Music in the North

Johnny James, Managing Editor

Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports. Bar Italia return with a sharpened sound, Sorry bring their shape-shifting new record to Gorilla, Manchester’s own Westside Cowboy present their much-hyped debut EP, and the ever-enigmatic Mark William Lewis is back at The White Hotel.

Ibibio Sound Machine turn away from sun-kissed festival bounce and towards the sweatier pulse of a club at Band on the Wall, and Legowelt brings vintage machines, sci-fi dreams and 30 years of restless invention to deepest darkest Salford. Further down the line, we’re eyeing up a few summer highlights, including a rare open-air show from Neil Young, and a festival that sees The White Hotel decamp to… Blackpool.

Our top picks

Mun Sing at The White Hotel

Mun Sing at The White Hotel, Salford, 6 February 2026, From £11.00 - Book now

Mun Sing, one half of Giant Swan, brings his fractured, fiercely original club music to The White Hotel off the back of his latest EP.

Mun Sing by Alice Jennings, courtesy of LittleBig Music Agency.
Mun Sing by Alice Jennings, courtesy of LittleBig Music Agency.

Voka Gentle at YES Basement

Voka Gentle at YES, Manchester and online, 26 February 2026, From £14.50 - Book now

Voka Gentle return to Manchester with a headline show in YES Basement, bringing new material that pushes their already elastic sound into darker, stranger territory.

Poster
Pan-Pan

Mandy, Indiana at Brudenell Social Club

Mandy, Indiana at Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 27 March 2026, From £15.00 - Book now

In these cheery, optimistic times, who’d have thought that musical brutalism would be having a moment? Manchester’s own Mandy, Indiana sit right in that current, returning with their second album and a live show in Leeds.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark at Rochdale Town Hall Square

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark at Rochdale Town Hall, Manchester, 7 August 2026, From £55.00 - Book now

This summer, foundational British synth-pop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark return to Rochdale, the town where they recorded ‘Electricity’, the breakthrough single that helped set their trajectory.

Synth pop Icons
Image courtesy of Sonic PR

The Black Lights in Blackpool

The Black Lights at Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, 26–28 June 2026, From £150.00 - Book now

Celebrating 10 years as one of the UK’s best underground clubs, The White Hotel is retooling some of the Blackpool’s most recognisable sites for one-off, site-specific performances.

BLACKHAINE
Archie Finch

Legowelt at The White Hotel

Legowelt at The White Hotel at The White Hotel, Salford, 24 January 2026, From £19.90 - Book now

Vintage machines, sci-fi dreams and 30 years of restless invention. Legowelt plays in deepest darkest Salford this January.

Legowelt Press Image
LeRoy Verbeet, courtesy of Octopus Agents

Ibibio Sound Machine at Band on the Wall

Ibibio Sound Machine at Band on the Wall, Manchester, 17 January 2026, From £29 - Book now

Fusing West African funk and disco with modern post-punk and electro, trust Ibibio Sound Machine to inject some much-needed energy into dreary January.

Image supplied by Band on the Wall

Sorry at Gorilla

Sorry at Gorilla, Manchester, 15 February 2026, From £23.25 - Book now

Sorry return to Manchester in February, this time headlining Gorilla with a new album that finally captures the full strangeness and clarity of a band who’ve spent years ducking easy categorisation.

Image courtesy of Powerline Agency.

Bar Italia at Manchester Academy 2

bar italia at Manchester Academy 2, Manchester, 24 March 2026, From £19.45 - Book now

Bar Italia, one of London’s most hyped bands of the last few years, are playing Manchester Academy 2 on 24 March 2026, returning off the back of their newest record, Some Like It Hot.

Image supplied by Band on the Wall

The Silence of the Lambs: Live in Concert at The Bridgewater Hall

The Silence of the Lambs: Live in Concert at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 31 January 2026, From £34.50 - Book now

The Silence of the Lambs is accompanied by a live performance from the Hallé orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall in association with Big Screen Live this January.

The Silence of the Lambs: Live in Concert
no credit

Mark William Lewis at The White Hotel

Mark William Lewis at The White Hotel, Salford, 20 February 2026, From £17.10 - Book now

A hyped name among London’s underground scene, Mark William Lewis brings his skeletal and introspective indie rock to The White Hotel.

Mark William Lewis by Steve Gullick. Image courtesy of Ground Control Touring.

Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts at Heaton Park

Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts at Heaton Park, Manchester, 19 June 2026, From £89.60 - Book now

Neil Young is opening his 2026 UK and European tour in Manchester, stepping into Heaton Park on 19 June with his newest band, The Chrome Hearts.

Danny Clinch.
Danny Clinch.

The Hallé 2025-26 Season

The Hallé 2025-26 Season at Aviva Studios, Manchester (and other venues), Until 27 June 2026, From £17 - Book now

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.

Alex Burns.

More Music

Legowelt Press Image
MusicManchester
Legowelt at The White Hotel

Vintage machines, sci-fi dreams and 30 years of restless invention. Legowelt plays in deepest darkest Salford this January.

From £19.90
Mun Sing by Alice Jennings, courtesy of LittleBig Music Agency.
MusicManchester
Mun Sing at The White Hotel

Mun Sing, one half of Giant Swan, brings his fractured, fiercely original club music to The White Hotel off the back of his latest EP.

From £11.00
MusicManchester
Sorry at Gorilla

Sorry return to Manchester with a new album that finally captures the full strangeness and clarity of a band who’ve spent years ducking easy categorisation.

From £23.25
Poster
MusicManchester
Voka Gentle at YES Basement

Voka Gentle return to Manchester with a headline show in YES Basement, bringing new material that pushes their already elastic sound into darker, stranger territory.

From £14.50

Experiences

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Until
ActivityCity Centre
The Manchester Music Walkabout

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ActivityManchester
The Manchester Pub Walkabout

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Salford Lads Club Exterior
TourManchester
Salford Lads Club Tour

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Jonathan Schofield Walking Tours Halloween
TourManchester
Halloween: The Ghosts of Manchester

Explore Manchester’s ghostly past with Jonathan Schofield. Uncover eerie tales of lost...

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