Technological systems shape our everyday lives in ways we rarely see. What if that changed? What if you could actually step inside one?

A historic moment arrives as John Adams, one of the world’s greatest living composers, returns to the Hallé to conduct his own music.

There are some great bands coming out of the New York experimental scene at the moment. YHWH Nailgun fall at the noisier end of the spectrum, laying down dizzying assaults on the senses that ricochet between Black Midi’s math-rock chaos and Death Grips’ primal fury.

“It’s fucking Fat Dog, baby.” Bringing a knowingly absurd blend of electro-punk, rock’n’roll snarl, industrial pop and rave euphoria, the South London’s seven-piece headline Now Wave’s Halloween special.

Scratching an early-BCNR itch while pushing in an increasingly dark direction, The Orchestra (For Now) bring their forthcoming second EP to Manchester.

Blending post-punk aggression with queer pop and industrial techno, New York’s Model/Actriz play at Band on the Wall in support of their second album, Pirouette.

Across seven albums, Perfume Genius has moved between hushed alt-indie, maximalist pop and strange, orchestral abstraction. His new one sees him loosen the reins, serving up a mosaic of styles and characters who recur throughout his discography.

With a ballooning fanbase, a debut EP out in the wild, and an album surely around the corner, this next tour feels like a big one for Manchester’s own Westside Cowboy.

Shoegaze’s unlikely resurgence has catapulted 20-year-old Wisp from iPhone demos to Coachella. In support of her debut album, she headlines The Deaf Institute.

TTSSFU – Wigan-born, Manchester-based Tasmin Nicole Stephens – makes lofi, grungy shoegaze that takes the genre in an intriguingly dark direction.

As part of The John Adams Festival, which sees the living legend come to Manchester to conduct his own music, the RNCM Symphony Orchestra charts a musical journey through 20th century American life.

London-based, Brisbane-born singer-songwriter MF Tomlinson brings album number three, Die To Wake Up From A Dream, to The Castle.

The UK’s biggest annual sax gathering returns, and in its 25th anniversary year the festival is headlined by one of the most influential figures in jazz and classical saxophone today: Branford Marsalis.

Blurring the line between performance art and punk show, New York’s Les Savy Fav return to the Brudenell on All Hallows’ Eve.

Operating in the same orbit as Jon Hopkins, Max Cooper and Rival Consoles, Halina Rice pairs emotive electronic music with cutting-edge visuals to create live events she describes as “part rave, part art-happening”.

This autumn, the RNCM launches its second Inspirational Artists series, spotlighting a huge range of touring musicians and ensembles, each bringing something unique to the stage.

A magical curse, a burst of laughter, and three tantalising oranges… Prokofiev’s L’Amour des Trois Oranges is a cocktail of satire, slapstick and fairy tale – an irreverent antidote to operatic solemnity.

Overmono return to The Warehouse Project this October with Pure Devotion – a self-curated night of high emotion, heavy sonics, and a no-messing line-up from the sharpest edges of global club culture.

The Hallé’s new season blends classical heavyweights, boundary-pushing premieres, and genre-straddling names like Jonny Greenwood and Anna Meredith – plus a whole festival dedicated to John Adams.