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
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
Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.
Free entry
Join Barry Clark at the Portico Library for a mindful day of book binding, meeting new people and sharing a heritage craft.
From £80.00
Manchester International Festival 2025 kicks off with an awe-inspiring outdoor spectacle as THE HERDS take to the streets of Manchester, Rochdale, and Wigan.
Free entry
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.
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
From environmental to experimental, our poetry and prose picks from around the North are focused on the unusual and the fun.
This month's guide is truly eclectic - from free family festivals, to food events, circus school and more!
The sun is shining in the North, so use our guide to get out there and eat, drink and be merry in it.
Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.
Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.
Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.
From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.
Books, beer and burlesque. Dive into a glorious tangle of joyful happenings.
