Manchester’s neighbourhood Kampus is gearing up to host a solid ten weeks of back-to-back block parties from its canal-side garden.
From laid-back disco vibes to escapist California beach sounds, Irish folk parties, raucous Mexican festivities to smooth NYC jazz, each weekend will see guest DJs take to the decks to spin tunes from different corners of the world.
Kicking off from Friday 15 April, the neighbourhood will play host to a range of eclectic patio parties with free-flowing beer from Manchester brewery Cloudwater.
Image: Kampuis
As for food, Ramsbottom favourites Levanter will be moving into the Kampus Bungalow for a residency -serving up tapas, giant paella and charcuterie boards aplenty over the ten-week period.
Every Saturday and Sunday from 11am, the team will be putting on a special Spanish brunch with a rotating menu and special Bloody Mary cocktails from Cloudwater on tap, using a different base spirit and garnish each week.
ADVERTISEMENT
The residency – to takeover the Kampus gardens and Bungalow – will run until Sunday 26 June 2022.
Paul Jones, co-founder of Cloudwater, said: “The vibe at Kampus last summer was knock-out, with people dancing in the gardens and sipping craft beer overlooking Canal Street.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We’re properly excited about this line-up. We not only wanted to celebrate the best of Manchester’s scene, with local DJs and artists, but cherry-pick the best produce from around the world and showcase it during a run of epic neighbourhood parties.
Image: Levanter
“The global weekenders mean we can not only rotate our own beers, but serve up amazing imported drinks from our friends in Europe and the US to the Manchester crowd.”
The residency is further expansion for Ramsbottom favourites Levanter.
ADVERTISEMENT
Born from founder Joe Botham’s love for Flamenco music and Andalusian culture, the restaurant and sister brand Baratxuri went on to gain critical acclaim – with rave reviews from national food critics, awards and a place in the Michelin Guide.
Based at The Bungalow, the canalside concrete block on stilts at Kampus, they’ll be serving up food from 11am to 9pm Thursday to Saturday, and 11am to 8pm on Sunday throughout the residency.
Giant paella will be served in the garden from 3pm on weekends, with both meat and vegan options.
Joe Botham, owner of Levanter and Baratxuri, said: “We’re all about serving delicious, Spanish food in a way that’s unpretentious, traditional but above all social. It’s about the shared experience of having great food and spending time with the people you love the most.
“This residency will be perfect for that, visitors can expect giant paella cooked outside, hand-carved Jamon Iberico de Bellota and a raft of our favourite dishes we picked up on our travels around Spain’s stunning villages.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We’ve done our own thing and gained an awesome following at Levanter, but we’ve always loved collaborating with like-minded people. Coming to Kampus is like coming home, it’s got that neighbourhood feel that we love and loads of our old mates who’ve gone on to found great brands that are due to open here too.”
Image: Kampus
The Cloudwater X Levanter global weekender line-up will include:
Manchester Long Bank Holiday (14-17 April)
Known Manchester DJs and homegrown city favourite beers
Spain (21-24 April)
Spanish house music, specially imported Basqueland beers and cider, plus Record Store Day pop-up featuring indie record shops selling and spinning hot records.
California Bank Holiday (28 April – 1 May)
Beach soundtrack, surf rock and hip hop, with guest beers flown in.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mexico (5-8 May)
Cinco de Mayo celebrations, with traditional décor and Latin party vibes.
Ireland (12-15 May)
Fresh imported beer from our neighbours, folk music, spoken word artists and stalls.
New York (19-22 May)
Eclectic mix of Jazz in all its forms, paired with beers from the best NYC breweries.
Canada (26-29 May)
Fresh beers from Toronto’s finest, including Bellwoods, Sonnen Hill and Goodspeed breweries.
The Queer Ju-Beer-lee Festival Bank Holiday (2-5 June)
Celebrating the Best of British in honour of Queen Liz! Party bags and street party at the ready, pouring fresh beer from the Queer Brewing Project.
ADVERTISEMENT
Portugal (9-12 June)
Fun-twist on a Portuguese party, with Fado and Flamenco tunes, with port-infused Bloody Marys.
New England USA (16 –19 June)
Levanter dishes with beers from some of the highest rated breweries in the world.
Manchester closer (23-26 June)
Manchester favourites to celebrate our home town, with back-to-back tunes!
Feature image – Kampus
News
Rudy’s is opening a new pizzeria and pizza school in the former Dawson’s Music site
Georgina Pellant
A year on from the initial news that Rudy’s would be taking over the old Dawson’s Music site on Portland Street, bosses behind the chain of neighbourhood pizzerias have finally hinted towards the new site’s opening date.
