Manchester has a new Cloudwater bar in the unlikeliest of places – and this week it’s showing off its Manchester music credentials with a massive party.
Located at Low Four on Deansgate Mews, it’s also home to a music venue, recording studio and online music TV platform – proving that one venue really can be all things to all people.
The Mews, a stretch of indie bars, restaurants and bakers at the top of the Great Northern Warehouse is probably one of the most overlooked places in Manchester city centre due to its lack of passing footfall – but now we’ve got another reason to visit.
Image: Low Four
Quietly opened in September this year, the Low Four studio – previously based at Old Granada Studios – has worked with a host of impressive artists including the likes of Everything Everything, Alexis Taylor, GoGo Penguin, Dutch Uncles, the Halle Orchestra and Francis Lung.
Having launched earlier this year with a special performance from Francis Lung, who showcased six new songs from his second album Miracle in an intimate preview session, the venue is now gearing up for a big party – due to take place this Thursday, 18 November.
Low Four alumni Francis Lung / Image: Low Four
Held in collaboration with Design Manchester, Low Four will host the closing DM21 party with a stellar line-up curated by Poppy Ro Jones of band Lovescene.
The night will bring forward sets from Manchester’s own Meme Gold and Jenna G (of Jenna and the G’s fame), alongside a performance from exploding soul scene, neo-soul collective Lovescene itself.
Kicking off from 6pm, it will close off a week of limited series of real-world and virtual events focusing on local and global co-design by communities and creatives.
Image: Low Four
Those heading down can expect an evening of great beer, floor-filling beats and more as not-for-profit organisation Design Manchester/s 2021 festival draws to a close.
Throughout 2021, Design Manchester has focused on global collaborations, delivering hybrid projects with people and communities around the world, linking diverse communities, designers and artists.
Partners include Nairobi Design Week, Shenzhen Fringe Art Center, SICK! Festival, 2NQ, MODA-FAD in Barcelona and universities in Manchester, Salford, Reading, York, Birmingham, Barcelona, Milan, Dortmund and Stuttgart, in a programme supported by the British Council and Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Featured image: Low Four
City Centre
Brand new venue confirmed as the host of The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness
Danny Jones
The magnificent Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness is back this year, and with the 2025 event fast approaching, they have announced arguably their biggest host venue yet, setting up in camp in a brand new food and drink hall.
Having housed the incredible charity gathering from Freight Island last year, it was always going to take some beating this time around, but somehow they’ve managed to.
The annual relay run in aid of Greater Manchester’s homeless community will be taking place at none other than the city centre’s recently unveiled House of Social, with the building’s wider student living quarters serving as the perfect fit for the initiative first thought up by university friends back in 2018.
Announced this week, House of Social will be teaming up with the wider First Street neighbourhood to look after the hordes of incredible runners this year.
Jamie Hills, Development Director at Ask Real Estate – who operate the ever-growing First St complex – said of volunteering as this year’s hosts: “First Street is thrilled to welcome and fuel the incredible runners of The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness.
“As the city’s hotspot for community events and culture, we’re proud to be a place where community thrives, so we’re incredibly excited to support this important initiative. With our fantastic on-site amenities like House of Social, we’re ready to keep those participating powered up and going strong!”
As for co-founder Tom Lewis, speaking to The Manc, he said: “We’re excited to return for our 7th edition, with Manchester being our flagship event.
“Through being hosted at House of Social in First Street, we’re hoping to make this year’s edition the best and biggest yet, aiming to raise £50,000 for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity Scheme, ‘A Bed Every Night’.
“We’d love to see you all at the event, plus bring your friends and workplace to. There are paces for everyone, including walking laps.”
In November 2024, not only did the fundraising phenomenon mark its first-ever expansion with an inaugural event in Birmingham, but it also surpassed £50,000 here in Manchester alone, and is now set to make debuts in a trio of new cities.
Tom went on to add: “I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve managed to accomplish as a team with starting up three more events across the country this year and expanding Manchester to a scale we couldn’t have dreamed of when we started out seven years ago.”
We here at The Manc Group have been helping The MCR 24 Run Against Homelessness for several years now, and have put in plenty of those 5k laps between ourselves, so you can bank on us being there to put in some more hard yards this November.
Even better still, we’ve already roped in our friends over at The Hoot to help out with the maiden 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness in Leeds, and we hope to see lots more of you chipping in across the North and beyond.
Here’s to helping rough sleepers find beds and get back on their feet all over the country.
The @mcr24hourrun is expanding in 2025 and is heading to Leeds for the first time. 🏃♂️
And they're not the only city making their debut this year either… 👊
Darts returns to Manchester as Premier League dates are confirmed for 2026
Danny Jones
The schedule for the 2026 Premier League Darts tour has been officially announced, with the PDC’s annual championship returning to Manchester once again.
PDC Premier League fixtures continue to grow in popularity both in TV figures and live match attendance, with a whole new generation of fans getting into ‘the arrows’.
Just as it has for decades now, league darts is coming back to Manchester city centre and the legendary AO Arena once again, with our date landing right in the middle of the season.
Booking a big night right in the middle of a crucial period in the competition? It sounds like 0161 is set to welcome another blockbuster night up at the oche.
Confirmed on Thursday, 11 September, next year’s PDC Premier League Darts campaign will get underway in February, spanning the course of four months and eight countries.
Of the European cities on the circuit, the tournament will be heading to Belgium for the very first time, as the AFAS Dome in Antwerp replaces Exeter.
Elsewhere on the continent, there are two other mainland evenings in Germany and the Netherlands, along with multiple Northern dates here in the UK, such as Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.
As for Manchester, we’ve been selected for round nine of 17 (including the finals), with the AO Arena set to welcome multiple favoured competitors from the North West, including 18-year-old phenomenon Luke Little from down the road in Warrington, as well as Stockport’s very own Nathan Aspinall.
It was an unforgettable experience for Aspinall last time around in his local event, as he finally managed to win a PDC Premier League night on home turf for the first time in his career.
Those hoping to enjoy a night of darts in front of a Manchester crowd on April 26, 2026, still have to be patient for now, as general admission is still a little way off.
However, if you are interested, you can sign up for the AO’s newsletter to find out more information and get yourself on the waiting list early.
Better, if you go straight through the PDC, you can throw your hat in the ring for the presale window right now and be first in line to grab tickets when they go live.
You can do so HERE and, until then, get your signs and fancy dress at the ready because we’ll be heading back to the ‘boring, boring tables’ soon enough.
See the 2026 PDC Premier League Darts schedule in full down below:
Georgina Pellant -
17th November 2021 
