It looks set to be one of the highlights of this year’s events calendar here in Manchester, and tickets are now on sale.
90s kids, 00s lovers, dance floor heroes, and underground clubbers can kick-start the summer season by grabbing tickets to go back to that time they love so much as Flashback Festival – Manchester’s newest and only outdoor music festival celebrating dance music from the last two decades – is bringing “timeless tunes and fresh vibes” to Platt Fields Park.
Some of the biggest names from dance music across the globe, some chart-topping local throwbacks, and some of the elite North West residents from over the years will be gathering in the city for one day only this May.
They’ll be blasting out all the “old skool anthems” you know and love at what is set to be the hottest festival this summer, come rain or shine.
No matter what it is that you’re in to – whether it be euphoric trance and Clubland Classics, to retro house, garage, jungle, hardcore, and just about everything in between – Flashback Festival’s “jaw-dropping” lineup of headliners and pioneers will showcase a full spectrum of dance music royalty from the past 30 years.
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There’s over 60 artists on the lineup, spread across five stages.
Flashback Festival is taking over Platt Fields Park / Credit: Flashback Festival
Headliner Example will be taking to the ‘Main Stage’ with his hits ‘Kickstarts’ and ‘Won’t Go Quietly’, and he’ll be joined by other throwback chart toppers Tinchy Stryder, 2Unlimited, Tulisa, Judge Jules, Dave Pearce, Ultrabeat, and so many more.
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For the Garage fans, DJ Luck & MC Neat, Artful Dodger, and Sweet Female Attitude will be there to take it back to the most iconic era in music.
Stages will be hosted by legendary brands such as Clubland, Hed Kandi, Back by Dope Demand, and Trance Anthems.
The ‘Main Stage’ will be a huge open-air outdoor stage with SFX, laser shows, and pyrotechnics, and there’ll be huge big top arena featuring a well-known national brand that fills up clubs and dance floors every week.
There’s over 60 artists on the lineup, spread across five stages / Credit: Flashback Festival
And the music is only part of what makes this festival an unmissable event too.
There’s also set to be a VIP bar and plenty of different fairground rides spread across the dedicated ‘Festival Village’, as well as an official after party on the cards, and lots more exciting things to be announced over the coming months.
Flashback Festival is coming to Platt Fields Park on Saturday 21 May 2022.
Tickets are priced at £44.50 for standard entry, £61.50 for a VIP package, and £10 if you just fancy going to the after party, with booking fees added onto each.
A dedicated anime, movie and gaming concert with a live orchestra is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Calling all self-proclaimed otakus, cinephiles and gamers: a huge concert experience will see dozens of musicians bring classic anime, film and gaming soundtracks and scores to life later this year, right here in Manchester.
The city is no stranger to events celebrating these beloved kinds of media, but you’ll struggle to find another bringing all of them together in one place.
Brought to us Mancs by KIN Music Entertainment, a locally founded arts, events and music label, this celebration of all things pop culture – and specifically, the music tied to it.
Entitled ‘The Kin & Fushigi Anime, Film & Videogame Orchestra’, this passionate collective serves as not only a platform for rising artists but also to hear some iconic sonic moments like never before.
KIN have created a large-scale live concert experience which will bring together a 25-piece pop orchestra made up of emerging professional performers and conservatoire graduates.
Aside from the impressive total of people behind this production to begin with, they also form an immersive hybrid orchestral and live band capable of bringing.
Speaking on the upcoming date, KIN Entertainment said in a statement: “We wanted to create the kind of live experience that many anime and videogame fans in Manchester have been waiting for — something cinematic, emotional and community-driven that brings these sound worlds to life with the energy of both an orchestra and a live band.”
Kin was founded by bassist, composer and ensemble performer Alejandro Urbina Diaz, who first brought his talents and wider interests over from Mexico to the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) here in the city centre at the age of 23.
Citing Manchester’s multiculturalism and cosmopolitan cultural fabric as a big part of his inspiration, he and his team have ended up carving out this niche for themselves, and now they’ll be playing this beloved music to Mancs at none other than the O2 Ritz.
Credit: KIN Music Entertainment (supplied via Academy Music Group Digital)
With new arrangements inspired by anime, cinematic and videogame culture, not to mention orchestral and even rock crossover twists – including both vocalist and rhythm sections, by the way – it’s set to be a highly unique experience that most will have never come across before.
This event itself is suitable for audiences aged 14+, although under-16s must be accompanied by an adult, and it’s taking place at the Ritz on Sunday, 26 July.
We’re not going to spoil any more details about the show for you, so which particular pieces of pop culture they reference will just have to be a surprise…
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via AMG Digital)
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You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Manchester’s Deansgate
Daisy Jackson
There’s a brand-new menu of smokehouse-style BBQ dishes being served up on a sunny terrace on Deansgate.
Motley, the neighbourhood bar and restaurant on the corner of John Dalton Street, has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen.
That means they’ve got a whole load of new dishes, slow-cooked over hickory wood, that are bringing a taste of a Deep South BBQ to Manchester city centre.
The smokehouse-style meats are all seasoned in-house and cooked for hours, for a perfect fall-off-the-bone experience.
It might be an authentic American smokehouse menu, but it’s firmly British too, with most products locally sourced.
You can now get Deep South-inspired BBQ dishes on Deansgate / Credit: The Manc Group
Motley are calling on local suppliers like Althams Butchers (established since 1856) for their meat, plus greengrocers R Noone and Son, and Cheshire Farm for their real dairy ice cream.
Signature dishes on the new menu at Motley include slow smoked brisket, seasoned in Motley’s signature rub before being slow-smoked for more than eight hours.
There’s also a beef short rib with a chimichurri sauce, and a pork belly strip that’s seasoned with sage and onion and finished with a panko breadcrumb crust.
And for the veggies, there’s a vegan smoked veg kebab with courgette, mushrooms, bell pepper, sweet corn and red onion drizzled with homemade BBQ sauce.
Motley has added an authentic smoker to its kitchen / Credit: The Manc Group
Prices across the board start from just £16, served with beef dripping fries, rainbow slaw, pickles and homemade beef gravy.
As for small plates, you can expect short rib bonbons, homemade corn bread, spicy chicken wings, bang bang cauliflower, mac and cheese, and frickles.
House favourites like steak, vegetable hash, salads, and burgers will remain on the Motley menu.
Victor Gonzalez, food and beverage manager at Motley, said: “Our new signature smoked dishes are all crafted and seasoned in-house then slow cooked for hours over hickory wood to create rich and smoky melt-in-your mouth flavours.
“From our slow-smoked brisket to our home-made sides, everything has been carefully crafted to bring an authentic taste of the deep south to Manchester and we can’t wait for guests to try it.”
Motley can be found at 2 John Dalton Street on the corner of Deansgate in the city centre.
Emily Sergeant -
4th February 2022 
