A brand new awards ceremony championing Northern gamechangers is set to debut in Manchester this autumn.
Called Northern Gamechangers, the brand new awards programme will celebrate the forces for good in our business communities and honour leaders in the region making a real difference in their fields.
The brainchild of Manchester-based business consultancy Elevate, the awards ceremony has been designed to champion purpose-driven businesses – after noticing the little recognition available for those making a real difference in similar programmes.
However, in a twist that sets the awards apart from most, there will not be any formal nomination categories. Rather, nominated ‘Gamechangers’ are able to excel in a number of areas – including sustainability, decarbonisation, social mobility, diversity and inclusion, and charitable partnerships.
It will take place with a cool and contemporary awards ceremony held in the city on 14 September 2022, with nominations open to organisations, businesses and individuals until 10 June.
Forgoing the traditional glitzy ceremony, the awards will do away with the white tablecloths and stuffy dress codes of old in favour of something altogether more relaxed and fun – as well as a much more accessible ticket price.
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Speaking on the new awards, Katie Robson, Co-Founder and Director, said: “We are constantly inspired by people that prove that businesses can, and should, be a force for good – we’ve launched Northern Gamechangers to celebrate these individual and organisations and spread the word to others.”
Confirmed judges include Anna Gledson, Marketing Director at The Manc; Sharon Amesu, Founder of SA Consulting, and North-West Business Leadership Team; Amer Gaffar, Director of Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre and Tim Heatley, Co-Founder of Capital&Centric.
Sponsors of the programme include a leading independent PR agency, The PHA Group, which last year launched its Manchester base and has since added a Leeds office to the roster; Manchester Central, the city’s thriving exhibition and conference centre; and Appleyard Lees, Intellectual Property specialists.
Nominations are now open for the Northern Gamechangers, which will take place on 14 September at an as-yet-undisclosed venue in Manchester.
Speaking further on the Northern Gamechanger awards, Katie added: “We’ve been immersed in Manchester’s thriving business community for some time now, and what really makes the region stand out is just how many people are willing to step outside the box with new ideas and game changing attitudes.
“Through Northern Gamechangers, we want to make noise about Manchester’s pioneering spirit and those using their influence for good. We can’t wait to see the nominations – we already know there are a lot of Gamechangers in the region.”
Speaking on the upcoming awards, Anna Gledson, Marketing Director at The Manc and Northern Gamechangers judge, added: “Here at The Manc Group, we’re big champions of the north and it’s a real honour to be involved with Northern Gamechangers’ inaugural year.
“We know that there are so many wonderful business leaders in the north of England doing brilliant things, and this new awards ceremony is such a great opportunity to shine a light on those who are going the extra mile in their communities – be it through charitable partnerships, sustainability, diversity and/or inclusion.
“We’re delighted to be supporting the initiative with our regional publications and I can’t wait to see who gets involved.”
A shortlist of 50 nominees will be announced for Northern Gamechangers in July, followed by the final 10 award winners who will be revealed at the event on Wednesday 14 September.
Further information and nominations for the Northern Gamechangers can be found here.
Beloved plant-based independent street food business Herbivorous is set to close imminently
Danny Jones
We hate writing this, but we have news of yet another local hospitality closure as beloved Manchester-born and pioneering plant-based brand Herbivorous has confirmed they’ll soon be calling it a day.
If you can hear us sighing through the screen, apologies – we’re just getting really fed up of saying farewell to our favourites, so god knows how rubbish those involved feel.
As you can see, the team behind the multi-location vegan street food specialists began by writing: “It’s a long one so stay with me… It seems you can’t open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.
“Throughout 8 years of Herbivorous years we’ve come up against many challenges from Covid 5 years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again to the closure of Hatch our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs its becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.”
Herbivorous started out life back in 2016 as a cult hit at the old outdoor food, drink and entertainment hub centring around a ‘container village’, the first of its kind in the city and soon to reopen under new owners and a new name.
Since then, co-founders Robyn and Damian have gone on to expand not just to one permanent site over in Withington but with outposts in Sheffield and York, having gained a strong reputation with stalls and pop-ups all over.
Their hospitality story might not have the ending we personally would hope for, but it’s been a brilliant one for so many foodie fans – us lot included.
Nevertheless, they go on to add in the emotional statement that external pressures such as a recent bereavement and their own ever-growing family have also contributed to the decision which, despite being an understandably hard one, “feel like the right time.”
“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England”, they continue, “and with that we’ve also met so many fantastic people!”
“Whether you worked for us at a few festivals over [the] summer or for years at our restaurant, we just wanted to say and massive thank you! The memories will stay with us forever and, of course, how can we not mention our fabulous customers!
“Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years. Those of you who had our food at Festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.”
They signed off by detailing their final business days, with their Sheffield Kommune spot having already shut for refurbishment; meanwhile, their spot in SPARK York will be wrapping up on Saturday, 19 April.
As for their flagship brick-and-mortar venue here in Greater Manchester, Herbivorous Withington will be shutting on Friday, 25 April.
Once again, there’s nothing we can say other than thank you for years of delicious food, that we’re guttted to see you go, and that everyone at The Manc Group wishes you the best whatever comes next.
AJ Tracey is playing a VERY intimate gig in Manchester next month
Thomas Melia
London rapper and respected grime artist AJ Tracey is ‘live and direct’ once again, announcing a whole host of UK dates, one of which is a rather intimate gig right here in Manchester.
It’s official: one of UK rap’s leading gents is getting back on the road and he’s showing a ‘Little More Love’ to lots of cities, including Manchester.
In a post on the UK star’s socials, AJ Tracey trades his music persona for that of a sports pundit as he announces the dates for his upcoming tour while impersonating an F1 commentator.
Anyone looking to attend Tracey’s ‘Not Even A Tour’ can catch the star up and down the country on his over 20-date tour with a stop in Manchester as soon as this month.
The rapper has reached phenomenal heights since dropping the unforgettable ‘Ladbroke Grove’ in 2019 and is heading out across the nation to make sure everyone knows about it.
Get ready to spit bars left and right as this rapper’s discography is stacked with serious tunes like ‘Dinner Guest’, ‘West Ten’, ‘Thiago Silva’ and more.
More recently, he collaborated with Walsall’s finest Jorja Smith for a flirty garage beat also known as ‘Crush’ with the video being the two artists talking it out in a good old fashioned caff.
The latest collaboration with Smith marks the start of a new era for Mr. Live and direct as it fell in line with the announcement of his third studio album.
Titled Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, we’re sure he’ll be “building a vibe” wherever he goes and probably previewing a few exclusive tracks from his upcoming project too.
This gig may come as quite a surprise for any hardcore fans of the ‘Ladbroke Grove’ star as the venue in which he’s performing is definitely intimate only, holding just over 250 guests.
This rap giant is bringing his unbelievable beats to none other than the legendary small-cap city centre live music venue, The Deaf Institute, at the end of this month.
It’s safe to say you won’t get many more chances, if any, to see him in such a tight-knit space again.
AJ Tracey is bringing ‘Not Even A Tour’ to Deaf Institute in Manchester on 30 April, with tickets on sale Friday 4 April from 12 noon.
Georgina Pellant -
31st May 2022 
