What's On

Manchester Pride 2021 lineup unveiled – with 40+ UK and international acts on the bill

Zara Larsson, Sigala, Annie Mac, Gabrielle, Katy B, Example and Eve are all leading this year's stellar lineup.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 30th April 2021

Over 40+ big-name UK and international acts are confirmed to be on the lineup at this year’s Manchester Pride.

After the iconic LGBTQ+ festival – which historically takes over the city each August Bank Holiday weekend – had its 2020 edition cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, organisers have today announced that Zara Larsson, Sigala, Annie Mac, Gabrielle, Katy B, Example and Eve will all lead a stellar lineup set to appear at this year’s event taking place on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August.

The festival, which is being hosted in partnership with Virgin Atlantic, is set to feature six key strands – Activism, Equality, Arts and Culture, Youth and Family, Community and Party.

Heading the lineup is Swedish singer Zara Larsson, who will be joined on stage on the Sunday night by songwriters Ella Henderson, Gabrielle, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Lucy Spraggan, alongside stage hosts Danny Beard, Cheddar Gorgeous, Anna Phylactic, The Manchester Queens and House of Blaque.

On the Saturday, English DJ, record producer and remixer Sigala, BBC Radio 1’s ‘Dance Party’ legend Annie Mac, singer-songwriter Katy B, and musician, singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer Example, will all take to the stage hosted by La Discothèque and House of Ghetto.

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There is also another major artist set to be announced as headline performer on the Saturday, but the charity “will not be in a position to reveal their identity until 27th August”, right before the Bank Holiday weekend show.

The venue for MCR Pride Live will be announced in coming weeks.

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Manchester Pride

The lineup for the “ultimate street party celebration”, the Gay Village Party, has also been announced today, with incredible performances, markets and parties set to take place over all four days of the Bank Holiday weekend.

This year, the festival will include Trans Creative presents Trans Pride Rally, plus live performances across the Alan Turing Stage in Sackville Gardens, MancUnity Stage, Playground Stage and Superbia presents Queer Music Stage.

Highlights are set to include Danny Beard and Friends, Black Pride MCR Takeover and Fat Pride.

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If you’ve already got your tickets for this year’s festival – which went on sale last month, with the weekend ‘MCR Pride Live Rainbow Passes’ selling out in less than an hour – ticket holders can also expect the return of old favourites such as the silent disco, sing-along cinema, the marketplace and the fairground rides.

Don’t worry if you’ve missed out though, as a limited number of weekend and day passes will be released at 12pm today.

Rainbow Passes – which allow access to MCR Pride Live Festival and four days at the Gay Village Party – start at £55 for a day or £84.50 for the weekend, and Gay Village Party tickets are £17.50 for one day or £25 for all four days.

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

Speaking on the lineup reveal today, Mark Fletcher – CEO of Manchester Pride – said: “I’m really happy that we are able to share this announcement today.

“With many artists having decided not to tour this year, my team has worked twice as hard to secure a first class lineup of performers who are each excited to be able to celebrate LGBTQ+ life with us, in person this year – and unless the roadmap to recovery changes, we can’t wait to come back together once again. 

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“MCR Pride Live will be in a new home, with a reduced capacity but the standard of talent on the stage remains exceptional and we know that our loyal and excited audience will love the programming across all of the events.

“Tickets to MCR Pride Live are very limited now and the Gay Village Party is selling fast, so I urge everyone that wants to come to buy them before they sell out”.

You can find more information about the full lineup, and grab your tickets here.

Featured Image – Manchester Pride

What's On

Tyler, The Creator at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for CHROMAKOPIA tour

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Tyler, The Creator is returning to Manchester and playing in the city’s newest live entertainment venue, Co-op Live.

The last time Tyler – or Mr Creator, if you will – found himself in our gorgeous city was just over two years ago when he headlined Parklife, sharing the bill with 50 Cent and Megan Thee Stallion as well as many more.

Now, he is playing his magnificent ‘CHROMAKOPIA’ album live as part of his world tour of the same name at none other than Co-op Live.

