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
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
Two brilliant Scottish artists come together for an intimate, audio-visual performance, melding meditative jazz, neo-classical and electronica.
from £16.50
The Portico Library’s latest exhibition, Weird As Folk, runs through to November and invites you to explore and reimagine folklore via texts selected from the collection, which includes 100 books of English folklore.
free entry
We love a library, we ain’t gonna lie, so when we heard that Joe Devlin’s modified bookmarks had found a home in the pop-up display area of the Portico, well.
free entry
New event designed to bring Manchester’s wine lovers together with a wide selection of wine bars, producers, tastings and more.
from £27.50
Un-Convention is the ultimate independent music industry conference and showcase taking place at Band on the Wall in Manchester this November.
Hear directly from the people powering the music industry in both Manchester and the UK, as well as witnessing some of the North’s upcoming talent at Beyond the Music.
from £16.75
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.
A Buddhism and meditation centre in the heart of Manchester
Backstreet Italian restaurant on Turner Street in the Northern Quarter with a strong Sicilian influence.
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
A modern pizzeria in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, expect Neapolitan-style pizza prepared from scratch.
Look out for Widescreen Weekend, a celebration of Women of the West and a Leeds Cinema Crawl as we head into leafy Autumn.
Punchy verbatim shows, comedy festivals and rave-fuelled Shakespeare feature in this month’s eclectic pick of live theatre.
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.
From synth pop and jazz punk to meditative piano and Indian classical, read about the autumn shows that have piqued our interest.
From intricate textiles to a medieval poem-inspired arts festival, there is lots of new art to see before the autumn rains start for good.
Develop a new skill with this month's workshop and learning based tours and activities guide.
Summer is in full swing and Manchester and the north is brimming with fun activities for families.
Take some eating-out tips from this month's guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.
In this round-up, we have bookmarks as well as books, plus plenty to do both on- and offline.
