If like me, you had resided in the fact that you’d never see the day that you’d be dancing with your pals and enjoying live music again, then you’re probably breathing a sigh of relief seeing the mass of gig and event announcements that are flooding your timelines.
But one person even more excited than us is Tom Kingham, co-founder of Open Beat, whose inaugural music event has been nearly two years in the making now.
Back in April last year, Open Beat were forced to wait it out like the rest of the music industry, after their launch night at Hatch was of course cancelled. Now, they’re full steam ahead with organising monthly live showcases of some of Manchester’s best unsigned talent.
And we’re finally allowing ourselves to get excited over the prospect.
Live music at Hatch. Credit: Hatch/Mike Garry
But lockdown wasn’t all bad for Open Beat – as Tom recalls it was almost a blessing in disguise. It gave them the unique chance to refine their idea and widen their circle of contacts. “We’d kind of planned [the first event] pretty quick last year and didn’t think long term,” he said. “But now we’ve had a good year to plan it, it’s kind of worked in our favour because we’ve managed to get so many more acts on the cards.
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“That’s how big the expansion has gone now and we’re not just looking at the indie bands now, we’re also looking at the Manchester grime and hip-hop artists, too.”
In the beginning, Tom admits there were worries over the longevity of Open Beat, wondering, “are we going to be able to keep it up? Are we going to be able to find more and more acts to bring through? Or is it just going to be the same people?” In the end, lockdown forced the guys to take it slow and make careful decisions – and the result is more focused and determined.
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One thing at the forefront of Open Beat’s ethos is promoting the city’s up-and-coming musicians. The idea for the event first came about in the summer of 2019, when Tom and fellow co-founder, Miftah Ali, realised there was little in the way of a big platform for up-and-coming artists to play live.
With a history in organising music events, Tom has experience with some of the biggest events in Manchester like Warehouse Project and Parklife. But he shares humble beginnings putting on student nights at the old Tiger Tiger in the Printworks back in the day. So, he understands how these things work on multiple levels.
But even after working with such big events, Tom likes to go back to his roots with intimate open mic nights and showcases every now and again. Simply because of the connection you get with a smaller audience. “It’s the intimacy – you get emotionally connected to it because it’s just you and them,” said Tom.
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“Of course, there’re other people around you. But it’s not another 60,000 people – it’s just you, them, their guitar and the same appreciation of that act as you in the same room.
“These [acts] are really, really good – they’re good enough to make it and sign a deal. It’s just them not being in the right place at the right time – and we want to get them in the right place at the right time.”
So this ended up being the driving force behind Open Beat – to give these amazing artists the large platform they deserve, whilst bringing likeminded music lovers together at the same time.
Tom believes these kinds of opportunities are limited for unsigned artists. “[Music] is sort of like a pyramid system, like there would be in football. There’s a lot of money at the top but the further and further you go down, there is less and we kind of want to even the odds as much as we can.”
Open mic night at The Whisky Jar. Credit: Jason S Kenny
Tom and Miftah have already managed to grow the Open Beat team. Joining them are two members of the music scene. The first being DJ and Unity Radio presenter, Jermaine Lee, who has made appearances at Parklife, Warehouse Project and Victoria Warehouse. The second being singer Joe McAdam, who has also ran the legendary open mic night at The Whisky Jar for seven years. Together, they make up a solid team with tons of industry knowledge.
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With this growing team, expansion is more likely. So, aside from soon becoming a recognised and well-respected Manchester promoter, naturally there are plans take the concept to other cities. In doing this, the guys hope to jump into the festival scene and host their own small stage as a platform to do what they do on an even bigger scale. Still using the same local and unsigned talent, but giving them opportunities that really don’t come along all too often.
Now that we’re allowed to play out again soon, the thought of hearing live music again makes us want to burst. To get ourselves prepared, The Manc Audio will be partnering with Open Beat over the next few months to bring you even more of Manchester’s unsigned music. So, you’ll be hearing plenty from them in the near future as they finally get to live out their summer 2019 masterplan.
Sterephonics frontman Kelly Jones reveals that Noel Gallagher is back in the studio
Danny Jones
Stereophonics lead singer Kelly Jones has graciously revealed to music fans that new Gallagher tunes could be on the way, as he confirmed that Noel has been back in the studio and working on new material.
The big question is, has Liam been in there with him?…
Broken rather nonchalantly in an interview with NME, Jones didn’t so much let the news slip as much as he seemingly just casually dropped it into conversation, mentioning that he bumped into the older Gallagher brother recently.
As he puts it – frustratingly briefly, might we add (sorry, fanaticism will do that to you) – the Oasis icon and High Flying Birds frontman has been doing some songwriting, but the details were scarce.
