Audio

The best music events happening this weekend in Manchester

Car park raves, seated clubbing and group tickets are all on the agenda these days, with promoters attempting to find ways to keep local live music going.

Hannah Starkie Hannah Starkie - 10th September 2020
Progress Centre

Manchester remains under lock and key right now, with many of the city’s most popular venues unable to open due to government restrictions.

But thankfully, some innovative promoters have found a safe way to keep the local music scene alive.

Car park raves, seated clubbing and group tickets are becoming “the new normal”, shall we say *rolls eyes*.

But whatever you want to call this weird era we’re living in, there’s actually plenty to keep you occupied this weekend.

Here’s our round up below.

ADVERTISEMENT

90s Dance Anthems/Ibiza Classics at Park N Party at Event City – September 11 and 12

Park N Party

Ibiza lives on in a Trafford car park this weekend.

We never thought we’d say that, but there you go.

ADVERTISEMENT

If you can’t make it to the White Isle this year, let Park ‘N’ Party transport you to the beach for the reasonable price of £35 per car.

Drive up, get out and dance in your own socially distanced square.

Rozalla, Kelly Llorenna and DJ Kuta will soundtrack the weekend with Ibiza club hits past and present. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Get your designated driver ready and book your tickets here. 

Animal Crossing at Big Red Cafe – September 12

New Big Red Cafe site

Who’s up for a day sesh?

Animal Crossing is throwing a house and minimal party at a new open-air location, the Big Red Cafe.

We’re not sure exactly where the cafe is yet. But we do know it’s just outside the city centre and that – if Animal Crossing’s previous get-togethers are anything to go by – it’ll be an 11-out-of-10 kind of event.

Tickets have to be bought in groups.

ADVERTISEMENT

So, plan ahead and get them here. 

Zutekh x Jika Jika Courtyard Party at Progress Centre – September 12

Progress Centre

In an unassuming courtyard in Ardwick lies the Progress Centre.

The socially distanced venue has some top events coming up – like the Zutekh Courtyard Party this Saturday. The industrial feel of Progress Centre will certainly scratch the rave itch.

It’s outdoors with a limited capacity and everyone has their own section to stick to.

Again, tickets have to be bought in groups and you need to arrive together. But, that’s not much to ask in return for a mint day.

ADVERTISEMENT

Kaluki at Social Avenue – September 13

Social Avenue

If you fancy ending the weekend on a high – Archie Hamilton and Ben Sterling are playing Social Avenue on Sunday.

Manchester DJs Pirate Copy, Luke Welsh and Mike Morrisey will join them as Kaluki returns for another socially-distanced bash.

The Trafford Park venue continues to smash out these sell-out events, week after week.

The Social Avenue boys have got it sussed.

Final tickets here. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Night Pubbing at Factory – September 14

Factory

Factory is launching its Night Pubbing concept on Monday.

It’s their take on COVID night clubbing. All three floors will be open, meaning there’ll be music for everyone’s taste. (You’ll find me on the top floor, just saying). 

It sounds simple enough. Head here to pick your time, your floor and your table capacity. It works out around £10 per person. You’ll get entry, the table, plus a free drink and a shot with the ticket. Who doesn’t love free booze?

This is not Factory as we know it. But, it’s the next best thing right now.

Just in time for freshers, as well. 

Stay up-to-date with the latest local music news via The Manc Audio. Follow Audio on Instagram here.

Audio

Five Greater Manchester-based music artists you should listen to | April 2026

Danny Jones Danny Jones Best new Manchester music bands and artists to check out

Ay up, you lot – we’re back with another box office batch of music from in and around Greater Manchester for you to get your teeth stuck into.

We’d like to think you know the deal by now, but if not, here’s a quick rundown for you…

Every month, we look back on the local bands and artists, either hailing from or now based in the area, that are spending regular time in our rotation.

It doesn’t matter if they’re still just young prospects or they’ve been at it for decades: if it’s good and it’s been in our ears, it goes on the list. Ready? Let’s go, then.

Five Manc bands and artists we’ve been listening to recently

1. Harry Lyon

First up is April’s cover star: the wonderfully talented Harry Lyon, who is another born and bred and now quietly plying his trade here in Greater Manchester and already showcasing a great level of versatility early in his career.

He moved to the city from Sheffield not too long ago, and his creative output has only ramped up since he got here. Toying with everything from alt-pop/indie to straight singer-songwriter stuff that wouldn’t sound out of place on the radio, his often R’n’B-esque vocals mean he can turn to multiple styles.

We actually lucky enough to bump into him in person earlier this month over in Stretford, and you’ll be glad to hear he’s also as sound a person as we hoped he’d be; he even teased a new single on the way, but for now, we’ll recommend ‘Violet’, ‘Backwards’ and the piano version of ‘While We’re Still Young’.

In fact, he does acoustic versions for most of his songs, and a fair few of them genuinely rival the originals in their own way.

@harrylyonmusic

Can't a guy worry about violet in peace

♬ original sound – Harry Lyon

2. Black Grape

From an up-and-comer to some Manc veterans that often get overlooked in the shadow of their even longer-standing and more well-known predecessors, but we’re going to go out on a limb and say something controversial here… We think we might prefer Black Grape to Happy Mondays.

Before you bite our heads off, let us explain: while the Mondays are obviously way more iconic and had a huge influence on the overall Madchester scene, we would argue that their progenic spin-off are almost a more honed evolution of at least some of what the Ryders and co. first created a buzz around.

Not only do the likes of ‘Kelly’s Heroes’, ‘Nine Lives’, ‘String Theory’ and more have so much more guitar in them (which will always score extra points for me), but more importantly, there is so much more successful experimentation with different instruments, cultural sounds and blends of energy.

