One of our favourite music events in all of Greater Manchester is back after a lengthy hiatus and has found a new place to call home: You Are Not Alone returns for 2025 and is coming to the suburbs.
You Are Not Alone (more casually known as YANA) launched back in 2019 as one of the most affordable live music festivals in years, costing only £10 for a wristband that gave you access to multiple venues and dozens of up-and-coming acts.
Holding a super successful second year post-Covid a few years later, the Manc music festival grew to eight venues in the Northern Quarter and well over 70 artists – again, all for just a tenner and with proceeds going to mental health charity, Mind, whose work is at the core of what the event is all about.
Unfortunately, with founder Benji Taylor having been busy with popular Stockport bar Bask and various other projects, the festival had to take a back seat. But fear not, because after nearly three whole years away, YANA is set to return and now right in the heart of the increasingly buzzing town centre.
Announcing the lineup on Friday, 29 November, while the latest event might by scaled back a bit, now spread across four venues whilst still boasting over 30 different artists, You Are Not Alone Festival will make its comeback next March.
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Names already confirmed to be taking part include headliners Denver County Council, who recently featured on our regular Manc bands of the month round-up, as well independent post-punk favourites outfit Dirty Laces, who have grown a passionate cult following since they formed back in 2017.
Other notable names include fellow Manchester natives, Dr Dr – who we’ve also spotlighted plenty in the past – as well as indie rockers, Uno Mas, rising Stopfordians, The Wears and many more.
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With AMP bar and Syndikat two of the biggest and most beloved venues set to host the live performances and more acts still yet to come, SK locals are already buzzing to welcome the music festival as early bird tickets have already sold out.
Having been there for the last event, we can only hope for the same energy this time around.
Leaving the familiar surroundings of the city behind for the first time, You Are Not Alone Festival is moving as close to home as it could possibly be for Taylor, who recently stepped away from his role at Bask to look after himself following a difficult period.
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Born in Heaton Moor, Benji first set up the event to help raise money for mental health awareness after multiple friends sadly took their own lives. His background in the industry through roles in promotion at the likes of Night and Day, Sound Control and Jimmy’s made starting a festival seem like the perfect fit.
Teaming up with Mind from day one, who have bases not only in Manchester but Stockport too, not only does YANA celebrate music’s ability to bring people together but it also helps raise money for crucial services and awareness campaigns, raising over £4,000 thanks to the sophomore event in 2022.
In an effort to contribute right from the off and get people booking their spot for the comeback, the organisers even offered discount prices for World Mental Health Day on 10 October. Just lovely stuff.
The only thing we love more than a live music festival is one that helps do their bit in the process and we can’t think of a better cause that mental health – it remains a crisis here in the UK and across the globe, but events like this can go along way to making a real change.
Taking place on Sunday, 2 March from 1pm onwards, the multi-venue all-dayer will still only set you back £13.75 for full access to see all the talent on show.
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Should you end up securing a ticket, you’ll find the wrnristband exchange at Blackbird Brewhouse and Kitchen (8 Vernon Street, SK1 1TY), which is another one of provided gig space for You Are Not Alone Festival 2025.
‘Powerhouse’ Manchester named in top 10 global cities for music in 2026
Emily Sergeant
The top 10 cities across the globe for music in 2026 have been named, and Manchester has earned its place.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.
From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.
The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.
Manchester has been named in the top 10 global cities for music in 2026 / Credit: Mylo Kaye | Nathan Mullet (via Unsplash)
Last summer was a sensational celebration for Manchester, as an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, took over the city, and the annual Manchester Day was music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.
Oh, and there was also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park in June… in case you don’t remember, somehow (*wink wink*).
These next two months are also set to be huge for Manchester too, given the fact it is hosting both the 2026 BRIT Awards and MOBO Awards, on 28 February and 26 March respectively, for the first time at Co-op Live.
So it would only seem right that our city has earned itself a place in SeatPick‘s top 10 list of global music cities for 2026 – slotting right in there at a respectable number four.
Overall, Manchester claimed a score of 7.90 out of 10, as the city apparently hosts a total of 1,204 concerts per year across 116 venues, and even supports 380 music artists and 72 music-related businesses in the process, as well as hosting 26 different music festivals annually too.
“From indie and electronic to arena-filling acts, Manchester continues to punch above its weight as a powerhouse of British music,” SeatPick said in its new rankings of global music cities.
Other UK cities that feature in the top 10 are London at number two, and Glasgow and Bristol and number eight and nine, while claiming the coveted top spot of the list of global music cities for 2026 is the German capital of Berlin.
“What really stands out in this data is that the best music cities aren’t always the ones with the most artists,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick. “Rather, they’re the ones where live music is tightly woven into everyday life.
“Cities like Berlin and Manchester have fewer artists than London, but higher audience concentration per venue, which typically leads to stronger ticket demand and more consistent sell-outs.”
Featured Image – Vishnu R Nair (via Unsplash)
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First batch of special releases for Record Store Day UK 2026 announced
Danny Jones
Yes, it’s nearly time for Record Store Day 2026, and the list of the first dozen or so limited edition releases here in the UK has just been announced.
With a fair few familiar and, more importantly, Northern names on there (but of course), #RSDUK26 is set to be another great one.
A total of 15 songs have been named on the lineup for this year so far, and yet again, the drops are in support of War Child, who will also be hosting a number of very special and intimate charity gigs during BRITs Week.
The two organisations have collaborated for the sixth time after having first joined forces back in 2020, and it feels like both the annual observance and its catalogue have only got better ever since.
Plenty that have caught our attention already, and there’s only more set to come…
As detailed in the post on social media, the Record Store Day team have retierated that “£1 from every single copy sold of these releases will be donated to the charity, helping to protect, educate, and stand up for the rights of the children who are living through conflict around the world.”
We quickly noticed the likes of The Cure, Fleetwood Mac, Kaiser Chiefs, Mark Knopfler and Bring Me The Horizon, just to name a few.
Once more, here is the RSD 2026 release list in full:
Record Store Day release list | 2026
Corinne Bailey Rae – Live In New York
The Cure – Greatest Hits and Acoustic Hits (compilations)
Divorce – Live at Get Together 2025 for War Child
Dr Feelgood – Oily City Confidential (OST)
Fleetwood Mac – The Original Fleetwood Mac (compilation)
James Dean Bradfield – The Great Western
Kaiser Chiefs – The Future Is Medieval
Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris – ‘All The Roadrunning’
Nicky Wire – Intimism
Primal Scream – Echo Dek
Rory Gallagher – Calling Card
Sigrid x BMTH – ‘Bad Life’
The Streets – Computers & Blues
The Vaccines – What Did You Expect…. Demos and B-sides
As always, all of these titles will be available behind the counter exclusively at indie record shops all over the country on Saturday, 18 April to celebrate Record Store Day UK 2026.
Oh, and if you need help with where to start, look no further.
Danny Jones -
30th November 2024 
