Manchester

Manchester International Festival is giving £10,000 to local musicians

Ten different creatives will receive £1,000 each for their projects as part of the MIF Sounds initiative - and applications are open now

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 17th November 2021

MIF is offering £10,000 to local musicians and creatives in and around Manchester as part of its MIF Sounds initiative.

Pledging £10,000 to support ten Greater Manchester music industry creatives and practitioners, the funds have been specially created to help local artists develop new projects across the region.

Manchester International Festival’s MIF Sounds Initiative provides financial help and talent development opportunities.

First launched in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, the first round of funding helped support the creation of new music, a series of production workshops run for women, non-binary and trans musicians, a sound artist collective to produce an installation in a church, and the launch of a new gig night promoting the best in Northern talent.

Now, the funding has been opened up for 2021 – meaning that each successful applicant will receive up to £1,000 whilst also benefiting from peer-to-peer support, access to MIF’s Talent Development activity and networking opportunities.

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From recording music to presenting a gig, releasing a record or starting a new label imprint., people from all areas of the music industry in Greater Manchester are encouraged to apply with no restrictions on what they can ask to use the money for.

Jane Beese, head of music at MIF said: “I’m pleased to announce another round of MIF Sounds support, open to everyone who makes music happen in Manchester. MIF is committed to helping rebuild our sector following the impact of Covid*, in which tens of thousands of jobs have been impacted.

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“We encourage everyone involved in the local music scene to apply, artists, technicians, promoters, venues, labels, managers and beyond we look forward to hearing all of your brilliant ideas and proposals.”

Those supported through MIF Sounds so far have included: All Hands on Deck, Swing Ting founder Balraj Samrai, Jacob Connor, Loose Articles, Lone Taxidermist, singer OneDa, SAF-S2E, Sprechen, Vzion, and more.

Swing Ting founder Balraj Samrai explains how the initiative helped him, saying: “The backing from MIF Sounds enabled me to commit to work outside of my comfort zone. There was support, feedback and encouragement from the rest of the Sounds cohort and MIF team throughout the creative process”.

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Read more: The new restaurants and bars opening in Manchester this week

On 23 November Balraj will release Someone Died Today, new work created with the support of MIF Sounds, which explores loss in a South Asian household during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The piece will be available to purchase on Bandcamp with money raised from sales going to Taraki, a non-profit working with Punjabi communities to reshape approaches to mental health.

People interested in applying MIF Sounds can attend an online meeting with MIF at 6.30 pm on Monday, 29 November to get advice from the selection panel on applying. 

Applications for MIF Sounds should be submitted by video or in writing by midday on Thursday 16 December here. Successful applicants will be announced in January 2022.

Feature image – WHP

Manchester

Northern Quarter resident shares amazing video of Chanel dress rehearsal for Manchester show

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A woman who lives in one of the Northern Quarter flats near the Chanel fashion show has managed to spy on the dress rehearsal – and the video is pretty wild.

The world’s most famous fashion house has chosen Manchester for its prestigious Metiers d’art show, with some A-list celebrities jetting in for the occasion.

Already spotted around Manchester have been Kristen Stewart (outside the Stock Exchange Hotel) and Kim Kardashian at Old Trafford.

The Metiers d’art show takes place at exotic locations globally every year and Chanel uses it to showcase the incredible craftsmanship behind its clothing and accessories.

This year, it’s coming to Manchester – and not to one of our many event spaces, but to the streets.

That means there’ll be celebrities and high fashion models parading about in the Northern Quarter, strutting past the likes of Smithfield Social, Bay Horse Tavern, and Cane & Grain. WILD.

That also means that, try as they might, Chanel can’t stop a few people bagging a free ticket to see the action, including those who happen to live in this part of town.

All week, as the stage has been taking shape, loud music has been blasting across the area as Chanel’s technical run-throughs took place.

And now the models have touched down too.

Daria Figura, a local personal trainer, has posted a video of the view from her Northern Quarter apartment which really gives you an idea of the scale of the Chanel show.

She said: “For those that care, Chanel are doing a fashion show outside my flat. I mean… just watch.”

She then shoves her phone through a window and has captured a flood-lit Thomas Street, heated by patio heaters, with a row of models striding down the catwalk to Manc anthems.

Chanel has even taken over the walls in the Northern Quarter, painting a huge promotional poster on the building on the corner of High Street and Thomas Street.

It also looks like the usual beer garden seating is still in situ – maybe they are keeping it authentically Manc after all, and will have Kim Kardashian wedged in on a Bay Horse Tavern table that has ‘Lauren woz ‘ere 2019’ graffitied on it?!

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Manchester

Cosy pubs near the Manchester Christmas Markets where you can hide from the madness

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Victoria Tap is open in Manchester now

The Manchester Christmas Markets are in full flow for another year, and they are BUSY.

Once again, thousands of people are pouring into the city centre every weekend and evening to browse the massive range of food, drink and gifts being sold from the village of wooden huts that have appeared in town.

And there’s no denying that the markets do bring plenty of festive cheer to town, with Nutcracker mugs in every hand and people munching on sausages as they walk.

But when the hustle and bustle and the cold all gets a bit much – and if you’re anything like us, one or two drinks at the Christmas Markets is plenty – you’ll be looking for respite.

And by respite, we mean a pub.

So here are the best pubs that are very near the Manchester Christmas Markets without actually being in the thick of it.

North Westward Ho

Beers at North Westward Ho.
Beers at North Westward Ho. Credit: The Manc Group
North Westward Ho's traditional interior.
North Westward Ho’s traditional interior.

This stunning new pub has been created by Pomona Island, the much-loved local craft brewery, and it’s handily located within staggering distance of the Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens and King Street Christmas markets hubs.

Pomona Island has taken on a chunk of the former Chaophraya restaurant, turning the grand arch-windowed red-brick building serving their own craft beers – from the easy-drinking Factotum, to the excellent Phaedra pale ale.

And boy is it cosy – North Westward Ho feels like a proper Manchester pub that has been styled with dark wooden details, ornate tiling, wall sconces, oil paintings, dark green ceramic brick times, and loads of cosy corners.

Read more about it here.

19 Chapel Walks, M2 1HN

Victoria Tap

The Victoria Tap is a micro pub a stone's throw from the Manchester Christmas Markets
It's opened in a former bin store at Victoria Station
It’s opened in a former bin store at Victoria Station

The Victoria Tap is a new beer bar that’s completely transformed a corner of the station that was previously home to a bin store, and it’s a perfect place to pause between the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets and your train home.

You won’t miss your train either – on the wall inside the pub is a departures board that advises how many pints you can fit in before your train leaves.

Northern breweries on the taps at Victoria Tap include Brew York, Blackjack and Runaway, plus a good selection of European beers from the likes of kostritzer, Bitburger and Schremser.

Inside there are traditional parquet floors underfoot and a dark green bar running almost the whole length of the micropub.

Find out more here.

Victoria Station, M3 1WY

Cafe Beermoth

This bar is at complete odds with its location – the sight of its cosy, calm interior at great odds to the madness of Market Street it sits behind.

Like an oasis in the dessert, Cafe Beermoth provides serious salvation when you need it most.

The Belgian-style beer cafe champions drinks from across the UK as well as further afield into Europe and America, though it has a strong bond with Manchester’s own Runaway Brewery.

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It’s one of those places you can visit solo or with a massive group and still be welcomed with the same open arms.

Brown Street, M2 1DA

Micro Bar

You wouldn’t think that the place to escape the madness of the Manchester Christmas Markets would be the Manchester Arndale, aka the biggest shopping mall in town and one that is RAMMED with shoppers in December.

But wedged into a corner of the Arndale Market is Micro Bar, a teeny tiny pub with a good selection of German and Belgian beers on keg plus hundreds of bottles and cans in the fridges.

If you’re quick and lucky, you can get a seat overlooking High Street and feel extra smug that you’re on the quiet side of the glass.

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Arndale Food Market, M4 3AH

The Sadler’s Cat

Sadler's Cat is a craft beer pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets
Sadler's Cat is a craft beer pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets
Sadler’s Cat is a craft beer pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets

Formerly known as The Pilcrow, this shed-like pub on Sadler’s Yard is now in the very trustworthy hands of Cloudwater Brewery.

The space itself was built by local people through a series of workshops, with members of the public creating everything from the tabletops to the lampshades.

There is, of course, Cloudwater beers, but also plenty of others to choose from, a menu of natural wines, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.

It’s also stumbling distance from Cathedral Gardens – you can practically skate here from the ice rink.

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Hanover St, M60 0AB

Corbieres

Disappear from St Ann’s Square – where you can barely move for gluhwein and tinsel – and down into the cave-like wine bar that is Corbieres.

Something of a Manchester institution, this brilliant bar has a jukebox loaded with great music, and a decent range of wines and beers.

It also does free pizza with any drink purchased, Tuesday to Friday 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

AND, as they’re advertising themselves as an escape from the markets, they’re even happy for you to bring the food you buy at the markets into the bar.

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2 Half Moon St, M2 7PB

Mr Thomas’s Chop House

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Manchester pubs are full of history 😍 #manchester #themanc #chophouse #fyp

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Any of the Chop Houses are guaranteed to be maximum cosy, with their Victorian interiors still largely in tact and menus full of massive stodgy food.

There are two that are both right near the King Street batch of Christmas Markets – Sam’s is beneath the previously mentioned North Westward Ho, while Albert’s is within that iconic tall skinny building on Cross Street.

At this time of year they’re extra festive thanks to soft white fairy lights and candles.

52 Cross St, M2 7AR

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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