StreamGM, Greater Manchester’s leading not-for-profit streaming service which showcases the biggest, best and newest talent, music and culture from across the region, is hosting a live gig night and housewarming party at their new second home inside The Yardtonight.
Better still, the celebration of the promising new partnership and all of the live performances will be broadcast directly into people’s homes or wherever they’re watching thanks to the multi-award-winning streaming platform.
So, whilst attendance at the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity partnered event is invite-only, thousands of Manc are being urged to join the live stream and enjoy a free virtual gig on the night from the comfort of their living rooms, whilst sat in bed or however they choose to tune in.
Starting from 7pm on tonight (Thursday, 7 December) at one of the city centre’s fastest-growing music and cultural events spaces, The Yard over in Cheetham Hill, some of the most exciting up-and-coming artists from in and around the area will be showcasing why this wonderful place we call Manchester does music better than anyone else.
Headlining the gig will be Hyde-born spoken word and indie hip-hop artist, Antony Szmierek, who released his debut album, Giving Up for Beginners, back in 2021 and has enjoyed not only a sold-out UK tour but plenty of plaudits for his appearances at Glastonbury, Leeds Fest, Bluedot and many other festivals.
ADVERTISEMENT
Compared to ‘Mike Skinner mixed with John Cooper-Clarke’ and dubbed by BBC Radio’s Lauren Laverne as “the best thing I’ve heard all year“, the former special education teacher has notched appearances on Jools Holland and spent several weeks on 6 Music’s coveted top picks as well as Radio 1’s playlists.
Joe Heys, StreamGM’s lead programmer for Welcome to The Yard, will also be DJing on the night under the pseudonym ‘Fries With That’ and has hailed the night as a celebration of the music scene that “shaped and moulded [him] as a person” along with countless others.
Speaking ahead of the live music live-stream, Heys went on to say, “It is such an honour to get the opportunity by StreamGM to showcase the next generation of Greater Manchester’s world-beating music scene.”
As for headliner Szmierek, he said: “I’m so happy to be rounding off a pretty mental year at home and for a cause close to my heart. manchester is a city of poets and dancers and we intend to bring both of those qualities to StreamGM’s event at The Yard and beyond this December”.
ADVERTISEMENT
‘Welcome To The Yard’ premieres on StreamGM at 7pm tonight and, as always, the broadcast will be completely free to watch HERE.
For more information or to enquire about potentially going along to watch the live performances in person, you can get in touch via [email protected]. See you there!
After All 2026 – the affordable grassroots music festival happening in Northern Quarter
Danny Jones
Grassroots music event After All Festival is returning to Manchester this weekend, with rising local artists and affordable tickets.
Now well over half a decade since it was founded, All All Fest takes place in the heart of the Northern Quarter, and this year they’re proving that their slow and steady approach to backing the best new up-and-coming bands at core intimate venues is more important than ever.
With plenty of previous acts having impressed in recent years, we’re looking forward to seeing how 2026 stacks up in comparison to its predecessors.
Increasingly prolific native group Dirty Laces are set to headline the whole thing, Manilla Times are locked in, and Bolton’s very own James Holt also stands out on the lineup, just to highlight a few.
As the festival continues to grow in size and popularity, they have obviously had to scale things up even further this year.
That being said, beloved live music spot and Manc institution, Band on the Wall, is among the chosen arts spaces for this latest iteration.
BoW will be offering up their 500-capacity main room to the organisers for the very first time, serving as the de facto main stage of After All Fest 2026.
Joining them will be the Rose and Monkey next door, as well as cult favourite pub, Gullivers on Oldham Street, who have a long history of supporting local musicians and the arts in general.
And would you look at that, now you’ve got all the stage splits and set times, too.
Labelled by Dead Records’ Rob Fiddaman as “one of the UK’s most exciting new music festivals”, homegrown DJing legend Dave Sweetmore has also described it as “unique in so many ways”, hailing it as a “brilliant event with a great atmosphere to discover new music.”
Having been ourselves on multiple occasions since its inception in 2019 – both as Audio North off-duty and as punters before then – we can’t recommend it highly enough.
The latest edition takes place at 12 noon onwards this Saturday until 2am on Sunday, 17 May, and while the cheapest early bird tickets (£16.50) are long gone, general admission tickets are still available, with prices starting from just £20. Grab yours HERE before they sell out.
It’s not the only live music event worth being a part of this month…
Global girl group Katseye add Manchester to huge new world tour
Daisy Jackson
Katseye have announced a major arena world tour for this year – and the global girl group are coming to Manchester for the first time.
The pop superstars will be performing at the Co-op Live as part of their WILDWORLD TOUR, which is taking them right across the UK, Europe and North America.
Katseye formed through The Debut: Dream Academy, which narrowed 120,000 applicants down to just six talented singers and dancers – though the group will be touring as a five-piece this time (Manon Bannerman has taken a hiatus from the band).
The Los Angeles-based global girl group, formed by HYBE and Geffen Records, merges K-pop dance training with Western pop sounds, with members hailing from across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and beyond.
The group is currently made up of Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, and Yoonchae Jeung.
Katseye have not yet released a full studio album but have achieved major commercial success with songs like Gabriella, Pinky Up, Gnarly, and Internet Girl.
The group have already performed a major slot at Coachella, as well as taking the stage at the GRAMMY Awards this year where they were also nominated for two awards (including Best New Artist).
Katseye will be releasing their third EP, WILD, this summer ahead of their world tour, which reaches Manchester in September.
Tickets will first be on sale via a Weverse Artist Presale from 11am on Wednesday 20 May, followed by the Katseye.World presale from 3pm.
Fans can also register for presale access by pre-ordering Katseye’s new EP WILD or by signing up – no purchase necessary.
General sale will begin at 3pm on Thursday 21 May HERE.
Katseye WILDWORLD Tour – UK and European dates
1 September – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
3 September – London, UK – The O2
6 September – Manchester, UK – Co-Op Live
9 September – Paris, France – Accor Arena
11 September – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
Danny Jones -
7th November 2023 
