If you’ve never been to Manifest before, Manchester’s regular free music festival, then you’re seriously missing out — lucky for you, it’s coming back this winter so you’ve got plenty of time to make it right.
Following a successful season of seven jam-packed events throughout spring and summer, the Manifest live music festival will once again be taking over award-winning bar The Oast House, only this time with a festive twist.
Taking place inside The Oast House’s famous winter hideaway, ‘The Teepee’, which opened for the season earlier this month, the now Manc-favourite event will see bands, solo artists, duos and taking to the stage throughout the day with interludes from resident DJs running into the night.
The first winter Manifest festival will kick off on Saturday, 28 October with a packed roster of musicians playing live from 1pm and well into the small hours — after all, it’s always a party atmosphere around these parts.
Anyone going along can expect a festival atmosphere all day and night with everything from rock, pop, soul, R&B, funk, disco and blues on show.
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Then, as night falls, The Teepee — which has become something of a local institution come the winter time — gets into full swing, with guests gathering around roaring fires and underneath twinkling fairy lights as they drink and dance the night away to the live music being played inside the tent itself.
Once again, the best part about this festival is that it’s completely free to attend and there is no pre-booking required; just turn up (we’d recommend as early as possible as this place gets busy) and enjoy yourself along with hundreds of other Mancs.
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Securing a seat is of course on a first-come, first-served basis but don’t worry, there’s still plenty of room on the terrace and inside The Teepee where people will spend most of their night on their feet anyway. Manifest is a music festival after all we’re talking about Manchester on a weekend — who’s wasting time sitting down?
Manifest, Manchester’s regular free music festival, is back for winter 2023 (Credit: Supplied)
Of course, to fuel all that singing and dancing, you’ll need to get some scran in you. Fortunately, The Oast House’s street food style menu will be on offer throughout and having enjoyed it many times ourselves, we can vouch for it being the perfect way to line your stomach.
From seasonal signature dishes like northern poutine with bone marrow gravy and Shorrock’s Lancashire cheese, katsu chicken fries, chicken or plant-based gyros; stacked burgers, hot wings, hanging kebabs and more, there’s pretty much something for everyone.
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Better still, even if this weekend is too short notice for you and you’ve already made plans, fear not: not only is Manifest returning to The Oast House again on Saturday, 25 November but regardless of whether the festival is one, The Teepee has live Manc musicians playing every single night of the week — again, all completely free to enjoy.
There are plenty of places to enjoy the winter festivities in Manchester during the build-up to Christmas, but The Oast House is well and truly up there with our all-time favourites.
Trust us, even outside The Teepee, the weather won’t put anyone off.
New details released ahead of world-premiere exhibition taking visitors on ‘epic space adventure’
Emily Sergeant
Some exciting new details of a major exhibition taking visitors on an ‘epic space adventure’ in Manchester next month have been revealed.
Making its world premiere, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will invite visitors to explore our wondrous Solar System when it launches at the Science and Industry Museum in a few weeks time.
Announced in November last year fresh off-the-back of the new BBC Children’s and Education TV show, Horrible Science, the ‘thrilling’ new exhibition will encourage visitors to ‘do science the horrible way’, and join both scientists and supervillains to unveil the secrets of space.
The new exhibition will propel families up into space where mystery, intrigue, and rocket-loads of silly and surprising science await. You’ll get to venture through a series of cosmic zones, walk in the shoes of astronauts, explore the life-giving energy of the sun, marvel at mysterious moons, and discover far-off weird worlds.
Left teetering on the edge of our Solar System, explorers will then find themselves staring into the dark depths of space, on the lookout for any extra-terrestrial life that could be staring back.
Whether its sniffing astronauts’ smelly socks, dancing on an alien disco planet, feeling the tremors from a mysterious moonquake, or launching a space rocket, organisers say this new adventure will engage all the senses in a truly immersive experience.
This is the first time Horrible Science has been brought to life as a major exhibition.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos opens in a few weeks time / Credit: Drew Forsyth (Science Museum Group)
Visitors will get to see familiar characters from the BBC series – like Dr Big Brain, in particular – on their mission to find out more about our fascinating Solar System through interactive experiments, playful challenges, and sensory exploration.
