Agbeko at YES

Creative Tourist

Book now

Agbeko

YES, Manchester
13 March 2020

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Band on the Wall
Book now

Agbeko are an afrobeat-inspired rock-funk-psych juggernaut from Manchester. Influenced by the enduring music of 1970’s West Africa, the eleven-strong outfit have spent the past three years honing a singular, contemporary big band sound made up of horns, guitars, percussion and gutsy vocals.

The young group view our times through the lens of Generation Z, the forty-eight and the ninety-nine percent. In their music, they speak out against irresponsible leadership and humanitarian crises, while promoting fairness and acceptance — just as the musicians who inspire them have.

Theirs is music with a message, but it is also some of the most danceable and energising that you’re likely to hear from any modern-day big band. In 2018, Stutter & Twitch records’ admiration for the group saw them press their double A-side ‘Leaders of the Free World/Submit’ on 7” wax before a self-release of ethio-prog brooder ‘The Remedy’.

In March, Agbeko will release a unique 50/50 studio and live album, before spending the summer circling festival sites across the land. Before all of that, you can catch their joyous live show at YES on 13th March.

Where to go near Agbeko at YES

Manchester
Music venue
Joshua Brooks

Long-established Manchester bar and nightclub, Joshua Brooks is just off student hotspot Oxford Road. Open until 4am on the weekends with regular DJ-led club nights.

View of PINK meeting area and exhibition space, with a table, chairs and white walls
Stockport
Gallery
PINK

PINK is a Stockport-based multipurpose art space, with studios, exhibition areas and a community-focused ethos.

Manchester
Theatre
The Dancehouse

From its charming Art Deco interiors to a quirky, highly original creative arts output, our theatre is firmly established within the city’s famously vibrant cultural scene.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Thirsty Scholar

Friendly pub under a railway arch serving vegetarian and vegan pub food, as well as hosting regular live music.

Manchester
Restaurant
The Cotton Factory

This residency restaurant opened in summer 2019, at Locke Hotels’ Whitworth Locke. The first residency comes courtesy of Mexican specialists El Camino.

Manchester
Restaurant
Peru Perdu

Peru Perdu has an all-new food and drink menu, with some of the best-looking dishes in the city.

What's on: Music

MusicLeeds
Poor Creature at The Attic

Poor Creature reimagine centuries-old folk songs with dreamlike textures, earthy harmonies, and a subtle, timeless pull.

From £15.00
Mhaol x Snare Press Image
MusicBirkenhead
M(h)aol at Future Yard

Irish post-punk firebrands M(h)aol return to Liverpool this September, bringing their raw, rhythm-driven new album Something Soft to Future Yard.

From £15.68
MusicManchester
Skee Mask at The White Hotel

Skee Mask, the producer behind some of the most inspired electronic music of the past decade, returns to The White Hotel.

From £11.00
A large mechanical puppet controlled by multiple people. Encounter Festival in Preston
FestivalsLancashire
Encounter Festival in Preston

Expect a jam-packed day of outdoor performance, live music, family fun – plus Preston’s iconic Torchlight Procession and fireworks finale.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Exhibitions in the North

Galleries around the North are gearing up for a new season of exhibitions - from iconic art prizes to smaller, artist-led gems.

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Wisp Press Image
Music in the North

From corrupted shoegaze to experimental electronica, post-hardcore to Indian classical, these are the shows that should be on your radar.