The 50-year-old ‘Phonics frontman, who was discussing the release of their 13th studio album as well as his own solo project last year, was asked his thoughts on the legendary Britpop band’s upcoming reunion shows and the impact they had on his own career.
“Funnily enough, I found some old pictures of me and Noel rehearsing when he used to have a studio down in Windsor recently, just before we toured America”, said Jones. “We were having a laugh about them and I asked him what he’d been up to and he said he’d been doing some writing in the studio.
The unmistakable Welsh vocalist went on to add: “I’m assuming he’s doing some writing for either his stuff or if they’re [Oasis] gonna bring out a couple songs, I don’t know.”
It seems the pair are still more than friendly, though he gave little away about his relationship with Liam Gallagher; the two British rock groups did share somewhat of a rivalry in the 90s and 2000s, with Stereophonics making no secret of Oasis inspiring their own music.
Describing the band in their heyday, Jones described the period “kind of chaotic and mayhem but it was all very joyous”, insisting that things are very different nowadays but that he is not the less excited than a whole new generations of fans are going to be able to see them live for the first time
As for whether he and his bandmates will be able to find the time, he revealed in a subsequent chat live on Radio X that their own tour clashes may mean they’ll miss out on the Live ’25 tour experience.
Further reflecting on the age of streaming, content overload and what some would argue is an overabundance of media, Kelly said of art and music in particular that “people need it now more than they’ve needed it in a long time.”
We don’t know whether or not Noel’s return to songwriting is for the next High Flying Birds record or whether the rumours are true and new Oasis music really is on the way.
As much as we love his solo stuff, PLEASE let it be the latter.
We do know that the siblings are said to be getting on swimmingly so far and even spent some of the Easter break together, according to LG himself. Here’s hoping they were throwing around ideas for another instant hit.
An old indie favourite is heading back to Manchester for a ‘Best Of Tour’ at a brilliant venue
Danny Jones
Time to roll back the years as old-school indie favourite The Pigeon Detectives are coming back to Manchester for a special show at one of the most stunning venues in the city.
We swear, if we could find our old iPod, their tracks would still be all over it.
Coming back to another part of the North that always showed them plenty of love, The Pigeon Detectives will be playing a special ‘The Best of Tour’ in line with their latest record, Still Not Sorry.
The Manc gig comes as the Yorkshire lads announced just six UK headline sets to support the album release, but let’s be honest, they were never going to skip 0161, were they?
UK TOUR! NEW RECORD! On Sale Friday 2nd May, but get pre-sale NOW when you buy a best of record (with 3 new tracks) or t-shirt from here: https://t.co/a1q44LYbD6 see you in Autumn! pic.twitter.com/HWA9ITS9Ii
— The Pigeon Detectives (@pigeonsofficial) April 25, 2025
With only half a dozen domestic dates confirmed so far, including the likes of Manchester, a homecoming night in Leeds and up in Glasgow, this really does feel like a return that long-standing fans won’t want to miss.
The new LP, which is a greatest hits compilation featuring the very best tracks from their discography that stretches over two decades, drops next month and we’re very ready to pump some adolescent nostalgia into our ears.
And best of all, they’ll be playing all the cult favourite Pigeon Detectives tracks at the simply stunning New Century Hall, marking just their second visit to the venue.
Boasting the food and beer hall downstairs as the ideal pre-gig location, not to mention a sprung dancefloor and those iconic, mesmerising lights, it’s a nigh on perfect space for live music.
We’re not exaggerating when we say we’ve had some of our best gigs in recent memory here.
Speaking in a lengthier statement on social media, the boys from Rothwell wrote: “If a band is lucky (and hardworking, and fairly decent at what they do!) there comes a time in their career when they realise that the journey they started as mates messing about on guitars has culminated in a hefty bunch of songs that people actually care about and connect with!
“At this point, the only logical next step is to take a breath, reflect back through the archives and assemble a ‘Best Of’ album. We’ve reached that point, Pigeon Heads!”
They describe the project as a collection of songs and memories that chart their career from their humble beginnings in Leeds to their “adventures around the globe”, where they have been fortunate enough to “some of the biggest stages on the planet.”
“As a band it’s always felt like we had to do things the hard way, even with an amazing set of supportive fans”, they go on to add, “but we just kept on writing songs, kept on playing gigs and kept on being The Pigeon Detectives. Us against the world. We weren’t sorry then, and we’re Still Not Sorry now!”
Maybe it’s our age showing but those last few lines alone have got us feeling all teary-eyed.
Hannah Starkie -
15th March 2021 
