John Grant is blessed with a glorious, honeyed voice. Early in his solo career, he lived up to the cliché about being able to make anything sound good by turning a list of the items for sale in his childhood sweet shop into the most wonderful confection full of wonder and longing (‘Marz’). At Manchester […]
– Gorilla, Manchester – How on earth is someone this effortlessly cool? Dressed in a white vest with ripped off sleeves, dripping in pearls, Channel Tres is elevated above the audience and his two dancers on a podium on stage, oozing nonchalant chic, and it’s magnetic. Here to support his latest EP Real Cultural Shit, […]
– Yes Pink Room, Manchester – To describe this Anna B Savage show as eagerly awaited would be a major understatement. The searing intensity of her first album, ‘A Common Turn’, became one of my soundtracks to 2021’s winter lockdown while her more nuanced follow-up, ‘in/FLUX,’ has already established itself as a leading contender for […]
– Ritz, Manchester – I usually hate those pretentious types, those fans who believe that the unreleased stuff is better than the released stuff, but for tonight at least I’m my own worst enemy. As someone who only listens to Alex G’s unreleased music I have no idea how I will fare at an Alex […]
– Castle Hotel, Manchester – I came across Sophie Jamieson’s astonishing, raw debut album at the very start of the year. Gold Flake Paint, one of the best music blogs around, has a knack of presenting albums to me in their end of year roundup that I’ve never heard of, but because of their brilliant […]
It’s testament to the musical ambition of Mogwai that more than twenty-five years years after they started they can now sell out Manchester’s Albert Hall so fast a second date had to be added. Not bad for a band whose spellbinding tunes mostly consist of epic instrumentals with minimal vocals. Having recently spoken to Stuart […]
– Arena, Manchester – There’s no two ways about it: this is the most thrilling arena show I’ve ever seen. It’s quite a grand statement to make, but what Matty Healy et al have constructed (and constructed is definitely the word) for the mega-tour in support of their latest album Being Funny in a Foreign […]
– Academy 3, Manchester – The last time Nada Surf was in Manchester in March 2020, the world was on the edge of a precipice. In the days after, the band cut short their tour as the country entered lockdown indefinitely. In the two years that followed, it was hard to imagine gigs without risks, […]
– The White Hotel, Manchester – The White Hotel’s very foundations are shaking. The metal shutter behind me is practically part of the show, vibrating and reverberating as doomy Australian post rockers Divide and Dissolve (D&D) absolutely destroy all notions of noise that I’ve ever experienced, taking the concept of ‘you can actually feel the […]
– New Century Hall, Manchester – Turns out black midi are still one of the funnest live bands around then, which is great news. It’s almost a year to the day since I last saw them perform their thrilling show at the Ritz, prior to the release of their fantastic album Hellfire from earlier this […]
GIG GUIDE
Our gig guide is handpicked and every act has been listened to before making it onto the list.
See this month's guide
ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 20 MARCH 2026
ALBUM REVIEW: KIM GORDON - PLAY ME
ALBUM REVIEW - LUXJURY: GIVING UP
LIVE REVIEW - KEO: MANCHESTER RITZ - 07/03/2026
ALBUM REVIEW - NUBIYAN TWIST: CHASING SHADOWS
ALBUM REVIEW - GYDA VALTYSDOTTIR: MOTHER PEARL
ALBUM REVIEW - THE SCRATCH: PULL LIKE A DOG
ALBUM ROUNDUP WEEK ENDING 13 MARCH 2026
ALBUM REVIEW - FOTOCRIME: SECURITY
ALBUM REVIEW - TENDERNESS: TRUE
