The Rat & Pigeon, which only opened in June, has seen great success in the first few months since its big launch – and now it’s about to take that success through to the early hours.
Coined as ‘the backstreet boozer’, this spot is situated on Back Piccadilly just a stone’s throw away from Piccadilly Gardens.
It used to have a gruesome past when it was Mother Macs, but has now been reborn by the team behind the Crown & Kettle pub in Ancoats into a three-storey modern but traditional pub.
The Rat & Pigeon is now extending its opening hours to 3am to make the most of its new first floor space ‘The Red Room’.
In honour of the venue, the pub is hosting a three day free entry party titled ‘FREE AM’ from 12 September til 14 September.
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Each night will feature two artists helping celebrate the pub’s new venture. Names like Dead Stilettos, Velma and Truthpaste are headlining the respective Thursday to Saturday dates, giving their warm welcome to the brand-new hotspot upstairs.
After the bands have blessed The Red Room music scene, there are three different themed club offerings for those of you who want to keep the party going.
Thursday is titled as ‘Unknown Treasures’, with Friday claiming ‘First Aid On Wax’ and Saturday’s closer crowned with ‘Funk Yeah!’.
The pub itself will still keep its traditions as a drinking domain, however the self-contained first floor will just extend its legacy as it dips its toe into the club scene.
The Rat & Pigeon are passionate about supporting upcoming bands and acts through the revamped music site, revealing: “We’re aiming to help nurture the Grassroots scene and bring our guests a wide variety of musical and performance content.”
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It’s all about the three’s at this independent public house, as not only will they be hosting their three day free entry party and opening til 3am, there are three floors too!
If you’re looking for your next day drink or night out why not give The Rat & Pigeon a cheeky visit, nestled in the heart of Manchester city centre.
Stevie Wonder to play landmark Manchester gig as part of UK tour this year
Thomas Melia
Living legend Stevie Wonder is heading on a UK tour and stopping off in Manchester for the first time in 15 years.
Manchester has been blessed by the music gods yet again, and this time, it comes in the form of funk pioneer Stevie Wonder.
The 74-year-old musician will be bringing his extraordinary grand piano, exceptional live band, and, of course, his groovy tunes like ‘Superstition’, ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, and ‘I Just Called To Say I Love You’ to our city later this year.
Wonder last visited Manchester in 2010, gracing the AO Arena with his presence, but now he’s visiting Manchester’s newest live music entertainment venue, Co-op Live.
Stevie Wonder will be visiting Co-op Live in Manchester this year / Publicity Picture (via Supplied)
The American-Ghanaian icon has an undisputed legacy.
He became the youngest solo artist ever to top the Billboard Hot 100 with his 1963 single ‘Fingertips’ at age 13, and has also won the prestigious Album of the Year category at the Grammys three times, as well as taking home 25 awards in total throughout his career.
His 1976 project Songs in the Key of Life was also featured in Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums at number six by esteemed critics and the public alike – a claim that not many have to their name.
With this 2025 UK tour titled ‘Love, Light & Song’, the Michigan native will be heading to two arenas, Manchester and Birmingham, and taking on various festival performances along the way – including Lytham Festival.
The crowds will be roaring when Stevie Wonder takes to the stage, and rightly so, as this artist has racked up almost 300 weeks in the UK Top 40, with an impressive 39 singles featuring on our charts throughout his career.
He’s an undeniable force, and this show in Manchester is set to be monumental, so ‘Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing’, as you’ll be in for a night of jazz, funk, soul, and everything in between.
Stevie Wonder will be playing Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday 5 July 2025, with tickets going live this Friday 21 March at 10am HERE.
Featured Image – PICRYL
Things To Do
Everything you need to know about St. Patrick’s Day at Mulligans, Manchester’s biggest Irish party
Danny Jones
With Manchester’s deep-rooted connections to Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day in the city centre is one of the biggest parties of the year, so it only makes sense that thousands spend it at the ultimate Irish bar: Mulligans.
