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The Oast House’s free live music festival is back this Jubilee bank holiday weekend

ManiFest is back once again on Friday 3 June to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 31st May 2022

One of the most popular city centre venues is back with another edition of its new music festival this Jubilee bank holdiday weekend.

In case you missed it, award-winning Spinningfields bar and one of the city’s best-loved sun traps, The Oast House, has launched a brand-new live music festival – which kicked-off for the first time over the extended Easter bank holiday weekend, with a full day of tunes provided by local musicians throughout the one-day event, and returned for the early May bank holiday last month too.

And now, it’s back once again on Friday 3 June to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The festival, which is named ManiFest, takes over The Oast House’s large outdoor terrace area, with a dedicated stage set up.

Set to run from 1pm right through until 10pm in the evening, a packed roster of acts are lined up to perform on Friday, including bands, solo artists, and duos, all taking to the stage throughout the day, with interludes provided by a number of resident DJs.

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The Oast House says that festival-goers can expect a “party atmosphere” and sounds of rock, pop, soul, R&B, funk, disco and blues – with headline acts and full artist lineups set to be announced over the next week.

The event is not ticketed, and is free to attend on a first come, first served basis.

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ManiFest is taking over The Oast House’s large outdoor terrace every bank holiday weekend this spring and summer / Credit: The Oast House

Given the fact that the event is not ticketed and knowing how popular The Oast House is on most weekends in general, the venue is recommending that people get there early to avoid disappointment.

If the tunes weren’t enough of a draw as it is, The Oast House’s unique street food menu will also be on offer to try out throughout the weekend for those looking to line their stomachs during the festival – which has a wide range of signature dishes such as the Northern Poutine, Crispy Chicken Burger, and the famous Hanging Kebabs.

Read more: The Oast House launches new street food menu with gyros, poutine and more

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Some of the vegan options on the menu include Cauliflower Wings, Salt and Pepper Fries, and the Plant Based Gyro Wrap.

The free live music festival is back once again on Friday 3 June to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee / Credit: The Manc Group

Festival-goers will also get a glimpse at a new street art mural by Northern artist Sam Porter, which was unveiled earlier last month to celebrate the launch of the new festival, and has seen iconic Manchester scenes painted onto the inside of The Oast House stage.

ManiFest is set to return to The Oast House on each bank holiday weekend throughout the spring and summer.

More details of individual events will be released in due course on The Oast House website.

Featured Image – The Oast House

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Craig David announces huge outdoor gig at Barton Aerodrome in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Craig David

Craig David is bringing his legendary TS5 party to Manchester for a massive outdoor summer show. 

The legendary singer, songwriter and DJ will be taking over City Airport in Manchester, also known as Barton Aerodrome. 

The special show will combine old school anthems with R&B, garage, and bashment, alongside plenty of contemporary hits. 

Craig David, who rocketed to fame in the late 1990s, first launched his TS5 parties, where he sings, MCs and DJs, as an exclusive pre-party at his own penthouse in Miami. 

Initially, Craig used them as a way to play his favourite music to the people he loved the most – but it proved such a hit that he started to take it on the road. 

Craig David presents TS5 at Barton Aerodrome. Credit: Supplied

Guaranteed to be a great night out, Craig David Presents TS5 is now heading to Manchester for a summer show. 

The star has sold more than 15 million albums, secured more than 10 top 10 hits, and achieved multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries around the world. 

His TS5 shows now sell out at prestigious venues across the globe, and he’s even taken it to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. 

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The unique live concert will take place at City Airport in Manchester on Friday 14 July, just outside the city – the huge space surrounded by lush green fields will be transformed with epic light and sound productions. 

You can expect a night of sing-along hits, good time grooves and Craig David classics. 

Tickets will go on sale from 9am on Friday 31 March with Skiddle. 

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons

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The award-winning cocktail bar hidden beneath the old Coronation Street cobbles

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Unbeknownst to many, there is an award-winning cocktail bar hidden beneath Coronation Street‘s original cobbles serving up some of the best drinks in the city.

