This is a small-ish music venue that packs a live music punch. With a maximum capacity of 550 and live indie gigs laid on most nights (as well as decent club nights), the Ruby Lounge is the place to head for if you like it loud and possibly a little sweaty – rock out.
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
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
Dance a Céilí with Altogether Otherwise as part of their singing and dancing months in May and June.
free entry
Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.
free entry
All instruments, all abilities are welcome to join a band every week at Altogether Otherwise as part of their Singing and Dancing programme.
free entry
Hafren are one of Manchester’s most exciting chambers duos at the moment. Catch them at Altogether Otherwise.
from £6.00
Delve into the Echos exhibition at Portico Library through the filter of a Folk Life Drawing workshop with HappeningInManchester.
from £5.00
63 Degrees is brings French cuisine to Manchester’s Northern Quarter; the Parisian Moreau family who run it pride themselves on cooking with fresh ingredients.
A creative space in Manchester’s Northern Quarter with dance studios.
Ginger’s Comfort Emporium comes to Manchester’s Afflecks
Salvi’s Northern Quarter is the latest addition to the much-loved Salvi’s family, a series of family-run, independent Neapolitan restaurants and delis.
Manchester Buddhist Centre welcomes everyone and anyone into their multipurpose haven of calm in the Northern Quarter.
Backstreet Italian restaurant on Turner Street in the Northern Quarter with a strong Sicilian influence.
Alcohol-free bar and cafe in the heart of Northern Quarter. Serving mocktails, 0% beer and all your alcohol free favourites.
Named after Manchester’s one time publisher, radical and mayor Abel Heywood, this Hynes-owned pub and hotel is somewhat more conventionally polished than its namesake.
With 240 shops under one roof, the Arndale is one of the UK’s biggest shopping centres.
Wacky pizza parlour in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
The northern quarter’s Frog Flowers is part florists, part artist’s studio – and is one Manchester shop that ticks all the boutique boxes.
Saan1 is an independent art space in Manchester’s NQ
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.
With these lighter, brighter days and warmer temperatures, it's really starting to feel like summer here in the North West!
Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring.
Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.
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.
Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month
Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.
Spring is here and the North is buzzing with must-visit new restaurants and bars.
