Can you believe it’s time to say goodbye to April and welcome in May this week? Time flies.
Now that it’s officially spring in the UK, there’s obviously loads of events and activities to be getting up to across Greater Manchester this week, especially as we’ve been lucky to have the sun shining down on us in recent days. Oh AND we’ve got another bank holiday weekend to look forward to, as well.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? No worries. We’ve chosen a few of the highlights for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide.
Both free things and those that’ll set you back a few pennies are featured.
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National Trust Blossom and Bloomtown 2026
Greater Manchester
Monday 27 April – Sunday 31 May
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Blossom and Bloomtown 2026 / Credit: The Manc Group
The blossoms are blooming everywhere you look, and the National Trust’s popular Bloomtown programme full of trails and events is back once again so you can appreciate them in all their glory.
From ornamental magnolias in gardens to hawthorn scattered across the countryside, each spring, the most beautiful blossom covers the UK in swathes of pink and white, and you really don’t have to go far to experience the beauty of this season either, as there’s plenty of blossom to discover right on our doorstep in Greater Manchester.
Whether you’re walking through the city centre on your way to work, enjoying a spot of lunch in the park, or going on a little local adventure with your family, Bloomtown has something for everyone.
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Find out more about all the events happening here.
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Picasso: A Legacy
Castle Fine Art
Monday 27 April – Monday 4 May
Picasso: A Legacy / Credit: Supplied
A new free exhibition by Pablo Picasso is currently open in Manchester, including works never-before seen on public display – and this is your last week to see it.
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The new exhibition, titled Picasso: A Legacy, is comprised of more than 35 original works on paper and ceramics, all of which were created by the artist from the mid 1930s up until his death in 1973, and visitors will get to be guided through the last four decades of his life.
You’ll also get to encounter the artist’s lovers and muses, mythological alter egos, and playful zoomorphic ceramics, as well as feats of frantic artistic output that made up Picasso’s final decade.
Did you see that the spectacular 360° immersive experience that’s currently lighting up Manchester Cathedral has extended its run in our city?
That’s right – due to ‘overwhelming demand’ and following a roster of impressive reviews since making its UK debut earlier this year, LUMINISCENCE has now extended its run at Manchester Cathedral until the early summer.
LUMINISCENCE combines 360° video mapping, new orchestral arrangements of iconic songs, and a narrative story celebrating everything that makes Manchester and its residents so special.
Visitors are invited to step into a ‘spellbinding fusion’ of light, sound, and storytelling. Find out more and get tickets here.
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Did you know there’s an adorable open farm in Bolton where you can meet and hold baby bunnies, lambs, chicks, AND more?
This is Smithills Open Farm, and it’s one of the most wholesome family days out you’ll find this spring.
Here on this picturesque family-run farm nestled within 70-acres of countryside, you can feed the sheep and llamas, ride a tractor to visit the donkeys, or even head into the barn to see the cows, horses, and piglets.
Plus, they host ‘Pets Corner’ sessions throughout the day too, where you can meet and hold many different baby animals (including the softest little goats and chicks we ever did see.)
They even have a farm shop and ice creamery where you can buy local honey and other goods to take home with you.
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Find out more about the farm and plan your trip here.
After needing to find a new space due to redevelopments, Studio Dawn has now landed just a 10-minute walk from the city centre in their beautiful new home as part of the Victoria Riverside project.
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Founded by Chelsie, the brand started as a lockdown side-hustle and has since grown into a full-on creative hub. It’s all about slowing things down, getting stuck into ‘paint and chill’ sessions (emphasis on the chill), and leaving just that little bit lighter than when you walked in.
You can even book onto their creative workshops and try everything from terrarium building, to crafting your own macrame plant hangers.
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NEW OPENING – Gameface
Printworks
NEW OPENING – Gameface / Credit: Supplied
Gameface has made itself at home inside Manchester’s Printworks complex.
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Built around 10 games designed and developed from scratch, Gameface turns a standard night out into a fast-paced, shared experience.
The 5,400 sq ft venue has capacity for 120 players and has been created by CONDUCTR, the creative innovation studio powered by technology, meaning every game has been built in-house – with bespoke mechanics and technology developed specifically for the experience.
Celebrate National Space Day this bank holiday weekend
Science and Industry Museum
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Friday 1 – Monday 3 May
National Space Day 2026 / Credit: Drew Forsyth (Science Museum Group)
You can celebrate National Space Day with a bunch of free ‘out of this world’ activities this bank holiday weekend.