Revealing it is set to open in Manchester city centre this spring, they also shared the news that the new 8,000sqft location will be home, not just to another restaurant, but also to Rudy’s very own pizza school.
Billed as a ‘world-class destination for pizzaiolo talent’, the new pizza academy will take just over half the space – providing a structured training programme to both experienced pizza chefs and novices. It is set to welcome over 100 pizza chefs in this first year.
Image: Rudy’s
Image: Rudy’s
The restaurant, meanwhile, will span the rest with room for 120 covers. It will be Rudy’s sixth pizza restaurant in Manchester.
The new location at Portland Street will also be the HQ for Rudy’s Bake at Home, back by popular demand.
Serving the perfect and classic Neapolitan pizza since 2015 from its original Rudy’s in Ancoats, the acclaimed pizzeria has since opened 16 sites across the UK, with the new 120-cover pizzeria in Portland Street being its sixth location in Manchester.
Born out of passion for pizza, Rudy’s follows the authentic Neapolitan tradition of pizza making, serving classic recipes such as Marinara, Margherita and Calabrese – all originating from Naples, the birthplace of pizza.
Rudy’s has been praised by many as one of the best pizzerias in the UK, it is renowned for its consistency and quality in Neapolitan pizza making. On a mission to pave the way in pizza making all accordance to a truly authentic Neapolitan technique, Rudy’s is proud to open Rudy’s Pizza Academy at the new Portland Street location.
Jos Goncalves, manager at Rudy’s Portland Street, said: “We are delighted to announce that our next Rudy’s pizzeria will be located on Manchester’s bustling Portland Street.
Manchester has been home to the Rudy’s famiglia since we first opened in Ancoats in 2015, and we can’t wait to open our latest pizzeria, with the addition of our first Pizza Academy in the city this spring”.
Featured image – Rudy’s
News
Watch as Ed Sheeran debuts new music for the first time ever at ‘intimate’ Manchester gig
Daisy Jackson
Now normally, when an artist chooses to take some brand new material out on tour for the first time, they’ll test the waters with a few intimate shows.
Just recently, we’ve had both Fall Out Boy and Blossoms at Band on the Wall, The 1975 at Gorilla, and Jason Manford in a beer garden.
But for Ed Sheeran, his idea of ‘intimate’ is… the AO Arena. That super cosy 21,000-capacity venue. Ah.
After selling out FOUR nights at the Etihad Stadium last summer, though, the chance to see Ed on stage in an arena again is a novel one, and it sold out the venue in minutes.
The ‘Shape of You’ singer announced this surprise arena tour just weeks before he took to the stage, in support of his upcoming sixth album Subtract.
This mini tour kicked off in Manchester last night – meaning our city got to hear new track ‘Eyes Closed’ live for the first time ever.
You can watch the highlights from Ed Sheeran at the AO Arena in the video below
Ed was supported by TikTok sensation Cian Ducrot, whose flash mob videos have amassed almost 100 million likes.
Cian’s tracks ‘All For You’ and ‘I’ll Be Waiting’ have become chart-topping crowd-pleasers and are already translating well to stages as large as the AO Arena.
Back to the main act, and Ed Sheeran delivers another of his truly impressive solo shows – as always, it’s just him and a loop pedal up on that stage.
It’s a best-of setlist of his most popular (and personal favourite) songs, with some surprises thrown in.
There’s a cover of Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Someone You Loved’, and another of Snoop Dogg’s ‘No Diggity’, that delight the thousands who managed to snap up a ticket for this coveted show.
But it’s Ed’s own songs, especially ‘Bad Habits’, that really light a fire in the audience, sending the entire arena floor in a dancing, sweaty mess.
Introducing his newest song, Ed told the audience: “Right Manchester. Real real danger time. This is danger zone. I’m releasing my brand new single in the morning, it’s called ‘Eyes Closed’.
Ed Sheeran introducing new music in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
“I feel so awkward about this album, because I sort of made this album as a therapeutic, cathartic thing, and then I felt better about whatever was going on.”
He added: “This song means a hell of a lot to me, and I’ve never played it live in front of an audience before.
“This gig is about singalongs, and having fun, and feeling one and included and everyone here it’s like a big communal thing. I’m super nervous, so please listen.
“I wrote this song about losing someone… but don’t think about my sh*t, think about your sh*t. This song is for anyone who’s lost anyone. This song is for you.”
With this triumphant return to the live circuit, make no mistake – Ed Sheeran is back.
Georgina Pellant -
25th March 2022 