Recently named ‘one to watch’ at the UK’s Top 50 Bar awards 2023, Project Halcyon has also just won the Best New Bar award – voted for by a community of some 17,000 hospitality staff at this month’s Manchester Bar Awards (MBAs).

Brought to Manchester by the team behind Zymogorium distillery, it originally opened in early 2020 – launching just weeks before the Covid 19 pandemic hit.

Like many other operators, the secret speakeasy – which is connected to the working distillery for Manchester gin makers Zymogorium – closed its doors during lockdown, then quietly relaunched in late October last year beneath Old Granada Studios.

Since reopening, it’s been flooded with accolades. General Manager Adam has just been named amongst the UK’s top 100 bartenders by World Class UK, whilst house bartender Reah Owen recently won the Rising Star award at the MBAs.

And yet, somehow, it’s still managing to fly under the radar as one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets – although, considering all the awards the team is winning, we expect this won’t remain the case for long.

Image: Project Halcyon
Image: Project Halcyon

The bar is something of a labyrinth with numerous corners to explore within its underground warren. As well as housing a large bar at its entrance, it’s also home to a dedicated absinthe parlour, Salon Vert, which has been painted to look like a woodland scene and features vintage crystal absinthe fountains.

Read more: This Manchester restaurant is serving an all-you-can-eat curry buffet throughout Ramadan

Elsewhere, there’s a still room and laboratory where the team uses chemistry equipment to create all the insane ingredients that go into their cocktails.

Add to this a self-playing grand piano and a rare collection of expensive spirits, and it’s safe to say Project Halcyon is very much up there with the city centre’s best cocktail bars.

As for its current drinks menu, open it up and you’ll discover that each signature cocktail is accompanied by a stunning illustration of a rare bird.

Choices include ‘Fourteen Days’, a long, tart drink that nods to the Halcyon days of Ancient Greece, and ‘Phoenix Down’, a smoky combination of smoky, nutty bourbon with bitter back notes that symbolises rebirth and eternal life.

Image: Project Halcyon
‘Murder of Crows’ (Chairmans Reserve Original – Cane Toad SMBS – Ming River Baijiu – Mandarin – 5 Spice). / Image: Project Halcyon

Elsewhere on the list, you’ll find the brilliantly-named cocktails ‘Act of Vanity’, a combination of melon liqueur, blueberry and Veuve Cliquot champagne, and ‘Murder of Crows’, a moody and short mix of spiced spirits that promises to be both dark and funky.

Read more: Inside the Manchester restaurant serving ‘India’s answer to a Wigan kebab’

The bar also serves up a list of six house classics, all of which are prebatched, prediluted and kept at -14 degrees ready to be poured at your table. Interestingly, though, because the drinks are already kept at the right temperature they aren’t diluted with water but rather with a variety of house-made concoctions.

General Manager Adam told The Manc that the most famous of these is the house vodka martini, made with Boatyard vodka, Cocchi Americano vermouth and clarified banana juice as the dilute.

Image: Project Halcyon
Image: Project Halcyon

“It makes for this insanely creamy, flavourful martini that’s classic but approachable,” he said, adding: “Our approach to the bar is that the science is for us to worry about, the hospitality is for the guests.

“We don’t put all this crazy techy stuff at the forefront of what we do. We prioritise good, classic, personal hospitality first and foremost.”

Read more: ‘We were treated awfully’ – ex-staffer speaks out as Freight Island gears up for reopening

The bar also boasts a vast collection of rare and expensive spirits – and amongst the usual suspects, such as Louis XIII cognac, sit some interesting pieces like the latest seasonal release from Nc’nean and Elena Wright, the latter a close friend of the bar and an award-winning Manchester bartender.

It also serves up a strong selection of wines and beers, not to mention a cracking gin and tonic. Of course, being run by one of Manchester’s original craft gin distilleries, we’d expect nothing less.

Feature image – Project Halcyon

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