Now we’ve all enjoyed our little taste of freedom over the past two weeks, we’re looking ahead to June when we’re finally released back into some form of normality.
And with the government’s roadmap out of lockdown in full swing now, we thought we’d put together another round-up of music events and gigs to book in Manchester right now – because there are just so many good ones to choose from.
Plus, we’ve got a lot of making up for lost time to do…
Left, Right & Centre, The Old Abbey Taphouse – 2 May
The Old Abbey Taphouse will play host to Manchester club night Left, Right & Centre on 2 May to celebrate their 3rd birthday.
Heading the lineup is Scapa, Jazz, Porter Brook and Hessle Audio’s Bruce from 4pm until 11pm.
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This one will still be seated and socially-distanced, but we’re still more than happy to have a dance at our tables at this point.
Longstanding Manchester drum and bass night Hit & Run continue their return on Friday 25 June with a massive lineup at Hidden. Kick off your first weekend of post-covid freedom with the bassy sounds of Fox, Chimpo, Truthos Mufasa, Slay, Sparkz, Metrodome plus head honcho Rich Reason.
Less than 1% of tickets remain for this one so we imagine they’ll be snapped up soon – get them on Skiddle here.
Libero, venue TBC – Friday 25 June
Libero’s Luke Welsh, Mike Morrisey and Dan Costello will be accompanied by special guests for a big event in June – but they’re keeping everything hush at the minute with no venue announcement.
Wherever it happens, we know these boys will pull it out the bag – they always do.
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Join them for a big night of house, minimal and techno on 25 June.
Skiptrace Day Party at The Old Abbey Taphouse – Saturday 26 June
Another one at The Old Abbey Taphouse – this time, for Manchester label Skiptrace’s all-dayer on 26 June.
A handful of Skiptrace alumni will be playing from 2pm until 11pm, which will feature housey vibes from Joe Roche, Althea and Ed Hodge, plus the bassier style of Walton, creating a proper mixed bag.
The Projekts Skatepark, located right under the Mancunian Way, will welcome some of Manchester’s best underground labels and promotors on a handful of dates from July through to September.
Kaluki, Mason Collective, Haus22 and Moxy Muzik will all takeover the skatepark, where we expect to hear plenty of house, minimal and techno vibes to get you in that post-covid summer party mood.
MrTraumatik & Friends, The Bread Shed – Saturday 24 July
To celebrate the release of his new track ‘Hallucinations’, MrTraumatik is setting out a series of UK tour dates which will include The Bread Shed on 24 July.
The grime MC and drum and bass producer is known for his chaotic tracks and explicit lyrics – and we can expect this kind of mayhem in July.
You&Me Music in the Trees, Venue TBA – Saturday 7 August
House and tech label You&Me have found a picturesque little spot just outside Manchester city centre to celebrate their sixth birthday on 7 August.
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It’ll take place from 2pm to 11pm in a brand-new unused space that organisers can only describe as “built for dancing”.
The lineup and venue haven’t been announced yet, but You&Me never disappoint so get your tickets here.
After party also pending.
Fields of Gold, Ashton Cricket Club – 3-4 September
Fields of Gold festival
Fields of Gold will take over Ashton Cricket Club on 3 and 4 September for two days of tribute bands.
Woasis, The Smiths Utd, The Ultimate Stone Roses, and Laid are all set to play your fave Manc songs in what will be the ultimate celebration of the city’s music.
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Plus, there’ll be DJ sets from Clint Boon and Happy Mondays’ Bez throughout the weekend.
Stay up-to-date with music, gigs and events around Manchester with The Manc Audio.
Music
Rising Manchester band M60 announce biggest UK headline tour to date
Danny Jones
Local lads M60 have announced their biggest UK headline tour yet, and are now only set to play their lengthiest run of live dates, but the largest Manchester gig they’ve played so far.
There’s nothing quite like a hometown crowd, is there?
For those who may not have yet come across them before, the Manc indie band have had a good couple of years, releasing some of their best-produced music to date and growing an even bigger following up and down the country.
If you’ve been to see M60 live here in Manchester, you’ll know they already bring a die-hard crowd of deeply loyal and passionate fans. They’re also the band that famously and successfully pestered Gary Neville every day to give them a shout-out for the best part of a year…
Revealing the latest series of shows to start off December, M60 have confirmed nearly a dozen gig dates in the new year.
Scheduled to get underway next spring, they’ll be playing throughout the month of April and into May 2026; official support act(s) are yet to be signed up, but you can expect more native talent to share in the spotlight.
You can see the full list of gigs announced down below.
M60 live tour dates – 2026
Oh, and we’ve also kindly highlighted the other Northern dates for you, just in case you can’t make it to the Manc one.
Thursday, 9 April – Liverpool District
Friday, 10 April – Sheffield Foundry
Saturday, 11 April – Leeds Key Club
Thursday, 16 April – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Friday, 17 April – London Oslo
Saturday, 18 April – Bristol Thekla
Thursday, 23 April – Birmingham Mama Roux’s
Friday, 24 April – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Saturday, 25 April – Manchester O2 Ritz
Friday, 1 May – Glasgow Nice N Sleazy
Saturday, 2 May – Newcastle The Grove
Music video budget be damned, it’s still a good tune.
Having released their latest single ‘Lemonade’, along with a rather fitting new brand logo, the group are looking to kick on in 2026.
With new lead guitarist, Owen Baldwin, joining the quartet earlier this year, not to mention having played big festival slots at the likes of Kendal Calling, Neighbourhood and more this past summer, we have every faith they will.
