Hulme’s beloved Community Garden Centre is once again set to turn into a fun and floral music venue as Green Island Festival returns for 2023.
Entering its third year on the circuit, the cult-hitHulme festival arrives this summer, spreading across three incredible days of music, culture, afterparties and, naturally, plenty of plants.
Hulme Community Garden Centre is exactly what it says on the tin: an important and much-celebrated institution in the local community and has served as an important non-profit for the surrounding Greater Manchester area since 2001.
That being said, while we love flexing our green thumbs and seeing the incredible work they do all year-round, there is no better to be there than when Green Island Festival rocks up.
Teaming up with the likes of BBC Introducing, local brewing legends Seven Bro7hers, Ruffy’s Lab, as well as Northern Lights Home x The Garden, the organisers are looking to deliver the best Green Island Festival to date.
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If last year’s festival was anything to go by, they’re going to rip the leafy roof off this place. Well, there isn’t one — it’s mainly a lot of plants, trees and tents, but you catch our drift.
Promising three stages packed with live music, pumping afterparties round the corner at iconic local institution NIAMOS, to pre-festival DJ courses from Reform Radio, sensational local food and booze, as well as plenty of other family-friendly activities during the day. There really is something for everyone.
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The lineup‘s looking absolutely great already, with some of the best up-and-coming local artists already on board as the festival series aims to champion all manner of genres and enrich Manchester’s music scene by spotlighting underground and criminally underrepresented musicians. That’s what we like to hear.
Green Island Festival 2023 starts on 17 June, with a follow-up night on 29 July before the final chapter draws the party to a close on 9 September.
Unbelievably, if you want to come along (and you should), it will only set you back £12.50 for each individual day or afterparty you want to attend and since accessibility is fundamental to the founders’ vision, you can grab yourself a pass that covers both for just £22.50. Absolutely class.
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We’re not lying when we say we’re genuinely debating doing all three dates. Why not?
You can grab your tickets for this year’s Green Island Festival at Hulme Community Garden Centre HERE.
There’s a non-alcoholic pairing dinner coming to Manchester this Dry Jan
Thomas Melia
A one-night-only pairing of two dining out staples from the food and drink world is coming to Manchester next month, and it also happens to be non-alcoholic for anyone doing Dry January.
Taking place at the wonderful Maray over on Lincoln Square, each dish served throughout the night will be expertly paired with a non-alcoholic drink from zero-per cent experts, Lucky Saint.
This Middle Eastern eatery is always surprising its diners, last September they made their infamous roasts free for one day only, and this upcoming event is sure to be as exciting with its unique tastings.
Lucky Saint came to fruition after partnering with a historical brewery in Bavaria who’ve produced beer for over 400 years, creating a non alcoholic alternative which greeted UK drinkers in 2020.
Lucky Saint will be readily available and paired with every meal.Diners can expect some sensational food as always from Maray. Credit: Publicity Picture (Supplied)
Titled ‘The Official Beer Of Dry January’, supplying IPAs and lagers to a host of stockists, not only are their products fully non-alcoholic but they’re also entirely plant-based – meaning they’re the perfect tie-in with Veganuary.
If their website is anything to go by, diners are set to enjoy refreshments such as their unfiltered lager and a 0.5% ‘Hazy’ IPA which contains juicy tropical notes. Don’t mind if we do.
Although it’s hard to say what the food offerings may be, it’s guaranteed that anyone who attends is in for a treat as this site has even served famous faces like Dua Lipa back in 2022 while she was on tour.
Their vegan menu features some meat free feasts like a falafel sharer and a delicious oyster mushroom shwarma, it’s a well-loved restaurant.
Vegans are certainly catered for at this event as it’s not only the free-flowing drinks that contain no animal products, there will also be an entirely vegan menu on hand.
Maray have multiple locations but anyone who couldn’t get enough of the flavours the first time in Manchester can attend their Liverpool pairing dinner which is happening the very next day.
The Maray x Lucky Saint Dry January Pairing Dinner is coming to Manchester on Wednesday, 15 January from 7-9:30pm with tickets live HERE.
And if you’re looking for other places to enjoy a guilt-free drink in the city centre this month, we’ve got a few suggestions for you:
Doing #DryJan doesn't have to mean staying in or saying goodbye to the pub. 🍹
US comedian Shane Gillis is coming to Manchester very soon
Danny Jones
Popular comedian, writer, producer and actor Shane Gillis is coming back to Manchester for one of his biggest UK shows ever as he prepares to play Co-op Live.
Known for his acclaimed stand-up shows Live In Austin and Beautiful Dogs, as well as sketches on Saturday Night Live and cult-hit Netflix comedy, Tires, he is currently selling out stadiums and huge rooms all across the US – and it won’t be long before he crosses the Atlantic.
The last time the Manc comedy scene saw Shane Gillis’ name on a dressing room door was back in March 2022 when he was playing the second-largest room at the Manchester Academy. Fast forward to this coming spring and he’s now set to sell out the city’s and one of Europe’s biggest indoor arenas.
As mentioned, his latest tour – simply entitled, Shane Gillis Live – is not just selling out all over North America but is even breaking attendance records at storied venues, surpassing the likes of U2 for most tickets sold and countless other regional feats.
The 37-year-old from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (yes, that’s actually what it’s called) has become one of the hottest comics on the planet in recent times, returning to SNL to write several popular skits in 2024 – including doing his infamous Donald Trump impression in costume.
Still considered a controversial figure on the circuit for some of his early routines, having initially been fired as a writer on the show for comments made on his podcast back in 2019, his ‘edgy’ brand of stand-up definitely pushes up against the boundaries of what many label ‘offensive’ comedy.
Nevertheless, he remains one of the most highly-rated contemporary performers in the live stand-up genre, appearing as a guest on the Kill Tony live comedy podcast on multiple occasions and seeing his original sitcom, Tires, renewed for a second season.
The first clip from the latest series, teasing a celebrity guest appearance, dropped in December.
Fans won’t have to wait long either as Gillis arrives at Co-op Live on Thursday, 20 March, almost three years on from his last visit to Manchester.
General admission tickets go live this Friday, 10 January at 10am, but official Co-op members can access the exclusive pre-sale window from 12 noon on Wednesday (8 Jan).
If you fancy going along to the show, you can grab tours HERE.
Danny Jones -
7th April 2023 