Newly announced are the names of some of the different exciting areas of the exhibition, like ‘Awesome Astronauts’, where life aboard the International Space Station is revealed, and ‘Mysterious Moon’ where visitors explore the only place beyond Earth ever visited by humans.
There’s also ‘Sizzling Sun’, ‘Weird Worlds’, and sensory spaces like the ‘Cosy Crater’ and ‘Dreadful Deep Space’ to make the most of.
The exhibition is being developed by the Science and Industry Museum in collaboration with producers of the Horrible Science TV show, BBC Children’s and Education, and Lion Television, together with Scholastic, who are publishers of the much-loved Horrible Science book series by Nick Arnold and illustrated by Tony De Saulles.
‘Unmissable’ objects from the Science Museum Group’s world-class space collection will also be on show when the exhibition premieres.
Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos will open at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on 13 February 2026 for an 11-month run before heading down to London, and tickets are now on sale priced at £10 – with family discounts available, and under-threes going free.
Featured Image – Drew Forsyth (Science Museum Group)
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Printworks set to host a FREE music festival headlined by local music veterans
Danny Jones
You heard us right, Printworks is expanding its wide-ranging calendar of entertainment and leisure in 2026 with its very own completely free music festival here in Manchester.
Better still, it’s set to be headlined by some cult favourites.
The one-off event will debut next month to celebrate the arrival of the 2026 BRIT Awards, with the annual ceremony and accompanying seven days of intimate live shows coming to the city of Manchester for the very first time.
Set to take place from Friday afternoon until Saturday evening, 27-28 February (4-10pm and 2-10, respectively), the open access weekender has been dubbed ‘Live and Loud’.
Judging by the lineup of artists announced for Printworks’ debut music festival, we have every faith it will live up to the name.
As well as Manchester DJ Matt Hydes kicking things off, followed by the likes of R’n’B soul artist, KingFast, resident Reform Radio MC Urbi will also be joining the lineup, as well as regional dance veteran, Gareth James, and an intimate set by Sabira Jade.
That’s just a small handful of those who signed up to play the inaugural Live & Loud 2025.
As for your headliners, we’re buzzing to confirm that local house legends K-Klass are topping the bill; they may be from Chester, but they’ve been based here for ages and are practically part of the cultural fabric at this point.
You can see the full Live and Loud lineup and Printworks artist spotlight down below:
Friday, 27 Feb, 2026
Tristan Walsh
2Vibe
Urbi
KingFast
Honey Bee Jazz Band
Matt Hydes
Sat, 28
K-Klass
Matt Walsh & Jay Murt
Sabira Jade
Gareth James
Kick Back Sundays
Jorge Martin
Guy Connor
Emma Ellis
Printworks general manager, Dan Davis, said in an official statement: “Manchester is renowned for its musical heritage, and we are excited to bring music to life here at Printworks.
“Live & Loud will place Manchester artists front and centre, with an eclectic line-up that is diverse in genre, background and generation – reflecting our commitment to championing a wide range of local and upcoming artistic talent for a must-attend weekend of live music.”
In case you missed it, this brand-new event also comes amid a raft of small-capacity fundraising shows across the country.
Colette Burroughs-Rose, Director at Genre Music, added: “Live & Loud is Manchester in full voice – familiar faces and new names coming together under one roof across two standout days.
“This is Genre Music’s home city, and we’re proud to be partnering with Printworks on a music programme that welcomes everyone: family-friendly by day, great for evenings with friends.
“Alongside curating a truly eclectic mix of the city’s incredible DJs and live acts, we’re also capturing the artists’ stories on film to help amplify their voices and creativity beyond the stage.”
With the BRIT Awards being hosted at the Co-op Live arena not just this Feb but until 2027 as well, here’s hoping this is just the inaugural ‘L&L Fest and we at least get a sophomore edition next year.
There’s plenty of other music festivals happening in Greater Manchester throughout the year, especially this summer.
Sounds From The Other City has released its 2026 lineup, and there's set to be more than 100 exciting acts playing on 17 stages across #Salford. 🎶🎸
Danny Jones -
27th October 2023 