Tickets for their huge homecoming performance at O2 Ritz in Manchester on Saturday, 25 April 2026, go on general sale this Friday, 5 December at 10am.
Featured Images — Audio North/Press shot (supplied)
Music
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to | November 2025
Danny Jones
Well, well, well – it’s nearly the end of the year, and we’re on to our second-to-last round of local music artists based in and around Greater Manchester that are getting us excited for this year.
2025 has been ‘the year’ of many bands, some of whom are still well and truly riding the wave of popularity from the previous calendar, to be honest. But it’s also been unreal for new releases and ones to watch.
Never more so than here in our region, as we Mancunians – whether through birth, relocation or eventual adoption (if you love this place, it’ll love you back) – remain the most prolific musical hub in the UK, perhaps on the planet.
Squirm at our sincerity/perceived hyperbole all you want; we mean it, and we have five more artist suggestions for you to prove it. Let’s get stuck in.
Greater Manchester music you need to check out
1. TTSSFU
We’re kicking things off in Wigan this month: the first of our monthly artist picks is the curiously named TTSSFU, which is the stage name of 21-year-old native, Tasmin Stephens. The guitarist for fellow local band, Duvet, this new project has quickly caught our attention for all the right reasons.
It’s been labelled as DIY shoegaze, and while we don’t disagree with the description one bit – even the fairly melancholic, introspective, longing, ‘tragic youth’ content of the lyrics sort of fit that mould – but it doesn’t quite do the heavily textured sonics and techniques justice.
While singles like ‘Forever’ feel more like a familiar indie-girl alt-pop track (it actually made us think of Hazel English meets Soccer Mommy, specifically), that’s one note in the wide wall of sound she builds in her recent release, Blown. We’d suggest ‘Call U Back’ and ‘Being Young’ as stops two and three.
Now, if it’s more of those shoegazey influences that you want, Pins have been going at it since 2011 and arguably feel a little less abstract/more subtle in their approach, but they still deserve way more credit for the nevertheless impressive and experimental work they’ve been doing in the genre for over a decade.
Hot Slick, which dropped during the pandemic, was their most electronic and quite literally digital outing to date, and while admittedly not our favourite, it did show they had plenty of room and keenness to push in different directions, and it looks like it could be paying off at the start of this next chapter.
They returned this past September with their newest single, ‘I’ll Be Yours’, and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed diving back into their world and seeing what else they have in their locker. That mini-marching drum on its own has gotten stuck in our heads, but we still love listening to ‘LUVU4LYF’ and their tune with the one and only Iggy Pop. Yes, really…
There’s always something fascinating about musicians who’ve actually been around for donkey’s years but have never made little more than a relatively small catalogue, especially when they’re this good. Proud Mary should tell you everything you need to know from their name alone, but it comes in spades.
A Manchester-born blues and folk rock band formed in 1998, we’ll confess we never stray too far from their self-titled debut – which is now approaching its 25th anniversary and is delightful from start to finish – but there is still a very rich albeit short discography to be enjoyed here.
If you’re just looking for the most well-known tracks, you can’t go wrong with ‘Very Best Friend’, but we also like a couple from their last album, Songs From Catalina, like ‘Space and Places’, and ‘Hats Off’ could trick anyone into thinking it was classic bluegrass straight from Kentucky – only it’s Manc.
Never gets old this one.
4. pyncher
Our penultimate pick for November’s artists of the month is the promising alternative quartet, pyncher. We’d heard smatterings of them throughout this year, but having finally now sat with their debut album, Every Town Needs A Stranger, we’ve fallen headlong into a full-on love affair.
Starting out as another underground post-punk outfit looking to make their mark in an increasingly saturated sect of the current British alt-rock scene, it’s their punchy, straightforward but satisfyingly jangly, irreverent style that not only puts us in mind of contemporaries like Seb Lowe, but has totally won us over.
The swagger feels VERY rock and roll, the vocal delivery almost feels like it takes the piss out of polished singing, and as for recommendations, ‘Back to the Country’ is the perfect introduction to their sound; ‘Dirty Feet’ almost starts like an alternative guitar-driven skat and feels very post-modern, and ‘Steely Dan’ might be our most replayed song of the last few weeks full stop.
5. Still Blank
Lastly, we’re pleased to report that the Spotify algorithm properly did its job this time by suggesting not only related groups/similar-sounding acts on the artist’s radio, but actually giving us one that we became so quickly enamoured with that we dove right down deep into the rabbit hole.
We’re talking about Still Blank, whose unique blend of laid-back yet soulful vocals, layered guitars and pedals, with drowny ambience, nods to everything from The Durutti Column and Radiohead – ‘Arpeggi’, specifically – to early New Order and more, it’s a dreamy, synth-soaked mix we can’t get enough of.
Set up by multi-talented Jordy from Hawaii and guitarist Ben, who’s from right here in 0161, we could genuinely and wholeheartedly recommend every song on their debut record for a different reason. The more we listen to it, the more we struggle to land on any real semblance of our favourites; it’s nigh on impossible because.
Along with pyncher, this might be one of the most perfect debuts we’ve had the good fortune of coming across in god knows how long. For once, we’ll save you the lengthy, verbose descriptions – just listen to it and prepare to have little else in your ears for the foreseeable.
We hope you enjoyed this latest round-up of Greater Manchester music, both new and old, and you can rest assured we’ll be back again for one final edition for 2025 at the same time next month.
And, as always, please do give us your own suggestions in the comments, as we’re always on the lookout for exciting talents worthy of making the monthly Audio North list.
You can see who we picked out last month down below.
Hannah Starkie -
22nd April 2021 
