Music in the North
Johnny James, Managing EditorThe outsiders, the oddities, the outrageous – we’re keeping it weird this month with a hot new batch of underground gigs about to hit Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool.
The outsiders, the oddities, the outrageous – we’re keeping it weird this month with a hot new batch of underground gigs about to hit Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool.
2025 marks Will Wiesenfeld’s first Baths album in eight years, and his first show in Leeds in seven. It’s a big moment, then, as he brings his fourth record, Gut, to Headrow House this May.
Manchester’s open-air club Progress scales up to 5000 capacity and launches a spring/summer season of forward-thinking electronic music and grassroots culture.
From sunny Los Angeles to deepest darkest Salford, electronic punk duo Sextile bring an anarchic, serotonin-boosting party to The White Hotel.
A new festival is born as Outer Waves brings to Liverpool an inclusive space for all things experimental and underground.
Salford’s Sounds From The Other City returns for a bumper anniversary edition this Early May Bank Holiday, ringing in 20 years by programming over 100 acts across 15 stages around Chapel Street and The Crescent.
Hulme’s Green Island Festival returns this summer, bringing a three-part series of events to Hulme Garden Centre and the iconic NIAMOS.
Political-journalist-turned-musician Annika Henderson is about to drop her third studio album. Apparently it’s her heaviest and angriest to date, making her intimate gig at Brudenell Social Club an extra exciting prospect.
When Keeley Forsyth arrived on the scene in 2019, The Guardian called her “The new Scott Walker”. Others placed her next to Beth Gibbons, Nico or Nick Cave. But the more she releases, the more she sounds like no-one other than herself.
Romare, one of the most sought-after DJs and producers in global dance music, is playing at The Blues Kitchen this Easter Bank Holiday.
Penelope Trappes exorcises her demons in the grand surrounds of Salford’s Sacred Trinity Church. For god’s sake, don’t tell the vicar.
Pursuing a thrilling slash-and-burn ethos to music-making, genre collagists Moin bring their rock-informed, techno-adjacent live show to Manchester.
StrangeForms Festival returns for its 10th edition, bringing two weird and wonderful days of math-rock, post-rock and post-metal to Leeds’ best small venue.
Jazz lovers rejoice – manchester jazz festival is back with a bumper edition in 2025, as the festival celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Experimental folk artist Richard Dawson is no stranger to big musical ideas, but his new work hits different, stripping things down to the bare bones to reveal the brilliant songwriting at its core.
Hamlet Hail to the Thief brings Shakespeare’s great tragedy and Radiohead’s seminal album together in an intoxicating blend of theatre, music, and movement.
Manchester Punk Festival returns for its 10th year, hosting over 140 bands across multiple venues around Oxford Road.
from £110Slow Knife perform a brand new live score for Dario Argento’s iconic giallo as part of Leeds Jazz Festival.
from £11.50One of the country’s foremost festivals showcasing new and emerging talent, Sounds From The Other City is back over Early May Bank Holiday.
from £30StrangeForms Festival returns for its 10th edition, bringing two weird and wonderful days of math-rock, post-rock, post-metal to Brudenell Social Club.
from £22.00Through a treasure trove of concerts, the RNCM’s initiative Dance:Music explores the symbiotic relationship between music and dance.
from £0.00manchester jazz festival is back this May with 10 days of live music from some of the best northern, national and international musicians operating in the world of contemporary jazz.
0-£30Manchester Psych Fest, the UK’s trailblazing psychedelic music and arts festival has announced a massive bill for its 2025 edition.
from £44.80Salford’s Sacred Trinity Church becomes a gothic dreamland as Penelope Trappes brings A Requiem to the fitting Chapel Street venue.
from £14Playable art installations, Shakespearean adaptations, contemporary cabaret, hip hop and live photography, Factory International bring another electrifying Spring Season.
Accomplished silent film pianist Jonny Best provides live improvised music to accompany Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller.
from £14.00Leeds International Concert Season is on a mission to push boundaries, expand horizons, and ask the question: ‘What haven’t we heard?’ as it presents its city-spanning Sound Out Leeds series.
from £10.00After 27 years, the groundbreaking nightlife documentary Hang The DJ takes us back to the nineties dance scene.
from £25.00Manchester's best secret, hidden and hard to find bars - here's our guide.
Take me thereFood Sorcery is a popular cookery school now opening in the centre of Manchester after years of success in East Didsbury.
Platt Fields Park in Fallowfield is steeped in history, the land having been acquired by the Platt family in 1225.
Built on a former bomb site and designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, a visit to this iconic museum provides an unforgettable experience for all ages.
Offering a packed schedule of events and things to do, HOME Manchester is one of the city’s leading hubs for arts and culture.
Learn from master jewellers Robert and Jenny Dutson with their jewellery making workshops and courses at The Workshop.
Main venue for Eden Arts, an artist-led organisation based in Eden in Cumbria creating projects around mass participation, local distinctiveness and digital engagement, from Picnic Cinema to The Winter Droving.
In the MerseyMade shop you’ll find bottled gin from the likes of Turncoat Gin, Anfield Gin, Albert Dock Gin and Three Graces Gin. Yep, Liverpool REALLY likes its gin.
Award-winning restaurant housed within Liverpool’s boutique Hope Street Hotel.
Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.
Spring is here and the North is buzzing with must-visit new restaurants and bars.
We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.
Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.
Crocodile-themed Easter egg hunts, sense-sational museum trips and more this Easter!
From precarious ceramics to photography festivals, spring is here and brings with it a breath of fresh air in visual art and exhibitions.
If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.