The Blues Kitchen is still launching in Manchester on 20th May
The Blues Kitchen Manchester will open on the 20th May 2021, bringing a flavour of the Deep South to the city and enriching the music scene with an incredible live programme, seven nights a week.
It’s still happening, The Blues Kitchen Manchester will open on 20th May 2021, bringing a flavour of the Deep South to the city and enriching the music scene with an incredible live programme, seven nights a week.
The two-storey venue comprises of a restaurant and bar on the ground floor and a stunning concert hall on the first floor. The concert hall will also open temporarily for Friday and Saturdays from the 20th May for seated entertainment experiences, until the 21st June (subject to further guidelines) when the hall will welcome guests for standing gigs and club nights. More information on the sensational music programme will be revealed in the upcoming months.
The expert team behind popular London venues XOYO and Jazz Café will launch the music venue, club, bar and restaurant, which celebrates their life-long affair with Blues music alongside a passion for rare Bourbon and obsession with Southern Barbeque food. An admiration for Manchester’s buzzing music scene cemented the city as their next destination for The Blues Kitchen, which has existing locations in Camden, Shoreditch and Brixton. This will be their first venue outside of London, and their largest to date.
The Blues Kitchen
The Blues Kitchen will occupy 13 Quay Street, a two-storey site originally built to house a Victorian Eye Hospital. The site is currently undergoing renovations with the team working to restore some of its original features as well as install new additions. With the sounds, smells, styles and tastes of Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi & Texas on offer, guests will be transported to the Deep South.
The restaurant and bar, located on the ground floor, will specialise in serving up American Soul food and rare and vintage bourbon. Open all day for brunch, lunch, supper and dessert, its southern inspired menu features barbecue classics and proper comfort food. Come hungry – their stacked-up burgers, creamy mac n cheese, buffalo hot wings and smoky ribs will leave you more than satisfied.
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The bar will boast over 80 bourbons and a dedicated menu of cocktails, beers, wine and spirits. Their extensive whiskey menu covers all bases, offering Single Barrel – aged 12 years -, Rye, Corn & Wheated, Small Batch, Tennessee, Rare & Vintage as well as whiskeys from around the world.
The Blues Kitchen
The Blues Kitchen will proudly present a curated live music programme every day of the week on their ground floor. From 1930’s Delta blues, gritty southern soul, funk, acoustic, rock n roll and roots music, sit back and enjoy some spectacular live music while you tuck into food and drinks. Head upstairs to the concert hall, which will occupy the first floor. Holding up to 500 guests, the space will host concerts with international headliners as well as in-house gigs and club nights with Manchester based resident musicians and DJs encompassing a variety of genres.
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Steve Ball, CEO of The Columbo Group, which owns Blues Kitchen, said, “We’ve been looking for the perfect site in Manchester for years and have finally found it. We’ve taken a great deal of pleasure in restoring the building over the past year, and we’ve managed to get hold of some incredible vintage features from The States so it’s really going to be quite something. We’re really excited to reveal it all soon along with our entertainment programme once restrictions have lifted.”
Sign up now to theblueskitchen.com/manchester for exclusive access to the live music programme as well as restaurant bookings and to keep up with the latest news follow The Blues Kitchen on Instagram @blueskitchenmcr.
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A special UK exclusive screening of the new Star Wars movie is taking place here in Manchester
Danny Jones
Calling all die-hard Star Wars fans across the galaxy (or at least here in Britain, anyway), a special screening of the franchise’s newest film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, is coming exclusively to a Manchester cinema.
Even better still, it’s the only place in the UK that will be showing it. So damn cool.
The new spin-off set to land in theatres this month is the latest addition to the Star Wars cinematic universe and expands the hit Mandalorian TV series.
Most exciting regarding its domestic release here in the likes of Manchester, the VUE cinema in the Printworks is the only place putting on the IMAX version of the new movie.
Made specifically for IMAX, this is the first Star Wars film shot for and using fully IMAX-certified digital cameras and designed specifically for the experience.
The Mandalorian and Grogu – which is set to drop later this week – features 53 minutes presented in Printworks Manchester’s towering IMAX 1.43:1 aspect ratio.
Aimed to maximise screen size, deliver the most high-end visuals as possible, and further help with overall immersion, there really is nothing quite like it.
If you’ve ever seen a film in IMAX, you’ll know just how much extra enjoyment it brings.
With the Printworks branch selected as the UK’s exclusive destination for the film’s expanded 1.43:1 IMAX presentation, Greater Manchester are in for an absolute treat.
You can see the most recent trailer down below.
Let’s just say it’s received ‘mixed’ reviews, so far…
To celebrate launch day even further, VUE Printworks will also be hosting a limited one-off early morning screening at 6am, giving the most dedicated fans a chance to be among the first audiences in the country to see Din Djarin and Grogu make their big screen debut.
If anything, the seemingly divisive early reactions to the full feature film expansion of the ‘Mando’ lore have kind of made us want to watch it even more.
As always with these things, we’d encourage you to go along and make your own mind up, but we’ll be honest: our heavy Star Wars obsession will most likely make us biased to love this almost unconditionally. Tickets are live now right HERE.
Will you be going to see it?
Just over 2 hours, The Mandalorian and Grogu film hits streaming later this year. (Credit: The Manc)
Salford Pride’s popular Pink Picnic returns this summer with ‘iconic’ headliners
Emily Sergeant
Boney M, The Cheeky Girls, and Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK stars are all on the lineup at Salford Pride’s popular Pink Picnic this summer.
As this summer marks 15 years of Pride in Salford, Salford Pride has announced a whole host of exciting events to celebrate – including the return of The Pink Picnic, its biggest family-friendly celebration yet, with headliners like 90s and 00s music icons, community talent, and even a ‘bigger and bolder’ Youth Zone for 2026.
Returning to Peel Park once again, The Pink Picnic brings together LGBTQ+ community, allies, families and friends for a day built around community, joy, and belonging.
For 2026, Salford Pride is expanding the experience further with even more to do across the park than ever before.
The Pink Picnic has been part of Salford’s Pride story since 2011, but this year’s 15th anniversary addition is set to be one for the history books, as alongside a headline lineup featuring Boney M, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’s Kyran Thrax and Paige Three, The Cheeky Girls, Big Brovaz, Booty Luv, and Baby D, a strong programme of community acts will also be spotlighted.
Some of the exceptional community acts already named on the lineup so far include Tallulah Guard, Fear of Marko, and John Tucker.
Across the day, visitors can also shop from dozens of community stalls and market traders, take part in or watch the much-loved annual dog show, and visit the ‘bigger and bolder’ Youth Zone that’s designed to help young people feel seen and celebrated.
“Celebrating 15 years of Pride in Salford feels really special, and we wanted 2026 to feel like a proper thank you to the community that’s built this with us” said Scott Turzański, who is the Head of Marketing and Brand at Salford Pride.
The Manc -
2nd March 2021 