It can be hard to know where to start, but those three examples aren’t bad options, and ‘In The Name of The Father’ is also such a vibe – we’re hoping we see it on the setlist for Outwards Fest next month.

3. Hungry

For fans of Sports Team, Spangled, Deadletter, and pretty much any current post-punk pioneers, these former students who originally hail from Cambridgeshire but have come up in and around the local rock scene have been making a splash for a little while, and now it feels like things are hitting a fever pitch.

Sometimes the idiosyncratic lyrics put you in mind of rising Oldham star, Seb Lowe; there’s even one intro that could be the start of a more upbeat and melody-forward King Krule, and you even get notes of Slaves/Soft Play at times. Whatever you hear, personally, you won’t find a bad song – we haven’t yet.

As the lyrics on ‘Are You The Best Yet?’ state, some of this stuff literally makes our knees go weak. We can’t remember the last time a band came around that has you eagerly awaiting the inevitable guitar break, let alone when you fully lock into one and pull a face (we’ve all got our own).

They’re so, SO good, and they help prolong some songs that, while brilliant, could feel more like fast-paced flashes in the pan without them. It all amounts to something extra and ups an already healthy dose of swagger: that’s definitely what you get on the recent ‘Cambridge Is On Fire’ and most of their tracks.

4. Dead Stilettos

In at number four is another one to watch within the genre. Some industry figures have equated them to the likes of the Amyl and the Sniffers, Lambrini Girls, Viagra Boys, and so on, but we think there’s a much cooler sense of darkness going on with their approach – however familiar the repetitive guitar playing and aggressive, shouty vocals may be.

Luckily, their discography – not unlike that of their aforementioned punky peers – isn’t that extensive just yet, so you can easily work your way through all their releases soon enough, and they’ve also got a big gig at White Hotel coming up just after they drop their debut LP, Hodge Podge. Watch this space…

Our present picks would be ‘American Boy II’, ‘Marina’ for the foreboding sense of build and that central riff alone, and you simply have to listen to their latest single, ‘Creeping Offences’, which, understandably, is the best track in terms of production they’ve dropped yet.

We want to see them live before passing any decisive judgement, but we like what we’re seeing so far.

5. A Certain Ratio

Now, we’ve touched on electronic-influenced alternative group in Black Grape, but what about another truly influential act from within that fluid space? Probably one of your bands/favourite DJ’s favourite artists, whether you know it or not, A Certain Ratio were tastemakers long before even they knew.

If the previous two are post-punk, then these lot are the funkier forerunners, known for their trademark muted strumming patterns, heavily distorted, codified and multi-layered mixes, ACR have been going nearly half a century now, and they were doing all this stuff long before virtually anyone else.

You’ll inevitably fall down a bit of a rabbit hole listening to their stuff, but ‘All Comes Down To This’ is a good starting point, and ‘1982’ has always made us think of what a Doctor Who-themed rave might sound like.

Oh, and purely because it still sticks with us as an eye-opening first listen, it really doesn’t get much better than this one:

And once again, that’s all she wrote.

We hope you dive into at least some of these names over the long bank holiday weekend, as three uninterrupted days of listening couldn’t have timed any better.

As always, if you have any local shouts that you think we need to get on like yesterday, please let us know in the comments; it’s also worth checking out our new dedicated monthly and regional artist spotlight series over on Audio North.

Last but not least, be sure to check out last month’s list down below, and we’ll catch you again for another load of listening at the end of May!

Five Greater Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this past month | March 2026

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shot/Lucy Craig)/Southdown Sessions (screenshot via YouTube)

Audio

Billie Eilish reveals the reason why she chose Manchester to film her new movie

Danny Jones Danny Jones Billie Eilish on filming new live tour content movie in Manchester

Global superstar Billie Eilish has revealed the reason why she chose Manchester, of all places, to film her upcoming new movie.

The answer won’t surprise you, but we were buzzing with it nonetheless.

In case you were unaware, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour is the new documentary and live concert film directed by Billie herself, along with some help from none other than James Cameron.

Being screened not only in cinemas but also in 3D (yes, that’s still a thing), the performance-based movie captures content taken from her run of gigs right here in Manchester. Here’s why she picked us:

Though it’s still no surprise, really, we always find it so surreal seeing some of the world’s most famous artists speaking so highly about our city.

As you can see, while she did quip that the schedule lined up production-wise, it was an easy decision to pick her four – yes, FOUR sold-out nights at Co-op Live, as the place to film the project based on the atmosphere alone.

“I fricking love Manchester”, said the 24-year-old, going on to add, “Honestly, Manchester is one of my favourite audiences ever.”

Manc fans simply couldn’t get enough of her, hence why she was able to book so many big dates at the massive arena.

Here’s the big surprise she brought out for the show we were lucky enough to be at:

We love Billie and, as it turns out, she feels the same about us.

The release date for Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft tour movie is coming around early next month, with the film set to be screened in selected cinemas across the UK and beyond on May 8, 2026.

Speaking in the recent interview on the red carpet with the BBC, she also detailed how fellow Academy Award-winner Cameron contacted her first about the prospect of creating this immersive music project.

Imagine just picking up the phone to James Cameron – as you do…

Will you be watching? Better still, were you at one of the shows and plan to look out for yourself in the crowd, which is now soon to be splashed on the big screen?

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group

More Audio

Manchester's very own Interplanetary Criminal announces major headline Warehouse Project show

Audio

Manchester’s very own Interplanetary Criminal announces major headline Warehouse Project show

Aespa Manchester show tickets 2027 AO Arena

Art & Culture

All-girl K-pop powerhouse aespa book MASSIVE Manchester arena show

The Golden Lion in Todmorden

Audio

Music industry rallies around pub and music venue as it’s hit with ‘malicious’ noise complaints

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches