Local musicians can take half-price taxis home after their gigs in Manchester, thanks to a new partnership between GigPig and Uber.
The three-month pilot scheme, which has drawn support from Night Time Economy Adviser (and boss of Parklife and Warehouse Project) Sacha Lord, has been created to help late-night workers get home safely.
It follows on from the Get Me Home Safely campaign, which called for safe, affordable transport home, backed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
That campaign initiated by Unite Union said that those who work late at night shouldn’t need to dip into their earnings just to get home at the end of the day.
The GigPig and Uber partnership will be available to all artists registered on the GigPig platform in the city, offering 50% off rides home when performing at gigs that finish after 11pm.
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It’s hoped it will save them thousands of pounds in transport costs.
Live music marketing platform GigPig has partnered with more than 750 artists and facilitated hundreds of gigs int he city each week.
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A three-month pilot scheme offering local musicians half price transport home after late-night gigs is being launched in Manchester, thanks to a partnership between live music marketplace GigPig and Uber.
Two Manchester-based DJs have thrown their support behind the partnership. Joe Roche said: “Currently cash flow and cost issues for our sector are being felt across the board, and it’s nice to see GigPig identifying the issue and helping beyond the traditional means.
“This initiative addresses an all too familiar concern. There’s nothing worse than being on your feet for up to 14 hours on a Saturday doing consecutive gigs if you’ve got invoices which hadn’t been cleared beforehand – the walk home is completely out of the question and your bank balance is in bits. “
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DJ Fry Ups, who secured a residency at Box in Deansgate via GigPig, added: “The majority of my gigs finish after 11pm, so I welcome this initiative. Not only will it help reduce costs but it’s also fantastic to know that myself and other artists will be able to get home via a trusted mode of transport afterwards.
“Safety and affordability are key considerations for me when taking on any gig and I know can be barriers for many others. I hope it’s the catalyst for more artists feeling confident to book even more gigs in the city.”
Michael Forster, CEO of GigPig, said: “At GigPig we support artists all the way. We know safety is a top concern for many artists and we’re pleased to be able to play our part in helping them access safe and affordable transport options home. The nature of gigging means that artists are often out late at night and we’re committed to implementing ways to support them to feel safe when travelling.
Incredible feedback from @djeeanmathews in response to our partnership with @Uber.
“Manchester has a vibrant night time economy which is dependent on artists performing in a variety of venues – footfall in bars, pubs, restaurants and clubs are all boosted by live music. We are sure this pilot partnership will be well received by the artists who are doing a brilliant job entertaining audiences across the city.”
Andrew Brem, General Manager, Uber UK said: “We are delighted to be partnering with GigPig to help its music artists get home after late night concerts and gigs. Safety is a top priority for Uber, and with millions of trips happening regularly on our platform across the UK, we want to help everyone, no matter where they are going, get home at the touch of a button.”
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Sacha Lord, Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester, added: “Manchester has recently been crowned the UK’s Capital of Nightlife, by the Sunday Times. We’ve always been proud of our music scene and the city is known for it, globally.
“I’m delighted to support the incredible initiative and partnership between GigPig and Uber. We need to support our up and coming artists, to which the expense of travel can be a barrier. This initiative will pave the way for the next generation of artists.”
The GigPig platform, which gives artists free access to find, play and get paid for gigs in venues of all sizes across the UK, represents more than 3,000 live music performers and more than 750 in Manchester alone.
If the pilot scheme in Manchester is successful, it will be rolled out to all 12 major cities where GigPig operates across the UK.
Featured image: Unsplash
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Ticket requests are now officially open for Harry Styles’ one-night-only Manchester gig
Emily Sergeant
The time has come – the ticket request system for Harry Styles’ one-night-only gig in Manchester is now live.
In case you hadn’t heard, it was announced on Wednesday evening after much speculation that Harry Styles would be making a return home to Manchester for a one-night-only ‘intimate’ gig at Co-op Live to celebrate the release of his fourth studio album next month.
Styles is set to share Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally with the world on Friday 6 March – and it’s that very same night he’ll be taking to the stage in Manchester.
Although little is known about what to expect at the gig, the poster for the event does state that there’ll be a ‘special performance of the album’, so it seems fair to say that Manchester will be the first to hear the new set of songs in full live.
And if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the tickets are only £20 per person.