And no, we’re not exaggerating; hordes of punters pass through this pub over the full Paddy’s Day weekend, which this year lands on a Monday, but you’ll still see countless people filing in and out of the place from Friday onwards.
Considered by many as Deansgate’s crowning glory, this legendary venue is a pure gold-grade bar serving the best Guinness outside of Ireland. It’s a reputation we don’t need to bang on about too much, they built it up themselves over so many years that you’ll all have heard it by now.
While Manchester has some of the best Irish pubs around beyond those you’ll find in the Emerald Isle (yes, we firmly believe that), you won’t find anywhere in town putting on quite as big a St. Patrick’s Day celebration as Mulligans. Here’s what they’ve got on offer:
Paddy’s Day at Mulligans of Deansgate
Well, the obvious place to start is with what’s behind the bar, i.e. lots of whiskeys, lager, spirits and, of course, they’ve got the best Guinness in Manchester – scratch that, the ‘best outside of Ireland.’
Mulligans averages 13,000 pints of ‘The Black Stuff’ every week and they’re expecting to pour well over 4,000 pints of the stuff from their total 24 taps on Paddy’s Day alone, each as perfect as the last.
So, what time is the party getting underway? The answer is obviously all weekend as many people may not have booked Monday, 17 March off itself but, for those who have, they’ll be opening from 11am.
However, we hope we don’t need to tell you that there’ll be queuing from the crack of dawn, so the earlier you get there the better. It’ll cost you £20 to get in, by the way, so have your card/cash ready.
For context, we got there 10:30 a couple of years back and still weren’t guaranteed to get in, we just waited patiently and prayed to St. Patrick himself.
As for what time they’ll be closing on Monday, Mulligans is staying open until 1:30am as more than 1,200 guests are expected to visit the pub throughout the course of the day.
Entertainment
One thing that Mulligans is famous besides the obvious rivers of black gold and good craic is virtually non-stop live music throughout the week and Paddy’s Day is no different.
Instead, they try and cram as much of it into 24 hours as possible.
Now featuring two floors for the first time on Ireland’s national holiday, there is set to be an incredible lineup of eight different live bands performing throughout the day, playing everything from classic Irish reels and covers to get you up and dancing, as well as plenty Manc anthems to play to the home crowd.
2025 also marks the first St. Patrick’s Day at Mulligans to make us of the recently renovated first floor, which has seen the pub more than double in size, and the capacity along with it.
The expanded space, complete with timber-beamed vaulted ceilings, a mezzanine-level performance area and two brand-new bars, sets the stage for an unforgettable day and night of high-energy live indie bands, while Irish folk tunes will fill the downstairs.
Between the beloved exposed brick walls, cosy snugs, Guinness memorabilia galore as well as room to dance a proper auld jig upstairs and down, it won’t just be Mulligans at its very best but akin to being in the heart of Dublin itself for the big day.
Plus, since it’s a bunch bigger now, you stand an extra chance of getting in – or at least less time spent in the queue with all the other die-hards.
We often get people asking why all the faff surrounding Mulligans and all we can say is if you haven’t been before, you’ll only really know once you’ve been.
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Pádraig Brady, owner of Mulligans, said: “St. Patrick’s Day is always special at Mulligans, but this year will be extra special with the new space upstairs.
“We have gone above and beyond to provide an extensive live music schedule that will guarantee an unbeatable atmosphere all weekend. And – as always – we’ll have measures in place to make sure every single pint of Guinness served is nothing short of exceptional.”
There’s no booking and no advance ticket purchase available either; everyone lines up the same and is guaranteed the same unbelievable night. Trust us, it’s worth the wait. But don’t worry if you’d rather skip the queueing and try somewhere else, there’s still plenty of good Guinness to be found in the city centre.
Thomas Melia -
4th September 2024 
