In case you haven’t already heard, Stockport is an absolute hive of activity at the minute.
Among the numerous selling points brought to the borough by its recent regeneration are SK1 Records’ now-legendary street parties, which might just be this place’s magnum opus.
Having been voted Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2023, many locals and those less familiar with Stockport might understandably assume the award was largely down to the likes of Foodie Friday, County being back on the up, perhaps, or Blossoms just absolutely smashing on the UK music scene.
That being said, we’d say there’s a very strong argument to be made that one of the biggest and best things about the former Cheshire town (no, for the last time, it isn’t Cheshire anymore) is SK1 Records and their unrivalled street parties.
If you’ve never been to one of these things before, then yes, you’re seriously missing out.
Based out of the record shop located on Underbank in the heart of Stockport’s Old Town, these street parties are some of the most exciting and well-attended events anywhere in the area, with numerous UK DJs, Manc musicians and local Stopfordian artists getting involved.
SK1 Records itself has only been open for a few years, soon to be celebrating its fifth birthday on 18 August, but to mark the occasion and celebrate the record store putting itself firmly on the cultural and underground music map in that time, they’re teaming up with an iconic Manchester club night later this month.
Aficionado is a name you’ll have likely seen on countless posters plastered on pub walls and throughout different venues across town over the past twenty years or so, but for those unaware of its truly special legacy, here’s the gist.
The regular Manc music event, set up by DJs Richard ‘Moonboots’ Bithell and Jason Boardman, started as an alternative to the superclubs that began dominating the industry back in the 90s and have continued to bring unadulterated, accessible and fundamentally free-to-enter club nights to the masses for over two decades now.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder they picked this place for the next date on their calendar.
Since both SK1 Records and Aficionado are approaching important milestone in their respective journeys, the lattermost — which has already popped up in pretty much every music venue you can think of around Greater Manchester over the years — they’ve decided to kill two birds with one stone.
SK1 has held several street parties for the Stockport locals since opening, not to mention many gigs and pop-ups around the Manchester area with the help of Boardman, but this is their first under the Aficionado banner, who just so happen to be celebrating their 25th anniversary as well.
So, with the help of another popular local spot sitting right across the narrow cobbles of Little Underbank Street, The Spinn Off, the trifecta will be coming together for what is set to be one of Stockport’s biggest street parties yet.
Owned by Emmerdale‘s Adam Thomas, the original restaurant over in Gatley which gave the bar its name might have sadly shut last month, but this Underbank boozer is still busy and bouncing, so it only felt right to get them involved with the next big party.
With that in mind, as SK1 Records celebrates its fifth birthday and Aficionado its 25th, the duo will be helping punters dance the night away on Friday, 18 August, with The Spinn Off helping provides drinks and extra tables along with Stockport Market‘s natural wine and craft beer shop, Wine Boy.
‘Nado will also be holding a ticketed event to celebrate their incredible landmark at Escape to Freight to Island on 28 August too but this is their first free event of the year, staying in touch with their roots and also picking the home of Greater Manchester’s biggest and best street party to boot.
The street party itself will run from 6pm to 11pm and there’s also going to be food and snacks courtesy of Cafe Sanjuan, the only Colombian eatery you can currently find in the region, let alone Stockport and. Trust us, this place is worth the hype. It’s going to be a brilliant night.
Better still, we know exactly the place you want to be after the fun at SK1 Records stops…
Rising pop favourite CMAT announces huge headline show in Manchester
Danny Jones
Fast-rising alt-pop favourite CMAT has announced a new show here in Manchester, and as she’s pretty much an honorary Manc at this point, you can expect the tickets to be snapped up in no time.
The Irish singer – real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (erm, duh?) – relocated to 0161 as a 17-year-old back in 2013 to pursue her career in music, and it’s fair to say the move turned out to be a positive one.
First arriving with her old duo Bad Sea, it didn’t take the teenager too long to find a following among her Manchester cousins, and soon, CMAT was considered among the best and up-and-coming artists our city had to offer.