But, of course, there is a bit of a catch, as this isn’t your regular online queuing up for tickets scenario, this is a ‘ticket request’ system instead.
So, like us – and literally every other fan in the vicinity of Greater Manchester and beyond this week – you’re probably wondering what a ‘ticket request’ system is… what does it look like? How does it work? Basically, what the heck is it? Well, we’ve done a bit of digging around to get to the bottom of it so you’re not left too much in the dark.
According to Ticketmaster’s website, if an artist is running a ticket request, they’ll invite fans to request tickets so you don’t have to compete in a first-come, first-served sale.
This means you can take your time to review the available options and request the right tickets for you.
All you need to do is tell Ticketmaster which shows you’re interested in, the type of ticket you want, and your payment details. Then, if the tickets you request can be fulfilled, your card will be charged and you’ll get emailed instructions to access them in the Ticketmaster App.
Unfortunately, as much as we’d love it to be the case for everyone, submitting a request doesn’t guarantee you tickets – it really is just luck of the draw.
To request tickets, you’ll need to follow these three simple steps:
Select which shows you’re interested in and the type of ticket you want
Add your payment details
Harry Styles ticket requests are now live / Credit: Johnny Dufort (Publicity Picture)
Ticketmaster will then send you a summary email that details the tickets you’ve requested. Your card won’t be charged at this time, but they may charge a temporary £1 authorisation to your card to validate your request.
A maximum of two tickets per person can be requested, which has been set to allow for as many fans as possible to get tickets.
Now, here’s the crucial part – you will need to submit your request for tickets while the window is open until Sunday 8 February at 11pm GMT. After the request window closes, you’ll get a second email by 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday 10 February confirming whether or not your request has been fulfilled.
All that’s left to do now is provide you with the link here and send you on your way… oh, and may the odds be ever in your favour.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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The story behind Sâlo: the rising Georgian-born Salford artist set be one of the region’s next stars
Danny Jones
We always love stories of people moving to Manchester to be more creatively engaged, but tales of entire families relocating here for a better life and art being born out of it is something truly special – and besides her obvious talent, that’s what has attracted us and plenty others to Sâlo.
This up-and-coming Salfordian artist may have been born around the border between Eastern Europe and Western Asia during a particular fraught time for her country, but she’s been raised and moulded like so many of us by this city’s rich music culture and wider artistic heritage.
She came to the UK with her family as a baby, with her parents fleeing poverty and lingering friction in Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s, and their journey as asylum seekers eventually brought them here to the North West.
It was clear from a young age that Sâlo (short for Salome) had a gift for the piano, but it was when her family moved to the Greater Manchester area that her own interest in genres and styles began to develop. Here’s a little snippet of her recent performance at the stunning Stoller Hall.
This short video was taken from her feature in a recent episode of Manchester: Unplugged, the web series by StreamGM that launched just last year and spotlights local songwriters.
Honing in on one of her newest releases, ‘Set Me Free’, which taps into that pure love for the keys.
While this clip shows a stripped-back version of the fully-fledged electronic studio version, with production playing a key role in defining her sound, she blends everything from classical music and jazz to neo-soul as well as drum and bass.
You hear the phrase ‘genre-bending’ thrown around a lot these days, but if this mid-20s star in the making isn’t the epitome of that term, then we don’t know who is.
Speaking more about her background in the short documentary film, which aired on YouTube this week, she talks about her first memory of visiting Forsyth Music Shop in Manchester city centre, and the inspiration behind the track in question.
You watch the Sâlo episode of Manchester: Unplugged in full here.
Detailed in the description of the newest edition of the online show, “Classically trained from the age of four, Sâlo’s journey runs through some of Manchester’s most important music spaces”, including time spent at the RNCM and Chetham’s School of Music and more.
As for the tune itself, not only do the lyrics revolve around a difficult patch in a personal relationship – this being one of the first times she felt like she’s fully opened up and not held back on letting people know what she’s speaking about – but it’s also the first track she’s produced and mixed entirely on her own.
Painstakingly mastered from a small studio at home, she almost “fell out of love” with the song altogether, but getting back to that simple joy of playing piano helped revive her passion for it.
With a stunning voice, natural musical talent when it comes to her instrument, and a great blend of different analogue and digital influences, Sâlo is definitely one to watch moving forward.
Daisy Jackson -
16th June 2023 
