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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Manchester set for its busiest weekend of the year with pop-up Park and Rides to open
Emily Sergeant
Pop-up Park and Ride facilities are set to open as Manchester prepares for what’s expected to be its busiest weekend of the year.
The festive season in the run up to Christmas always sees more people flock to the city centre than usual, but this weekend will likely be even busier than expected, as not only are Manchester Christmas Markets still in full swing, but there are also a number of gigs, live festive shows, and major sporting events coinciding with this.
So in a weekend that sees legends gigging and the Manchester Derby take place, as you would expect, thousands are predicted to flock to Manchester city centre and Etihad Campus.
Manchester Christmas Markets are in full swing and Paul McCartney will be at Co-op Live this weekend / Credit: The Manc Group | Wikimedia Commons
Because of this, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is taking action and encouraging people to dodge the likely congestion and use public transport instead where possible – with pop-up Park and Rides set to be introduced for weekend shoppers and fun-seekers who do want or need to drive.
On Saturday and Sunday, Booth Street West Car Park D (M15 6PD) – which will have 965 parking spaces available – will be free for customers travelling to the city centre by bus, and then again on Sunday, the same car park will be free for those attending Paul McCartney at Co-op Live.
Your ticket to the gig must be shown on entry, before a dedicated shuttle bus then takes you from the car park to the Etihad Campus.
Disney On Ice will be hosting four shows at AO Arena this weekend / Credit: Supplied
Shuttle buses – which are only available on the Sunday – will depart from Higher Cambridge Street and run to Co-op Live and back every 15 mins from 4pm until midnight.
Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground (Talbot Road, Stretford, M16 0PX) will also have 500 parking spaces available for Metrolink customers on Sunday, but you must show a valid pre-booked tram ticket to park there.
On Sunday [15 Dec], we’re offering free parking at Emirates Old Trafford to help relieve congestion in the city.
The Park and Ride is available to customers with a valid tram ticket purchased on the app, at a ticket machine or via contactless.
Anyone else planning to drive across the weekend may also want to consider using one of the permanent Park and Ride sites and complete their journey on foot or by public transport, and you can find more information and the locations of these sites on the Bee Network website here.
Tram capacity has been increased for the festive season, with every available tram running until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
The V1 and 36 bus services now also run 24 hours a day.
Other late-running buses on the Bee Network from Manchester include the 43 service to Manchester Airport, the 86 to Sale, and the 142 to East Didsbury.
There’s some FREE festive craft workshops taking place at MediaCity this Christmas
Thomas Melia
A handful Christmas-inspired workshops are happening down at MediaCity, and lots of them are free to take part in.
Starting tomorrow (11 December), anyone who’s looking to get artsy in the run up to the big day can try their hand at three different Christmas activities, and have a go at making and creating items to keep and treasure forever.
There’s a free ‘Bauble Bar’ where you can learn how to make those brilliant hanging ornaments that make your tree gorgeous.
This workshop is suitable for all skill sets, which means you don’t have to be the next Da Vinci to design one of these little trinkets, as a friendly host will be walking round the class to help everyone make a beautiful creation to take home with them.
The second free event is a Christmas card making workshop, where there will be stationery provided for you to create some cute and snazzy designs, so get ready to freestyle your own drawings if you’re confident, or hone your craft by following the range of patterns and templates that will be on-hand for you to trial.
This final crafty class gives visitors the opportunity to create a two-layer wreath that’s sure to become part of your annual festive decor.
The ‘Christmas Wreath Making’ class provides all the materials you could need, but due to the cost of this, this isn’t a free event and tickets are a reasonable £10 instead.
/ Credit: | Ksenia Ya | Jonathan Borba (via Unsplash & Pexels)
All of these fun Christmas activities are happening at innovative event space, Hot House, which is designed to host creative workshops like these festive-themed crafts.
Although the ‘Bauble Bar’ and the ‘Christmas Card Making Workshop’ are both free, booking a ticket to secure your space is still required.
Georgina Pellant -
17th November 2021 