Ever wondered what astronauts eat in orbit? How they use the loo in zero gravity? Or why crumbs are bad news on the International Space Station? Well, to celebrate National Space Day – which is taking place this year on Friday 1 May – you’ll now get to discover the answers to those questions and so much more down at the Science and Industry Museum.
The programme of free events are set to accompany the museum’s latest special exhibition, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos and will give visitors more ways to explore the ‘wonders and weirdness’ of space.
Green Island x Nell’s Bank Holiday Street Party / Credit: Supplied | The Manc Group
Green Island Festival will be linking up with Manchester’s favourite New York-style pizza merchants, Nell’s, for a special street party takeover right in the heart of the Northern Quarter this bank holiday weekend.
Free to attend with no ticket booking required, everyone is welcome down to Edge Street on Saturday (2 May), as there’ll be everything from family-friendly raves to big-name local DJs on the decks.
Just like we do every month, we’ve rounded up some of the best things we got to eat in March, so if you’re on the hunt for somewhere new to eat in April, then we’ve absolutely got you covered as there’s plenty of places across the city region.
It’s been another jam-packed month of insanely delicious eats, and we’ve been lucky to have a bunch of new openings too. From mini tiramisu drawers, to Magnum-stuffed croissants, egg custard tarts, and more, we’ve been scoffing the lot.
Sure, we know this isn’t exactly the type of ‘event’ we usually include in these round-up articles, but how could we not draw attention to the fact that, after eight long years, Albert Square has finally reopened to the public?
This means that you can now walk – heck, even run, skip, and jump if you’d like – your way through the big, clean open space outside the Town Hall.
Of course, we just had to go and check it out for ourselves👇
Review | Some of the most fun you can have at a theatre – Jeff Goldblum and The Mildred Snitzer Orchestrax
Danny Jones
On Wednesday night, we did something we hadn’t done in a long time: we went to a concert almost completely blind and walked in without having heard a single second – because how many times in life are you going to get the chance to say you’ve seen Jeff Goldblum music live in Manchester?
We can comfortably say it wasn’t just one of our favourite shows of the year so far, but it might be one of the best decisions we’ve made, maybe ever…
Honestly, there’s not even a whiff of exaggeration in that statement; within minutes of the headline date starting, a long, hard day suddenly melted away in the smooth, sultry, stylish and unapologetically silly atmosphere created by Jeff Goldblum and the truly wonderful Mildred Snitzer Orchestra.
For starters, we were pleasantly surprised to see ‘Bonnie Scotland’s very own Liverpool-based singer-songwriter, Brooke Combe, opening up for the man himself, whose soulful, 1960s, 70s and Motown influences made for a perfect fit to warm up the crowd.
With the North West favourite – who we recently caught once again at NBHD Weekender late last month – even getting a perhaps initially hesitant and very possibly more Theatre-leaning audience inside the Palace to relax with some fun vocals excercises and Scottish banter, we were off to the races.
But in truth, this show turned out to be so much more than we were expecting – and by that we don’t mean when Brooke joined him on stage for a spell and had him try his first Irn-Bru…
In our heads, we were kind of expecting to see Goldblum, 73, playing his beloved piano as other members of the jazz band got to enjoy a few moments centre-stage as those who sat watching admired their sheer technical ability.
Where we actually landed was somewhere between a live and just the right amount of chaotic stream-of-consciousness stand-up show, interlaced with a series of effortlessly charming and loose bits of crowdwork as if he were compèring, and, of course, the incredibly cool musical arrangements.
It may not have been entirely free-form (it’s clear that a lot of time, effort and tireless rehearsal go into this shindig), but it did have the feeling that things were unfolding organically as the night went on, the perfect example being specifically for Manchester, with each local reference getting a rousing reception.
His latest LP is going down a treat with the critics in the early reviews, too, and having now heard a few samples, we’re not surprised.
As Jeff said at the top of the show, the best bit about this music is watching these marvellous musicians effectively jamming and playing call and response, not only with each other but you down below – not to mention with the man himself vamping over the top and enjoying plenty of solos on the keys.
Aside from crowd-pleasing arrangements of contemporary and well-known tracks like ‘Lover’ by Taylor Swift and even his own bittersweet and oh-so-gentle take on ‘Over The Rainbow’, it felt not just like an intro to some cult favourites from within the genre, but a serviceable broad-strokes education at times.
