Northern Quarter cult favourite Afflecks (known to most of us still as Affleck’s Palace) has officially become the newest place to get married in the city after its team secured a marriage license.
The world-famous shopping emporium is home to all sorts of quirky and individual shops and spaces, including an anime cafe with real maids, and will be opening up five unique areas to lovers set on getting hitched.
Super romantic, small ceremonies with up to 30 guests will be the order of the day, and all the spaces can be dressed and adapted for a perfectly unique and alternative place to declare true love.
These span the market’s pink sakura-drenched Animaid Cafe, Afflecks’s iconic poster wall, a spiritual shop filled with a multitude of incense and spell books, the stunning diner-esque Ginger’s Comfort Emporium with its checkered floor and deep red booths, and the ever-nostalgic Afflecks cafe.
Afflecks’s matrimonial license comes in time to celebrate the Manchester Pride Festival, where this year’s theme is Queerly Beloved to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of marriage equality in the UK.
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You can now get married at Afflecks in ManchesterYou can now get married at Afflecks in Manchester
Speaking on the news AJ Martyn, General Manager at Afflecks, said: “Afflecks has always been a place that embodies love in all its forms, creative freedom and equality – as well as a welcoming, safe space for all.
“The LGBTQ+ community has forever been at the heart of our emporium and we’re excited to celebrate this year’s Manchester Pride theme and 10 years of marriage equality by opening our doors to ALL couples who may be looking for an inclusive, creative, and unique space in which to say ‘I Do’.
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“We’ve always believed that love is love and we can’t wait to welcome couples to our independent emporium and help them create an alternative day of their dreams at Afflecks.”
The whole Afflecks family is on hand to help couples create the perfect and completely independent day as the emporium is the perfect treasure trove to find alternative wedding essentials all under one roof.
Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced
Daisy Jackson
Niall Horan will be back in Manchester this year on a huge newly-announced European arena tour.
The former One Direction star (and chart-topper in his own right) has just announced his Dinner Party Live On Tour tour.
The tour comes in support of his upcoming fourth solo studio album, Dinner Party, which promises to be ‘cinematic and organic’.
Niall Horan will be performing at the Co-op Live in Manchester this September, along with gigs in other UK cities including Sheffield, Glasgow, and Newcastle.
He’ll then head right across Europe, playing music from his multi-Platinum-selling songbook.
Niall first shot to fame as one-fifth of One Direction, but has one of the group’s strongest solo careers, with three chart-topping albums and massive hits like Slow Hands, Heaven, and Our Song.
Niall Horan is heading back to Manchester with a massive arena show just announced
He’s also worked on some exciting collaborations with the likes of Anne-Marie, and most recently Myles Smith.
£1 from every ticket sold for Niall Horan’s Dinner Party tour will be donated to the LIVE Trust, which is dedicated to protecting, expanding, and supporting grassroots music across the UK.
Niall Horan will be at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Friday 25 September.
Tickets will go on sale from 10am on Thursday 2 April HERE.
Yard Act announce handful of new headline shows ahead of 6Music gig in Manchester
Clementine Hall
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024, including a show right here in Manchester – but not before their BBC 6Music Festival gig later this week.
We are so, SO back.
It’s been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a limited run of domestic shows for later in the year including their homecoming gig at the O2 Academy in Leeds on Friday, 6 November.
But after playing over in Yorkshire, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on the following Friday (13 Nov).
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album, Where’s My Utopia?, with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August ’24.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy.
It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have been keeping busy writing and recording their third studio LP, as well as heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives – oh, and that intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to this coming autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait. We spoke to them a little while back and know how much big stuff they’ve got further pipeline; you can see the interview HERE.
Booking just three headline slots, the handful of tour dates are as follows:
06 Nov – Leeds
13 Nov – Manchester
26 Nov – London
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday, 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday, 27 March. Sign up to grab yours right HERE.
As for those wanting to find out more about this year’s 6Music Fest, you find the full lineup and more down below.
Georgina Pellant -
24th August 2023 
