Music in the North

Johnny James, Managing Editor

Masters of minimalism, leftfield electronica and cutting edge pop. We bring you the lot in latest live music round up.

The first of our new picks is a collaborative, three-day festival from the Hallé and the RNCM, celebrating the living legend that is Philip Glass.

Next, a band at the other end of their career, with the much-hyped Chalk bringing an exhilarating mash-up of post punk and techno to Band on the Wall.

More techno, with a side order of dreampop, from Kelly Lee Owens. At her biggest Manchester show to date, she’ll be celebrating her critically acclaimed fourth album, Dreamstate.

FKA Twigs also heads north armed with a new album. Turning towards the dance floor for transcendence, Eusexua confirms she’s one of the most exciting artists in the world right now.

Or if experimental pop isn’t your bag, on the same night, you’ll find brooding analogue synths, dissonant saxophones and industrial, krauty beats at Manchester Academy 2, courtesy of The Waeve.

Read about all this and much more below.

Our top picks

Manchester Collective: Hidden Mechanisms at the RNCM

Manchester Collective: Hidden Mechanisms at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, 7 February 2025, from £12.50 - Book now

Lean in, make yourself at home and listen closer as Manchester Collective show you what contemporary chamber music is all about.

Female with long brown hair on black background with yellow spots
Manchester Collective

The Hallé – Philip Glass Festival

The Hallé - Philip Glass Festival at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester (and other venues), 13–15 February 2025, from £23.00 - Book now

A three-day celebration of living legend Philip Glass takes place in Manchester this February, courtesy of the Hallé and the RNCM.

Philip Glass
Steve Pyke

Anna B Savage at Night & Day

Anna B Savage at Night & Day Cafe, Manchester, 13 February 2025, from £15.00 - Book now

Following on from her critically acclaimed records A Common Turn and in|FLUX, Anna B Savage will soon release her anticipated third record, You and I are Earth, followed by a UK tour.

Anna B Savage
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Chalk at Band on the Wall

Chalk at Band on the Wall, Manchester, 28 February 2025, from £15.59 - Book now

Twisting the sounds of techno and industrial post punk, the much-hyped three-piece Chalk are bringing their high octane live show to Manchester.

Image supplied by Band on the Wall

Kelly Lee Owens at New Century

Kelly Lee Owens at New Century, Manchester, 6 March 2025, from £28 - Book now

On the back of her critically acclaimed fourth album, Dreamstate, Kelly Lee Owens brings her dreampoppy electronica to New Century.

Kelly Lee Owens

The Weather Station at Band on the Wall

The Weather Station at Band on the Wall, Manchester, 11 March 2025, from £19 - Book now

The Weather Station – the project of Toronto-based songwriter Tamara Lindeman – returns with new album Humanhood, following the “heartbroken masterpiece” (The Guardian) that was 2021’s Ignorance.

Image supplied by Band on the Wall

FKA Twigs at Aviva Studios

FKA Twigs at Aviva Studios, Manchester, 18 March 2025, from £37.50 - Book now

One of the must-see gigs of the year comes as GRAMMY-nominated, multidisciplinary artist FKA twigs performs at Aviva Studios in celebration of her third studio album, Eusexua.

FKA TWIGS
Jordan Hemingway

The Waeve at Band on the Wall

The Waeve at Manchester Academy 2, Manchester, 18 March 2025, from £24.75 - Book now

A year on from their acclaimed eponymous debut album, Rose Elinor Dougall and Graham Coxon AKA The Waeve are back with a new record and a new tour.

Dance:Music at the RNCM

Dance:Music at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, Until 5 May 2025, from £0.00 - Book now

The RNCM’s ongoing initiative, Dance:Music, gets to the heart of the symbiotic relationship between the two art forms, with a treasure trove of concerts reflecting the primal energy that dance and movement can unlock together.

Two dancers and orchestra on stage
RNCM and Robin Clewley

Richard Dawson at The Stoller Hall

Rich(ard) Dawson at The Stoller Hall, Manchester, 23 April 2025, from £22.50 - Book now

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.

Image of Rich(ard) Dawson
Rich(ard) Dawson

Primal Scream at Aviva Studios

Primal Scream at Aviva Studios, Manchester, 11 April 2025, from £39.50 - Book now

Following the release of their 12th album, Come Ahead, the iconic Primal Scream perform in the Warehouse space at Aviva Studios.

Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream,  standing in front of a postbox in a black and white photo with a dripping red paint effect.
Primal Scream

Sleeve Notes at International Anthony Burgess Foundation

Sleeve Notes at International Anthony Burgess Foundation (IABF), Manchester, 12 April 2025, from £5.00 - Book now

To celebrate this year’s Record Store Day, ten writers have teamed up with musicians for Sleeve Notes, a unique collaborative performance response creating new writing and music.

Poet Vik Shirley at Peter Barlow's Cigarette
Poet Vik Shirley at Peter Barlow's Cigarette

Hamlet Hail to the Thief at Aviva Studios

Hamlet Hail to the Thief at Aviva Studios, Manchester, 27 April–18 May 2025, from £10.00 - Book now

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.

Hamlet Hail to the Thief: The cover of Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief – which is a collage of colourful text blocks stacked on top of each other. The text has been replaced by words from Hamlet.
Factory International

International Concert Series at The Bridgewater Hall

International Concert Series at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, Until 19 May 2025, from £8 - Book now

The 28th instalment of The Bridgewater Hall’s flagship classical music series is nearly here and there are some incredible concerts to look forward to, featuring some of the world’s leading orchestras, recitalists and choirs.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard

Sound Out Leeds 2024/25

Sound Out Leeds 2024/25 at Leeds Conservatoire, Leeds (and other venues), Until 15 June 2025, from £10.00 - Book now

Leeds 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.

A black woman sat down looking to the left.
Em Obeng

More music events

FKA TWIGS
MusicManchester
FKA Twigs at Aviva Studios

One of the must-see gigs of the year comes as GRAMMY-nominated, multidisciplinary artist FKA twigs performs at Aviva Studios.

from £37.50
Two dancers and orchestra on stage
Until
DanceManchester
Dance:Music at the RNCM

Through a treasure trove of concerts, the RNCM’s initiative Dance:Music explores the symbiotic relationship between music and dance.

from £0.00
Kelly Lee Owens
MusicManchester
Kelly Lee Owens at New Century

On the back of her critically acclaimed fourth album, Dreamstate, Kelly Lee Owens brings her dreampoppy electronica to New Century.

from £28
A black woman sat down looking to the left.
Until
MusicLeeds
Sound Out Leeds 2024/25

Leeds 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 £10.00
Rina Srabonian.
MusicCity Centre
manchester jazz festival 2025

manchester 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-£30
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Music in the North

Manchester
Park
Platt Fields Park

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HOME Manchester
Manchester
Theatre
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The MerseyMade building in Liverpool
Liverpool
Shop
MerseyMade West Kirby

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A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
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Theatre in Manchester and the North
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A man and a woman stood in front of a window at night look into each others' eyes
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