Personally, we’ve always liked to think of ourselves as open to anything, sonically, albeit fairly limited when it comes to jazz, but we left feeling like we knew more about the mechanics and flow of a jazz gig than ever; we’re now eager to learn more and dive deeper into the syllabus curated by this superfan.
One very special mention also has to go to session singer Khailah Johnson, who recently shone in the & Juliet production on Broadway and is now currently on tour with Jeff on his Night Blooms run.
Believe us, she’s not merely performing ‘beside’ anyone; when you have a voice and presence that’s so big and has such range that you generate enough star-power for people to genuinely forget that a Hollywood actor is there right next to you, you KNOW you’re beyond talented. Simply spellbinding.
The whole crew had a lovely, laid-back quality that was just infectious. (Credit: Lucy Elson-Whittaker)
And then we have the A-lister himself, who clearly doesn’t only have the gift of the jab and a natural penchant for pageantry, but looks so at home up there that we would happily trade ever seeing him in a film again if it meant we could have the next few decades watching him be the live showman that he is.
For anyone who feared Jeff Goldblum’s music career might just be a famous bloke indulging himself in a side project and cashing in on fandom simply because he can, fret not: this man has as much passion, love and aptitude for jazz and this particular side of showbiz as any role we’ve seen him play, if not more.
Whether it be playing movie trivia games with those in the stalls, thanking fans he bumped into at his hotel, or inviting people there for a special occasion backstage, he ticked almost every box you could have asked for, from the cabaret vibes and Jurassic Park puns to simply playing his socks off.
The new album that gives its name to this current slate of live shows is much more than a play on words. Be it the soft and warm hues of the coloured spotlights, the off-the-cuff comedy interludes, or even the pure giggle-fits in the audience, the Palace Theatre was bursting with joy, life and vibrancy.
We sincerely hope Jeff Goldblum has grown as fond of the city as he claims, and that we get to watch him play a Manchester venue every year.
DMA’S announce latest UK and Ireland tour, including a pair of Manchester dates
Danny Jones
Aussie trio and adopted Mancs, DMA’S, have officially announced a brand-new headline tour across Great Britain and Ireland, confirming not one but two nights here in Manchester.
We’re also the only city getting double dates, because they clearly love us as much as we love them.
The Sydney-formed indie and alt-rock favourites have always had plenty of success in this part of the world, and with DMA’S getting ready to release a new self-titled studio album – their fifth up to this point – they’re obviously getting ready to tour it.
Having just dropped the latest single from it entitled ‘Hurracane’ (they spell things however they want, as we know), they have now revealed a full list of UK and IE live dates.
OUR NEW SONG HURRACANE IS OUT NOW & WE’VE ANNOUNCED OUR UK / IRELAND ALBUM TOUR.
PRE-ORDER OUR NEW ALBUM ‘DMA’S’ FROM OUR OFFICIAL BAND STORE FOR FIRST ACCESS TO TICKETS. https://t.co/XtL79B8ruY
Speaking on the fresh track, lead guitarist and secondary vocalistMatt Masonsaid in a press release: “Hurracane has a recurrent musical motion that’s a nod to the song lyrically, and we used the idea of a displacing storm to tell the story, leading into a style that we hadn’t recorded ourselves before.”
Meanwhile, the latest LP is set to drop this August; we’ve already heard the lead single in ‘My Baby’s Place’ and the second song, ‘Heatin Park’, all of which have gone down well with fans.
The early reviews of this third track and accompanying music video also look to be largely positive, with the almost folky mandolin riffs showing a different kind of approach from the group.
As for their upcoming tour dates, besides a pair of Manchester gigs, they’ll also be playing the likes of the Olympia in Liverpool, Sheffield’s Octagon Centre, and the Barbican in York, just to name a few.
Their popularity up here in the North was only further proved by how many people came along to NBHD Weeekender 2026 (review HERE) seemingly just for them.
For those looking to grab tickets, you can obviously secure early access by pre-ordering their album and signing yourself up for the band’s mailing list.
General admission to see DMA’s in Manchester on Friday, 5 and Saturday, 6 February 2027, as well as all other domestic tour dates, will be available from 10am on 12 June, 2026; you can get ready to grab your tickets right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
24th April 2026 
