Neighbourhood Festival returns to Manchester this weekend and promises to be bigger than ever.
For those uninitiated, the massive city centre festival is Neighbourhood Weekender‘s sister event and has been running every October since 2016. Well, barring the pandemic, of course.
Springing from a fledgling one-day festival that boasted the likes of Circa Waves, Blossoms, White Lies, Twin Atlantic and Lonely the Brave, it has now become one of the biggest events of the year with over 100 acts spread across multiple venues dotted around the city centre. And just in time for the students.
Since its conception, crowds have seen everyone from Sam Fender, Easy Life and Holly Humberstone, to Mahalia, Declan McKenna, Miles Kane and many, many more of Britain’s biggest names take the Neighbourhood stages on their way to making a splash on the UK music scene.
Luckily for you, this year’s line-up looks an absolute whopper too.
ADVERTISEMENT
Neighbourhood Festival Line-Up 2022
As well as those we already knew about such as The Snuts, Sundara Karama and local lads Everything Everything, Wigan-based indie band The Lathums have also confirmed that they will be joining the Neighbourhood headliners at this year’s festival.
You love to see it. You love to see everyone on this list, to be honest.
ADVERTISEMENT
The special guests don’t stop there either, though, as The K’s will also be making an appearance at Albert Hall and the organisers promise even more surprises around the corner.
HUGE news! @TheLathums will be performing at Neighbourhood Festival this weekend. They take on Manchester Academy at 4.15pm. We are buzzing!
As you can see, there are big names everywhere – punters can also look forward to seeing the likes of Alfie Templeman and Baby Queen; Lauran Hibberd and Ten Tonnes, as well as Far Caspian and Brooke Combe, just to name a few.
There’s plenty of Mancunian music being represented as well, with Corella, Afflecks Palace, The Covasettes and The Stanleys all repping 0161.
ADVERTISEMENT
Neighbourhood Festival 22 Venues
One of the best parts about Neighbourhood Fest is that aside from the acts themselves, there are some seriously mint venues on the list every year, from gig-going favourites to some locations you may have never seen live music before or even been full-stop.
Here is the full list of Neighbourhood venues we know of so far:
Manchester Academy 1 and 2 (14+)
Albert Hall (14+)
The Deaf Institute (14+)
Gorilla (14+)
O2 Ritz Manchester (14+)
Revolution – Oxford Road (14+ until 9pm, then 18+)
Canvas (14+)
Bunny Jacksons (14+ until 9pm, then 18+)
YES – The Basement and The Pink Room (18+)
The Bread Shed (14+)
The Zombie Shack (18+)
That being said, it’s still worth keeping your eye out on social for any updates as more special guests and surprise appearances are expected, and who knows where they could pop up?
For instance, we already know that Hard-Fi will be playing their first gig in eight whole years at the brand-spanking New Century which we peeped not long ago. It’s quite an impressive space, guys.
Ah, the dreaded stage splits. They cause us inevitable headaches every year but they’re a necessary evil.
ADVERTISEMENT
Want to know who’ll you manage to see and who’ll you have to prepare yourself for potentially missing? We do the dirty work so you don’t have to:
Are there any Neighbourhood tickets still left?
Put simply, yes, but you better get moving if you wanna snap the remaining few up.
Tickets for Neighbourhood Festival 2022 will set you back £39.50 face value (£43.45 all told with your booking fee) from their official retailer, Gigs and Tours. Wheelchair access tickets are also available.
Not only is that a much more affordable option for those who didn’t want to fork out more than £115 for the two-day pass at Neighbourhood Weekender back in May, but the wristband grants you access to every single venue on the list.
Even a one-day ticket at Weekender cost £59.50 + booking fee, whereas with Neighbourhood Fest you still get the chance to see some serious box office names at Neighbourhood Fest for less money. More spare pennies for food and pints, init.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s also worth noting that you can grab tickets on the day as a last resort, but we’d obviously advise getting yourself sorted before then.
As announced on Wednesday, this year’s box office and wristband exchange will be located at the University of Manchester Students Union building (M13 9PR) – the Lime Grove entrance, to be specific.
This will be open from 9.30am and will close promptly at 7.30pm, meaning there will be no wristbands issued after this time, so we would obviously recommend arriving as early as possible to avoid the large queues.
Organisers also had some important top tips to share with you:
Important information on wristband collection👇
You'll need to collect your wristband from the University of Manchester Students' Union before you can start your NBHD Festival. Please read the below carefully🤝 pic.twitter.com/4Y9yKkSD0D
Last but not least, make sure to keep a lookout on Facebook, Twitterand Instagram for the latest updates and, most importantly, grab your tickets HERE while you still can.
Mercury Prize 2026 review: RAYE takes home the crown as Newcastle celebrates the very best in music
Clementine Hall
One of the biggest nights in music kicked off last night as the Mercury Prize 2026 was awarded.
