Ever miss the old days of proper music telly? We’re talking Freshly Squeezed, Popworld and the T4 days; Kerrang TV and, of course, Top of the Pops. Well, StreamGM’s exclusive online series, Spill The Sound is keeping that throwback format alive and the new season has just arrived.
Spearheaded by the pioneers over at StreamGM and live streaming music platform, Spill The Sound is back for series three of the brilliant live music and talk show series.
Featuring a mix of exclusive sets and laid-back conversations with up-and-coming artists from around Greater Manchester and the North West around new releases, gigs and festival dates as well as local names who just fancy sitting in a bath filled with plastic balls (because why not?), it’s great fun.
Filmed over at StreamGM’s central hub over at The Yard in Cheetham Hill and hosted by TV presenter Louise Schofield, the latest edition of the digital series drops at 7pm on Friday, 29 February.
On a mission to recapture the magic of that oh-so-nostalgic Gen X and Gen Z music programming, StreamGM’s Spill The Sound blends new and unsigned acts alongside established headliners, with the likes of The Lottery Winners, Abbie Ozard, The Covasettes and more having already featured.
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The latest season is already shaping up to be a belter, with rising Oldham singer-songwriter Seb Lowe, Macclesfield‘s genre-bending indie band Cassia, fast-growing Liverpool stars Red Rum Club and plenty of others to come, there are some serious names on this year’s roster.
We’re even lucky enough to be getting a few quick behind-the-scenes interviews with some of the artists ourselves in and around their live performances and sit-downs with Louise, so keep your eyes peeled for them too.
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It might be a smaller scale approach with live performances strictly down the lens and in front of those lucky few that get to have a sneak peek behind the camera — a.k.a. us lucky lot over at The Manc Audio — but you only have to see the space over at The Yard to see how cool the whole set-up is.
Taking place on a bi-weekly basis (that’s once every two weeks, not twice a week), the quirky bathtub-based interview series isn’t like anything on TV and you can watch it completely free over on the Spill The Sound YouTube channel and StreamGM’s website.
Speaking of which, if you’re yet to tune into one of their live streams or stumble across this groundbreaking and grassroots music for all platform, you can learn more about it HERE.
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We’re all about spotlighting new artists trying to make it on our wonderful music scene so it goes without saying that we love what these guys are doing and we’ll keep doing our very best to do the same on our end too.
James Blunt announces huge Manchester gig on new European arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Singer-songwriter James Blunt is heading back out on tour next year, and has announced a massive Manchester gig as part of his run of arena shows.
The singer, perhaps best-known for his iconic 2005 pop ballad ‘You’re Beautiful’, is hitting the road again in 2027.
The newly-announced European tour is in celebration of his new album Airplane Mode, which is set for release this autumn.
James Blunt will kick off his tour in Leeds next spring, before heading over for a night at the almighty Co-op Live in Manchester.
Then he’ll head to more cities including Newcastle, Birmingham and London.
His new album, Airplane Mode, is being released on 6 November and will, according to his press release, be ‘exhilarating’.
James has already released the first single, ‘Tastes Like Summer’, and ‘Weight Of It All’, with 10 more songs to come on the record.
Airplane Mode was recorded with James’ brilliant long-standing live band, who’ll be back on tour with him next year.
Speaking of the new album, and recording in Pig Music Studios, he said: “Somewhere back there, I lost my way, but found it again in a studio in Banbury.”
James Blunt will be at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on 3 April, 2027. Tickets go on sale from 10am on 9 September.
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
Danny Jones -
29th February 2024 