In fact, little else has changed in that respect besides the fact that more and more of the country and, indeed, the world knows about her now, so you can guarantee there’ll be plenty of demand for this new headline concert.
Announcing the big gig at O2 Victoria Warehouse on social media this Friday, 22 August, the Dublin-born ‘Dunboyne Diana’ from County Meath by way of Manchester, CMAT is set for multiple Northern shows over the next six or seven months alone.
The show over in Trafford is one of just half a dozen new shows confirmed in support of her upcoming new LP, Euro-Country, which debuts at the end of the month.
Dropping on Friday, 29 August, her third album follows undoubtedly the biggest year of her career yet, having supported the likes of Sam Fender and having played massive festival slots like Glastonbury this summer.
Other gigs include nights at ‘Ally Pally’ in London, Cork, Edinburgh and more. Commenting on social media amid the new additions, CMAT simply wrote: “Come and see me, CMAT, and The Very Sexy CMAT Band, play our BIGGEST SHOWS EVER next year!”
She actually has a healthy run of live performances coming up this autumn, including one at Manchester Academy One on 4 October – though, as we’ve already warned with this latest date, tickets disappeared faster than you could say, ‘I wanna be a cowboy, baby’.
Admittedly, more than half of those shows have already sold out, but that’s why we’re getting an extra show for our trouble.
If you pre-order my new album from my official store between now and 10pm next Wednesday, you’ll get a code for the artist pre-sale, which opens at 10am on Tuesday August 26.
With new singles ‘Running/Planning’, ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’, ‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’ and even the title track, ‘Euro-Country’, all having already been released since this past March, we’ve already got a decent taste of what’s to come next from Ireland’s finest.
Speaking as long-time listeners ourselves, we can assure you that these songs have gone down as instant hits among the fan base.
Arriving on Thursday, 12 March 2026, you can enjoy the pre-sale window via O2 Priority Access or by pre-ordering her new record, and general admission goes live at 10am next Thursday, 28 August.
Featured Images — Raph_PH (via Flickr)/Press shots (supplied)
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Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour
Emily Sergeant
Olivia Dean has announced she’s set to head out on the biggest UK and Europe headline tour of her career next year.
Fresh off-the-back of supporting the North East’s finest, Sam Fender, on his run of big outdoor gigs this summer – including a massive one at Wythenshawe Park this past weekend – Olivia Dean has now announced her very-own headline tour.
And of course she’ll be making a stop off here in Manchester as she heads around the UK.
The tour announcement comes ahead of the release of her sophmore album, The Art of Loving, which is out next month on 26 September, and follows the release of a collection of singles, including the already high-charting ‘Nice To Each Other’.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter will first head out on a tour of some of the UK’s major cities, before taking on the rest of the continent and visiting cities like Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam along the way.
From her earliest show in 2017 with a crowd of just 70 people, on to three triumphant sold-out nights at the Hammersmith Apollo, Olivia has been firmly building herself powerful live legacy and is already on her way to carving out a legendary path.
On release, the multi BRIT Award nominee’s debut album Messy received widespread critical acclaim and cemented her status as one of the most compelling voices across neo-soul and pop.
Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour / Credit: Jack Davison (Publicity Picture) | The Manc Group
While still relatively early on in her career, Olivia has already earned comparisons to the greats, and 2025 sees her ready to ‘scale up’ and ‘conquer’.
Olivia will kick off her tour next year in April, and will be taking to the stage of Manchester’s newest live entertainment arena, Co-op Live, on Saturday 25 April 2026, following a trip to Glasgow and before two huge gigs at London’s OVO Hydro Arena.
Tickets go on pre-sale at 10am next Wednesday 27 August for Co-op Members, and the general sale will follow on Friday 29 August, again at 10am – with tickets available here.
You can also re-order the album for early access to tickets here.
Featured Image – Gwen Trannoy (Publicity Pictures)
Danny Jones -
10th August 2023 