Tyler, The Creator gig guide

Tyler, The Creator is playing Co-op Live, Manchester, on 27 and 28 May.
Tyler, The Creator is playing Co-op Live, Manchester, on 27 and 28 May.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Tyler, The Creator UK tour dates

  • Sat 17 May – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
  • Mon 19 May – London, UK – The O2
  • Wed 21 May – London, UK – The O2
  • Thu 22 May – London, UK – The O2
  • Tue 27 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
  • Wed 28 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
  • Fri 30 May – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
  • Sat 31 May – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro

Tyler, The Creator tickets for Co-op Live gig

If you’re after catching Mr Creator live in the flesh, this one might be tricky as there’s a hefty amount of people wanting to do the same thing, tickets for his 27 May show can be found HERE.

It’s a good thing he’s playing two dates otherwise getting your hands on tickets might’ve been sticky, you can browse all the options for 28 May date HERE.

Tyler, The Creator set list

  • St. Chroma
  • Rah Tah Tah
  • Noid
  • Darling, I
  • I Killed You
  • Judge Judy
  • Sticky
  • Take Your Mask Off
  • Tomorrow
  • EARFQUAKE
  • I THINK
  • Yonkers
  • Tron Cat
  • She
  • Tamale
  • Rusty
  • IFHY
  • LUMBERJACK
  • I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE
  • DOGTOOTH
  • SORRY NOT SORRY
  • Who Dat Boy
  • WUSYANAME
  • Thought I Was Dead
  • Like Him
  • See You Again
  • NEW MAGIC WAND
  • I Hope You Find Your Way Home

There are three tracks that act as interludes throughout the show too: ‘IGOR’S THEME’, ‘A BOY IS A GUN’ and ‘THANK YOU’.

What are the stage times for Tyler, The Creator in Manchester?

Tyler, The Creator is coming to Manchester and we're sure he'll be wearing something equally snazzy.
Tyler, The Creator is coming to Manchester and we’re sure he’ll be wearing something equally snazzy.

Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm meaning the ‘Flower Boy’ has enough time to sing ‘I Hope You Find Your Way Home’ while you get under the covers before midnight.

Anyone attending can expect the doors to open at 6pm with a kick-off time of 8pm and support from local Manchester talent Just Yaz hyping the crowd up beforehand.

There will also be special guest appearances from Lil Yachty and Paris Texas.

How to get to Co-op Live

Tram

For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.

Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.

Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Bus

You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.

Getting there by car and parking

If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.

The postcode is M11 3DU and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.

Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide come event day, though estimates will obviously vary:

  • Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
  • Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
  • Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.

There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:

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  • Ashton Moss (Ashton line) – 183 spaces and 12 disabled spaces
  • Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
  • Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces

Walk/cycle

Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.

Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.

For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images – Wikimedia Commons / Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)

What's On

Why you should go to this hidden music festival in a garden centre

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Manchester’s only direct-from-garden-centre music event, Green Island Festival, is returning with free tickets, big charity projects and more.

Now in its fifth year, Green Island Festival is back for 2025 and its set to be bigger and better than ever before, spread across three dates throughout the summer.

The lineup is as diverse as ever bringing in a range of acts from all over the globe such as Australia to local grassroots talents that deserve a turn in the spotlight.

One of these is none other than local music collective Conor and the Greenskeepers who even got a little mention in our monthly ‘Manchester artists we’ve been listening to’ slot.

I sat down with the event organisers for this one-of-a-kind music festival George and Stephan to find out why you should go to this hidden music festival in a garden centre.

Green Island Festival Interview –

What makes your festival different from any other?

George: Definitely the garden centre aspect. There’s an escapism element to it and we’re also doing pretty well at championing the grassroots scene, giving people a platform to showcase their music. We’re trying to not be super focused on one specific type of music or genre this feeds through to our lineups.

Stephan: We’ve been lucky being able to attract different age ranges from 18 and 19 all the way up to 50 and 60 year olds. The people are what make it what it is and they’ve stuck with us from day dot really, it’s one big community. Managing to get a very diverse lineup in place is important too.

George getting the crowd hyped at Green Island Festival.
George getting the crowd hyped at Green Island Festival.
Music festival in a Manchester garden centre? We're in.
Music festival in a Manchester garden centre? We’re in.

Who came up with the idea to host a festival in a garden centre?

Stephan: George. He walked past the garden centre and thought that’s the perfect place.

We didn’t know we didn’t know each other at first then George found my page (Me Gusta Collective) and I was fully up for it straight away, and since then we’ve been best friends. And, like, I’ve called him like, my best friend.

