Retro by name, retro by nature, Barbarella has been tucked away at the back of the city’s leading vintage emporium, Pop Boutique, for longer than anyone can remember. Hairstyles might change but this place has remained admirably resistant to change, right down to the Jane Fonda prints from the sixties sci-fi film it took its name from.
An insanely committed seven-nights-a-week, Creatures of the Night Comedy Club opens its doors (20.30-22.30 typically, though please check) for evening after evening of side-splitting comedy.
From £5.00
Every Monday night upstairs at Fierce Bar, The Comedy Vault hosts an outrageously funny open-mic night. Come and try your hand or just to watch and laugh.
Free entry
Join in the celebration of creative communities in the heart of Manchester with MCDC’s new exhibition ‘Connecting Spaces’.
Free entry
Beat the Frog is a legendary amateur comedy night, taking place each and every Monday. Many famous names prove it’s the real deal.
Free entry
Rock-informed, techno-adjacent musical collagists Moin perform at Band on the Wall this spring.
From £16.50
Band on the Wall bring people together to make, as well as watch, music. Join them to learn folk tunes from all over the world.
Join Joe Feeley a Mancunian through and through, who guides you into Manchester’s two pillars of cultural excellence with his Rock and Goal tour.
From £9.99
Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.
Free entry
Independent cafe in Manchester’s bustling Northern Quarter. Perfect if you’re looking for high-quality homemade produce.
One of the oldest vintage shops in the Northern Quarter (opened here in 1994), Pop is set out across two floors and racks up a cafe, barber’s and basement furniture section, as well as its own label and good-as-new originals – all for very reasonable prices.
Comic book and pop culture superstore in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Primely located on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter, Cass Art Manchester offers a vast selection of high-quality art materials at affordable prices.
Opened in 1991, Night & Day Cafe on Oldham Street plays host to an exhausting array of gigs throughout the year.
Selina NQ1 is a creative and charming yet sophisticated hotel in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Affleck & Brown is a bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Housed in the Smithfield building which was once the location of the Victorian department store of the same name. Enjoy cocktails, beers, wines and coffee.
Piccadilly Records is the real deal, a record shop so good that it probably deserves some credit for the regeneration of its surrounding neighbourhood.
Shop selling clothing, accessories, and gifts.
Coffee bar and shop selling gifts and homeware from local designers.
Vinyl Exchange is the largest seller and buyer of rare and second-hand records, CDs and DVDs in the North West.
Vintage clothes shop on Manchester’s Tib street, specialising in current and retro trends.
From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.
Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss (unless you’re paying attention).
Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.
With these lighter, brighter days and warmer temperatures, it's really starting to feel like summer here in the North West!
Books, beer and burlesque. Dive into a glorious tangle of joyful happenings.
The sun is shining in the North, so use our guide to get out there and eat, drink and be merry in it.
We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.
Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.
