Social Cricket comes to Manchester with the opening of Sixes Clubhouse
Three state-of-the-art cricket nets are available to hire for 30 minutes, with the venue kitted out with a champagne bar, 70-seater dining space and open kitchen.
The “world’s first immersive cricket experience with hospitality” is coming to the Corn Exchange this August with the opening of Sixes Manchester.
A “social cricket” sports bar, Sixes offers the chance to swing for the boundaries whilst enjoying a wide selection of high-quality food and drink.
Sixes is kitted out with three state-of-the-art cricket nets available to hire for 30, 60 or 90 minutes, a champagne bar, a 70-seater dining space and an open kitchen.
The Sixes Batting Nets are fun for all ages and abilities, whether you’re a complete beginner or seasoned pro. Simply pick up a bat, aim for the targets and climb the leaderboard!
Sixes offers the “world’s first immersive cricket experience with hospitality” / Image: Sixes
Sixes offers the “world’s first immersive cricket experience with hospitality” / Image: Sixes
A signature British BBQ-inspired menu has been created for the Sixes experience, including the best of British meats, seafood and vegetables – flamed, roasted and grilled on the robata grill.
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Items include low and slow chicken wings, house-smoked sausages you can order by the half metre, overnight coals sweet potato, vegan burgers and the signature Sixes meat volcano, comprising house sausage, beef burnt ends, bubble & squeak pakoras, mac & cheese croquettes, smoked chicken Caesar bowl and beef dripping flatbreads.
There’s also a variety of craft ales, fine wines, bespoke cocktails like the Eton Mess, Ashes Manhattan, Sixes Fruit Cup and Tea Time – a very British cocktail containing actual Yorkshire Tea.
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The Manchester venue is the first Clubhouse outside of London – with Sixes already operating two sites in the capital.
Sixes offers the “world’s first immersive cricket experience with hospitality” / Image: Sixes
The Clubhouse kitted out with three state-of-the-art cricket nets available to hire for 30 minutes / Image: Sixes
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Calum MacKinnon said: “Cricket has a rare, unifying quality, capable of connecting people from all backgrounds. Sixes is no different.
“We’re combining our love of sport with a passion for quality food and drink, creating a welcoming and relaxed experience where anyone can enjoy the game we love.”
“From complete beginners to seasoned club regulars, Sixes is proudly inclusive and open to all.
“Thanks to the state-of-the-art technology from partners, Batfast, the level of challenge can be scaled up or down to suit the batter at the crease, making it as much fun for an 8-year-old’s birthday party as it is for the Lancashire Lightning squad’s night out!”
The Manchester venue is the first Clubhouse outside of London – with Sixes already operating two sites in the capital / Image: Sixes
The opening of the Manchester venue coincides with a new and exclusive game at Sixes called The Hundred, named after the 100-ball cricket tournament involving eight men’s and eight women’s teams in major cities across England and Wales, taking place for the first time this summer.
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
Yard Act announce handful of new headline shows ahead of 6Music gig in Manchester
Clementine Hall
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024, including a show right here in Manchester – but not before their BBC 6Music Festival gig later this week.
We are so, SO back.
It’s been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a limited run of domestic shows for later in the year including their homecoming gig at the O2 Academy in Leeds on Friday, 6 November.
But after playing over in Yorkshire, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on the following Friday (13 Nov).
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album, Where’s My Utopia?, with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August ’24.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy.
It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have been keeping busy writing and recording their third studio LP, as well as heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives – oh, and that intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to this coming autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait. We spoke to them a little while back and know how much big stuff they’ve got further pipeline; you can see the interview HERE.
Booking just three headline slots, the handful of tour dates are as follows:
06 Nov – Leeds
13 Nov – Manchester
26 Nov – London
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday, 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday, 27 March. Sign up to grab yours right HERE.
As for those wanting to find out more about this year’s 6Music Fest, you find the full lineup and more down below.
The Manc -
20th August 2021 
