped our heads into the wittily named Withy Groove Records, the new vinyl exchange and all things music that quietly opened up its doors late last year but is now one of the latest hidden gems in the Northern Quarter.
Opening up on the edge of Shudehill on the edge of NQ and just down the road from the Withy Grove Stores buildings (hence the clever little name), the new basement record shop technically began trading in December 2023 but has only just had its front signage completed and the name put above the door.
We especially like the new striking Haçienda-inspired lettering, not that we’re biased towards black and yellow logos or anything…
But seriously though, this little den of old discs, vintage vinyl and music memorabilia is an absolute must-visit for any audiophiles out there.
From the moment you step inside to see the walls lined with countless circles of PVC, iconic album covers and old gig posters, you immediately feel like you’re walking into a player’s paradise and ready to discover a diamond in the rough.
If you’re a regular vinyl collector, the experience will feel familiar and there isn’t necessarily any one thing that makes it feel different from other independent record shops other than the fact it is literally like a bunker built by someone who left society before the invention of the compact disc.
Founder Paul, who owns the unit situated just next door to Rambo’s — Manchester’s iconic and longest-running tattoo parlour — set up Withy Groove as nothing more than a passion project from one music lover to another, i.e. this city as a whole, and we fully expect Mancs to fall in love with this one too.
Housing everything from 60s and 70s rock and roll classics, a healthy stock of psychedelia and genre-bending artists like Frank Zappa, to deep cuts throughout the Manchester music scene, a dedicated ‘rare and collector’s items’ section with some serious valuable issues and more, it’s a gold mine.
Beyond both lesser-known and legendary LPs, you’ll find plenty of 45sin the several boxes of seven-inch singles, books, frames, as well as t-shirts, merch and even an old pair of maracas that Bez would be proud to shake about with the best of them. There really is a bit of everything.
If you like those somewhat rough and ready spaces that don’t need a whole lot of bells and whistles to what they do best, which in this case is buy and sell records, then Withy Groove is a great place to gander the next time you’re feeling all muso and fancy some old fashioned analogue shopping.
In fact, still in their early days, it couldn’t be any more old school in here as it’s strictly cash-only at the minute — but, once again, given the whole vibe of the shop, there’s something very nice and tangible about the physical music experience it taps back into.
If you’re heading out for a really good find on Record Store Day 2024, we definitely recommend you venture into here and, better still, there are some really good new releases and special prints on this year’s list.
The Northern Quarter’s newest record shop gets a thumbs up from us.
Country star Tyler Childers is coming to town for his biggest Manchester show to date
Danny Jones
US country music star Tyler Childers is returning to Manchester for his biggest ever show in this city, and tickets go on sale very soon.
Fresh off the back of his new album, Snipe Hunter – which was only just dropped back in July – the 34-year-old singer-songwriter is riding a fresh wave of excitement after years of hard work within the genre, mixing in plenty of classic bluegrass and folk into his modern take on the classic American sound.
As one of the most-streamed and well-respected contemporary country musicians on the scene right now, the Kentucky-born solo star and understated acoustic guitarist often falls into that category of your favourite artist’s favourite artist.
Now Tyler Childers is coming to our most legendary arena as part of his UK and European tour early next year, and we’ll certainly be queuing online for tickets.
As far as AO Arena shows booked in for the new year go, we’re very excited about this one.
His seventh studio album has been well-received by his die-hard followers and newcomers alike, delivering that same traditional Appalachian storytelling and hard-bitten humour, as well as plenty of attitude and anecdotal idiosyncrasies, not to mention plenty of vocal range as always.
Having not long come back from a pilgrimage to India, Lawrence County king teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin (along with some help from Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn) to create one of his most eye-opening, broad and best records yet.
Post-release, the Associated Press went on to label him “one of country music’s most compelling and unpredictable artists”, and we tend to agree.
The LP immediately spawned plenty of fan favourites, and we certainly have ours – and the video has definitely had a hand in it:
It may just be his best work yet.
Experimenting with his current unique take on country rock sound more than ever, you couldn’t ask for a better time to go and see him live.
Once again, Tyler Childers comes to the AO Arena in Manchester on Sunday, 8 March 2026, with an official pre-sale available via Three+ from 9am on Wednesday, 10 September.
As for general admission, tickets go live at the same time on the following Friday (12 Sep); you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
We don’t know about you, but we’re very much enjoying our country moment at the minute…
Lil Baby cancels entire European tour including Manchester Co-op Live date
Daisy Jackson
A major act at Co-op Live has cancelled their gig today, just weeks ahead of their scheduled appearance.
Rapper Lil Baby has called off his entire European tour, which included a massive gig here in Manchester.
Fans have been notified via email that the shows will no longer be going ahead.
The Grammy award-winning artist was set to play the Co-op Live on Friday 26 September as part of his WHAM World Tour.
But Lil Baby will no longer be performing in Manchester – along with cancelled shows in London and across Europe – due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.
A statement from AXS sent to fans said: “The event organisers have been in touch to let us know that due to unforeseen circumstances, Lil Baby’s performance has now been cancelled.
“We will be automatically refunding your tickets to the method of payment you used to buy your tickets, so you don’t need to do anything further.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
Lil Baby has released four chart-topping albums, with his seminal album My Turn going seven-time Platinum.
Fans have been voicing their dismay at the cancellation of the tour, with one writing on X: “All rappers do is cancel SMH. Lilbaby cancelled tour cba.”
Another wrote: “Why the hell has lil baby cancelled his show.”
Someone on TikTok said: “I woke up to this email now my day is ruined cos Wdymm.”
And someone else posted: “I PURPOSELY TOLD MY PEOPLE NOT GOING ON HOLIDAY FOR MY BDAY BECAUSE LIL BABY PERFORMING IN LONDON ON 27 THE NEXT DAY! FOR HIM TO CANNNNCEEELLLLL 2 WEEKS BEFORE.”
Danny Jones -
16th March 2024 
