What's On

Greater Manchester’s heritage railway is hosting a new vintage festival this late May bank holiday weekend

There'll even be a flypast from an RAF Lancaster Bomber plane.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 6th May 2025

Greater Manchester’s iconic heritage railway is taking a step back in time with its brand new vintage festival later this month.

After delighting families throughout the region with countless successful events over the past couple of years, the Greater Manchester public is now being invited down to East Lancashire Railway (ELR) this late May bank holiday for an unforgettable weekend of ‘soulful tunes’ and ‘timeless classics’ – with music, food, events, and costumes inspired by the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.

The brand-new Vintage Vibes events is shaping up to be even bigger and better than ever before, all to celebrate the best of years gone by.

Along with previously confirmed headliners including The Real Thing, The Barron Soul DJ, Northern Soul Train, and Sixties Mania, seven new acts are hitting the stages at Bury Bolton Street, Rawtenstall, Ramsbottom, and Heywood Stations along the ELR route.

Local radio personality, David Dockerty, will serve as MC for both days of the event on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 May.

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Acoustic specialists The Washboard Resonators, Motown marvel Jackie Marie, disco band Groovemental, and vocal trio Christopher and The Robins are just some of the music acts to perform across the two-day festival, while tribute act Masters of the Scene will round off the weekend in perfect sing-along fashion belting out all your favourite ABBA hits.

The fun doesn’t stop at the main stage either, as vintage entertainer Lilli Moore is set to perform at Heywood Station all afternoon on both days of the event, as is 1940s singer and entertainer Lancashire Belle at Rawtenstall on 24 May and Ramsbottom on 25 May.

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A new vintage festival is coming to Greater Manchester this late May bank holiday weekend / Credit: ELR | Wikimedia Commons

So Retro will be hosting an incredible vintage fair with themed memorabilia, clothing, and vinyl records for sale all weekend.

ELR is also taking those vintage vibes to the sky too, and that’s because the iconic Lancaster bomber will be performing a thrilling flypast on the Saturday to wow spectators with a touch of history and nostalgia.

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Vintage Vibes is taking place across the late May bank holiday weekend from Saturday 24 and Saturday 25 May, and you can find out more and get tickets starting from £13 each on the ELR website here.

Featured Image – ELR

What's On

You can watch Twilight with a live orchestra surrounded by candlelight in Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

One of the most iconic literary and film sagas of the 21st century is celebrating 20 years since the first book was published next year.

And to celebrate this milestone moment, you’ll be able to watch the first film live in dozens of cities across the UK surrounded by the beauty of more than a thousand candles while a live orchestra plays the soundtrack to accompany.

That’s right, Twilight in Concert is coming to Manchester.

Undeniably one of the most successful young adult film franchises of all time, with five films (Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Parts 1 & 2) to its name, The Twilight Saga has impressively grossed more than $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office. 

You can watch Twilight with a live orchestra surrounded by candlelight in Manchester / Credit: Supplied

The films were adapted from author Stephenie Meyer’s acclaimed literary series that won multiple awards over its time, sold more than 160 million copies worldwide, and was translated into 49 different languages.

But no matter whether you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob, Twilight In Concert promises to be an unforgettable event for fans of the beloved franchise, two decades on.

Set in an enchanting candlelit setting, Twilight In Concert offers fans a unique opportunity to re-live the film that started it all, while musicians take the stage to perform the beloved score in perfect synchronisation with the original movie presented in its entirety on a cinema-size screen.

You can expect a 12-piece ensemble of rock and orchestral musicians / Credit: Supplied

You can expect a 12-piece ensemble of rock and orchestral musicians to transport you on a journey deep into the heart of Forks.

Twilight in Concert will be stopping off at 12 other major UK cities on its tour, including other northern hubs such as Sheffield, York, and Liverpool, as well as arriving at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on Friday 6 February 2026.

Read more:

Tickets are now on sale, and you can find out more and get your hands on them here.

Featured Image – Supplied

What's On

A brand new grunge and hard rock festival is kicking off in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Broken Knees Fest 2025 Manchester

Manchester grungers, hardcore heads, and fans of all things rock, pay attention because there is a brand new festival coming to the city centre – and it has possibly the best name for a live music event we’ve heard in some time.

Ahem… let us introduce you to Broken Knees Fest.

Yes, donning a name that feels increasingly more relatable the closer we get to the wrong side of 30, Broken Knees Festival 2025 marks the inaugural edition of Manchester’s newest series of rock and grunge gigs, helping spotlight rising artists across the genres from within two crucial grassroots venues.

Very loud music inside tightly-packed, small-capacity rooms? It’s a winning formula that never fails. It’s about time we broke a sweat – here’s hoping the knees just about hold out.

Hosted in the heart of the Northern Quarter, which continues to thrive as a creative hub for new music and art of all forms, the festival will be debuting at small-cap favourites Gullivers and Castle Hotel just across the road.

As you can see, the lineup is full of up-and-coming talent within the guitar-driven space, but you can bank on more than a few bringing their die-hard fans to fill the place out to the rafters.

It doesn’t matter if you prefer punk, hardcore, grunge or another specific sub-genre found somewhere in between the ever-sprawling rock spectrum, there’s something to suit all alternative tastes at this one.

With the likes of Bohmen, Mavis, One Dimensional Creatures and Smother headlining the first-ever iteration of the festival across four stages, you can expect plenty of energy and even more noise.

Set up by the events group of the same name, Broken Knees Promotions, who help platform rock and alt acts across Greater Manchester and beyond year-round, this is more than just a festival: it’s a grassroots celebration through and through.

Best of all, if you’re interested, you don’t have to wait long because it’s kicking off next month.

castle hotel gigs
gullivers gigs manchester
Gigs go off in here. If you know, you know… (Credit: Audio North)

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Broken Knees Fest 2025 is happening on the weekend of 21-22 June, and you’ll be glad to hear that, as a brand new event, prices have been kept nice and low.

The early bird window had prices starting from just £12, and although this tier has now sold out, day tickets are still only £15 while a full weekend pass will set you back £25.

You can grab yours HERE.

Until then, why not dive into another load of new Manchester music? We round up artists from all genres each month; we’ll also confess to leaning slightly more towards the heavier stuff from time to time.

Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | April 2025
More coming at the end of May.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

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