Manchester is known for its love of music, how did you guys fall in love with music and then eventually fall in love with festival organising?

George: It’s always come pretty naturally to both of us. Stephan’s done lots of work with Band on the Wall and I did various bits at Freight Island and Canvas when it was still open. Our favourite part is when we’re planning and scheming the flow of the festival and lineup.

Stephan: I guess our love of different types of music comes from our upbringings really. I listened to a lot of salsa and my dad used to throw events when I was a kid with family members so creating events has always been around me. I started my first night when I was 19 in Germany after I fell in love with house music and electronic music in Manchester so I feel like the path to creating events has always been laid out but it took me a while to make a living out of it.

Good vibes only at Green Festival Island 2025.
Good vibes only at Green Festival Island 2025.
Stephan performing under his DJ alias Atiké.
Stephan performing under his DJ alias Atiké.

Stephan, you’ve been a long time supporter of indie artists and local venues, working at band on the wall yourself. So how important is it for you to see local artists reflected in Green Island’s lineup?

Stephan: It’s so important to us. We’ve got the marquee stage which is all about local acts and our bandstand stage too. There’s High Hoops [A Manchester-based Queer club night], which has been going for years now, and same goes to Eves’Drop Collective [A group of female DJs from across the UK] that have been doing bits for such a long time, and Ruf Dug who is a no brainer for the lineup.

George: When it comes to headliners there’s only a handful per day and the rest of Green Island [Festival] is pretty much grassroots music. Paying a fortune for each act isn’t the only way to bring a lot of people together and sell a lot tickets, people are interested in grassroots more than ever.

Tickets are quite reasonably priced, too, with children and under 13’s getting free entry, what made you decide to offer this?

Stephan: We want to make this festival available for families so you would have to pay for every kid to get in, it ends up being so expensive.

George: We worked pretty hard on finding the perfect price point for the festival so it can operate but not break the bank because it’s pretty crazy how expensive tickets are getting now.

Children and under 13's get to go to Green Island Festival for FREE.
Children and under 13’s can get into Green Island Festival for free.
The wonderful Green Island Festival team will be on-hand throughout the day too.
The wonderful Green Island Festival team.

What made you choose a lineup that spans lots of different sounds, rather than sticking to a few main genres?

Stephan: We come from a background of music purists who listened to lots of records to a lot of records. I was listening to African bands who are fully authentic much like grassroots music it’s raw. , raw, it’s fresh. We’ve been able to come up with a lineup that fuses African music, Latin music, sounds from the Middle East with ska, house, drum and bass, even jazz. We know exactly what we want to hear.

George: It’s the appreciation of music across the spectrum, there’s so many different facets to it, and we programme a solid lineup that incorporates all of them. We love a challenge and we love feeding the energy throughout the day, leading to the last little crescendo at the end.

You also give attendees the option to donate £1 to Eat Well MCR with every ticket bought, how important is this charity to the pair of you?

George: We know Kathleen [Co-founder of Eat Well MCR] quite well, she’s always been a huge supporter of us so we do what we can to support whatever she’s got going on. We managed to raise quite a bit of money for them last year. Also, when you’re buying food from our vendors you can add a donation for this initiative which last year 90% of everybody that ordered food added on £1 or more which was very nice to see.

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We also work with Play It Green where we have a levy on our ticket and 50% goes to them so they can plant trees around the world. We want to make our festival more sustainable in the long term and eventually be net zero.

Stephan I know you also have a DJ alias, Atiké, how excited are you to play the festival alongside all acts?

Stephan: I can’t wait, I’m doing a b2b set with Little O who is amazing. I met her on Bandcamp, now we’re playing together. I went all over Dublin to see her and because I grew up in Ireland it’s quite nice to kind of reconnect with that side of me. I asked her if she fancied doing a b2b set with me and she was all for it. We bounce off each other so well.

If you could describe green album festival in three words, what would you choose?
George: Inclusive, friendly, vibrant.
Stephan: Sunshine, diversity and friendship.

Tickets for ‘Green Island Festival 2025’ range from full price to low-income and neighbours tickets at just £12.50 and entry for children under 13 completely FREE – Get ready to grab your tickets for Green Island 2025 HERE.

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Featured Images – Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)

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