If there was ever a night to fall head over heels in love with British and Irish music, the 2026 Mercury Prize made a very convincing case.
Bringing together some of the country’s most exciting artists under one roof in Newcastle, this year’s ceremony was a reminder of just how much talent is packed into the current music scene.
From established legends to the names shaping what comes next, it was an absolute belter.
Images: Audio North
Held at the Newcastle Utilita Arena for the second year running, I think everybody in that room felt very lucky to be there to see firsthand who took home the coveted prize.
The shortlist brought together an impressive mix of artists, with Florence + The Machine, Olivia Dean, JADE, Suede, Pulp, Dave and Sir Paul McCartney among the big names making the lineup very star studded indeed.
Suede kicked things off with ‘Dancing With The Europeans’, bringing their unmistakable energy to the ceremony, while Pulp delivered ‘Begging For Change’ as part of the HELP(2) charity compilation.
It was a line-up that demonstrated the sheer range of music being made across the UK and Ireland, from contemporary pop to established rock and even jungle thanks to Bradford’s own Nia Archives.
And of course, there was one woman who had every reason to leave with a smile on her face.
RAYE took home the coveted Mercury Prize for THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE., an ambitious, genre-hopping album that blends jazz, soul, R&B and classical influences into something so fabulously unique.
Image: Audio North
Newcastle’s own Knats performance was definitely a highlight of the evening, combining slick jazz with spoken-word poetry against a projection of The Tyne Bridge.
A fitting image, and one that underlines the importance of holding such huge events in the north and highlighting the obvious talent that thrives here.
The 2026 Mercury Prize was a brilliant showcase of the country’s music at its best.
And with RAYE taking home the trophy, it’s clear there is plenty of ‘hope’ left in British music.
The most magical Christmas displays have now landed at one of the North West’s best garden centres
Emily Sergeant
Christmas has officially arrived at one of the best garden centres in the North West, and it’s just as magical as you’d hope it would be.
Just outside of Greater Manchester in the village of Glazebury in Warrington, you’ll find Bents Garden and Home – a multi award-winning destination garden centre that’s often voted one of the region’s best. It’s great place to visit all year round, but as anyone who has ever made the trip there will tell you, this place really comes alive during the festive season.
Bents first started out life all the way back in 1937, when Alfred and Margaret Bent began growing and selling roses in the front garden of their terraced house in Glazebury.
Ever since then, the business has gone from strength to strength – opening its first dedicated garden centre building in the early 1950s, and then undergoing several expansions in the 60 years that followed to create the place we know and love today.
A place that’s home to everything you need to kit out your home and garden, several cafes and restaurants, a food hall, a cook shop, a children’s boutique, and plenty more.
Christmas has arrived at Bents Garden and Home for 2026 / Credit: The Manc Group
And then at Christmas time, you can also get to wander around all the magical festive displays and stop for a bite to eat at the winter food markets.
Christmas at Bents originally began in the 1970s, establishing what would become one of the garden centre’s most successful – and favourite – times of the year, with people travelling in their thousands from all across the North West to visit, making it an annual tradition in the festive events calendar for many families.
With a jaw-dropping display to suit everyone’s festive decor tastes, Christmas at Bents really does need to be seen to be believed.
Expertly decorated trees form the centrepiece of each display, with all the baubles and decorations adorning them for sale by the side for you to recreate yourself at home.
Walking around the centre, you’ll also find every type of artificial tree (both normal and pre-lit), an array of fairy lights, wreaths, and garlands, before you arrive at what is sure to be one of the best Christmas Lemax Model Village set-ups you’ve probably ever seen.
A trip to Bents is an annual festive tradition for thousands across the North West / Credit: The Manc Group
Then, once you’ve filled your basket up with all the decs you need, you have to stop off at the Winter Food Markets before you head home.
There’s a wide array of different street food options to choose from like bratwursts, giant filled Yorkshire puddings, loaded fries, nachos, mac and cheese, crepes, churros, and build-your-own crumble, before taking a pew in one of the little wooden huts and washing it all down with festive-themed hot chocolates and mulled wine.
Don’t forget to stop off at the food hall, farm shop, and deli counters to stock up on plenty of goodies there before you leave too.
Basically, if you’ve never been to Bents before, we honestly cannot recommend it enough – even more so during Christmas time.
Don’t forget to stop off at the Winter Food Markets before heading home / Credit: The Manc Group
But it is really important to note that it does get very busy here, especially on weekends and at peak times like the run up to Christmas.
So you may have to be prepared to patiently wait for parking spaces and cooperate with your fellow shoppers, as well as join queues at the cafes and restaurants, all while respecting the hard-working staff at all times.
Let’s be as respectful as possible, and make this a place where everyone can enjoy a magical festive experience in 2026.
Danny Jones -
29th September 2022 
