It’s safe to say that Manchester is fully in the swing of a restriction-free summer, with June so far being beyond busy with events and parties.
There’s no sign of things slowing down just yet either – but in true Manc style, there’s something for everyone on the horizon this week.
There are celebrations of beer, music and a bit of both, candlelit sessions, yoga, film, and loads more.
Here are some of the best things to check out in the week ahead.
Summer Beer Thing
Kampus, 24 – 26 June
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This three day festival celebrating all things beer will be taking over Kampus this week.
Summer Beer Thing is organised by the teams behind Port Street Beer House, Common and The Beagle, and is the sister festival to Indy Man Beer Con.
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There’ll be a a brand new line up of breweries and food traders to go with its new waterside location, including Nell’s Pizza, Levanter and soon-to-be Kampus resident operators Madre, Pollen and Great North Pie Co.
Find out more here.
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground, 22 June
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Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Californian rockers Red Hot Chilli Peppers will be performing an almighty gig here in Manchester this week.
The By The Way singers will take to the stage at the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground as part of their 2022 world tour.
It’s the third massive artist to perform at the venue in recent weeks, following on from shows from Harry Styles and The Killers.
Salsa, poetry and music at Lock 91
Lock 91, Various dates
Credit: The Manc Group
Manchester’s brilliant lockside local bar has loads of events on throughout the week in its converted lock keeper’s cottage building.
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This week, there’s salsa dancing for all levels on Wednesday, as well as an open-mic or EP listening session from up-and-coming students from the BIMM Institute.
You can also pop down on Thursday for Punk in Drublic, a spoken word and stand-up comedy night that donates its ticket fee to Mustard Tree.
Cathedral Gardens and Exchange Square, 24 – 26 June
Credit: Gobefest
All weekend, there’ll be a celebration dedicated to the areas of Transylvania, the Carpathian Basin, and its wide-ranging traditions.
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Yep, Gobefest is back for its sixth year, bringing together culinary delights like kűrtőskalács (chimney cake), mititiei (Romanian skinless sausages), Hungarian honey bread and Csiki beer, alongside folk music and dance traditions that date back hundreds of years.
For three days in June, stages in Cathedral Gardens and Exchange Square will play host to an array of bands, choirs, ensembles, orchestras, dance groups and solo performers, hailing from as far as Transylvania, Croatia, Hungary and Romania.
As we all know, getting tickets for Glastonbury is a nigh-on impossible task, but you’ll be able to get a little taste of the magical event here in Manchester.
Grub and Vocation Brewery are teaming up on GRUBstonbury, a weekend of entertainment, music, and food while the festival itself is broadcast on the big screen.
Events include a Best of Glasto Disco Bingo, a Born To Be Wild Child family party, and a Rockstar Spirits garden bar takeover, plus live DJs, a vintage clothing pop-up, and (of course) street food.
The funds will help improve the already incredible music scene in Manchester, benefitting staples likes Night and Day Café, Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, SOUP and more.
All of the donations will be distributed across six independent music venues and will be used for various instruments, PA equipment, backline technology and other necessities depending on the requirements of each site.
Elbow have teamed up with Co-op Live in aid of supporting Manchester grassroots venues.Credit: Supplied
This initiative has been keeping Manchester’s Northern Quarter in the forefront of people’s minds when it comes to live music as well as the impressive Co-op Live.
Alongside providing vital resources for these local institutions, Elbow teaming up with Co-op Live also helps cement the North West as one of the main powerhouses in relation to live music.
The latest efforts from the largest indoor arena in Manchester fall in line with celebrating one year of bringing some of the best live music to the city, being officially open for 12 months in May.
Co-op Live have made a commitment to the people and the planet, promising to donate £1 million annually to the Co-op Foundation.
The stunning Co-op Live venue, Manchester’s largest indoor arena.Elbow performing at Co-op Live, marking history as the first act to grace the venue.Credit: Audio North/Supplied
Manchester’s latest live music venue also contributed significantly to selected charities, including Happy Doggo – chosen by Liam Gallagher and Eric Clapton’s addiction recovery centre, Crossroads.
As Elbow teams up with Co-op Live, even more money is making its way to necessary resources, this time in the likes of crucial live music establishments.
Elbow front-person Guy Garvey says: “Playing Co-op Live’s opening night will stay with us for a lifetime, not least because of how incredible the room sounded.”
“When the venue donated funds in our name to support the city we love, it made complete sense to carry that through to the Northern Quarter and to venues that have meant so much to my bandmates and I throughout our career.”
Guy Dunstan, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Co-op Live, adds: “In the past year, I have been proud to see Co-op Live become an integral part of such an incredible city.”
“Teaming up with Elbow to directly support the venues that first put Manchester on the map, and to share something so intrinsic to us as venues – proper sound – is something truly special.”
Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon to kick off UK tour in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Multi award-winning musical Sunny Afternoon is set to kick off its UK tour here in Manchester later this year.
Following a sell-out run at Hampstead Theatre, the musical production featuring all the hit songs by legendary rock band The Kinks opened to critical acclaim at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End, where it ran for two years ahead of its sensational UK and Ireland tour throughout 2016/17.
It also collected four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in Music for Ray Davies, along the way.
Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon is kicking off its UK tour in Manchester / Credit: ATG Tickets
Set against the backdrop of Britain on the cusp of the rebellious 60s,Sunny Afternoon is described as being an ‘exhilarating and moving’ celebration of the music, life, and the band that changed it all, The Kinks.
Sunny Afternoon celebrates The Kinks’ raw energy, passion, and timeless sound.
Charting the ‘euphoric highs’ and ‘agonising lows’, the smash-hit production tells the band’s story through an incredible back catalogue of chart-toppers – including ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Lola’, ‘All Day and All of the Night’, and of course, ‘Sunny Afternoon’ itself.
Tickets are on sale now from just £15 each / Credit: Kevin Cummins
Producers Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG Productions announced last week that the show would be returning for another UK tour later this year, and it’ll be opening right here on one of Manchester‘s most iconic stages.
The hit musical will open at Manchester’s Palace Theatre on 10 October 2025 and it will run right through until 18 October.
Sunny Afternoon has music and lyrics, and an original story, all by the band’s frontman Ray Davies, along with a book by Joe Penhall, direction by Edward Hall, design by Miriam Buether, and choreography by Adam Cooper.