/SEVEN DAYS
TODAY Music / Over The Road Fest ‘19 Promising plenty of bang for your buck, the inaugural Over The Road Fest will take over two Northern Quarter venues, The Castle and Gullivers, for an epic celebration of new music talent including Joel Gardner, Sara Trodden, Izzi Nainski, Alex Luke, Idle Hours, Tasha O’Reilly and more.
The Castle Hotel and Gullivers / Today, 7pm / £6 Music / The Rifles The London-based quartet, whose ska-tinged punky pop nods towards The Clash, The Jam and The Specials, are celebrating the tenth anniversary of their second LP Great Escape by performing the record in its entirety.
Night and Day Cafe / nightnday.org / 0161 236 1822 / Today, 7.30pm / £23 Comedy / Our Rita’s Comedy Roadshow He’s been a fixture of the UK comedy scene for a number of years, but the marvellous Lee Ridley, aka Lost Voice Guy, is now finally reaching a wider audience after his triumphant appearance on last year’s Britain’s Got Talent. He headlines this fantastically diverse comedy roadshow line-up, with support from Stephen Bailey, Brett Goldstein and Jayde Adams.
Palace Theatre / atgtickets.com / 0844 871 3019 / Today, 8pm / £22.50 Clubbing / Qwerk Jonuary In time-honoured tradition, Canal Street favourite Qwerk is kicking off the new year with a headline set from the legendary Jon Pleased Wimmin, serving up his usual crowd-pleasing mix of pop, disco and house.
Sub 101 / cruz101.com / 0161 950 0101 / Today, 11pm-6am / £8 Clubbing / Bloc2Bloc vs Nuusic Two of Manchester’s finest underground clubbing brands, Bloc2Bloc vs Nuusic, are teaming up for this epic celebration of drum’n’bass talent featuring Think Tank, Sl8r, Warhead, Motiv, Bou and Kaz.
Rebellion / rebellion.club / 0161 237 1597 / Today, 11pm-4am / £5 Visual arts / HOME HOME’s impressive visual arts programme continues with the arrival of THREE new exhibitions this weekend. The St Luke’s Art Project will showcase work made by people who have been isolated due to mental health issues; Alicja Mrozowska’s Unpacking highlights the emotional complexities of migration, family and identity; while See My Dunya is a collection of film, photography and sculpture exploring the Somali-British experience.
HOME / homemcr.org / 0161 200 1500 / St Luke’s Art Project and Unpacking launch today; See My Dunya starts tomorrow / Free TOMORROW Music / Manchester Academy Live! If you’re eager to discover the next big Manchester indie band, then this impressive mini-festival - curated by local promoters Dusty Pop Entertainment - seems like the perfect place to start. Spread over two venues, Academy 3 and Club Academy, the bumper line-up includes Plain Navy, Elephant & The Rider, The Mallisons, Killjoys, The Siennas, The Lilacs and more.
Manchester Academy 3 & Club Academy / manchesteracademy.net / 0161 832 1111 / Tomorrow, 7pm / £8 Comedy / Applause Generator Manchester’s most original comedy act, the brilliant IT-obsessed Foxdog Studios, have curated this terrific night of mirth and mayhem at the Dancehouse. Worth the entrance fee alone, avant-garde comedy god Simon Munnery headlines, joined by the absurdist duo Roisin and Chiara and lo-fi cult comic Jayne Edwards.
The Dancehouse / thedancehouse. co.uk / 0161 237 9753 / Tomorrow, 7.15pm / £12 Theatre / Bing Live! If you’ve got pre-schoolers in your household, you’ll no doubt be familiar with Bing, the hugely popular CBeebies show about a sweet little bunny and his escapades. Now, thanks to the same team behind the excellent In The Night Garden Live, Bing is about to make its theatre debut in a show packed full of puppetry, songs and playful storytelling.
The Lowry / thelowry.com / 0843 208 6000 / Tomorrow and Sunday / £16, under 6 months go for free Visual arts / Motion Sickness Formed by three Cambridge School of Art graduates - Denise Kehoe, Eleanor Breeze and Arabella Hilfiker - fledgling art collective Motion Sickness present their self-titled debut exhibition, a collection of sculpture, painting and video satirising society’s attitudes towards “millennialhood”.
Stock Gallery, Levenshulme / facebook.com/stockgallerymanchester / Tomorrow, until Friday, February 1 / Free Clubbing / In The Know 1st Birthday Celebrating a memorable first year on the northwest clubbing scene, the ITK crew are being joined in the Stage & Radio basement by special guests Jansons, Paul Harrison, Craig Harrison, Oli & Wag, Samuel Hall and Pat Holden.
Stage & Radio / stageandradiomcr. co.uk / 0161 236 9270 / Tomorrow, 10pm-4am / £5 SUNDAY Comedy / All Stars of Comedy The perfect remedy for the January blues, the mighty All Stars of Comedy crew return with this cracking line-up of international talent featuring Will-E, Curtis Walker, White Yardie and Judi Love.
The Lowry / thelowry.com / 0843 208 6000 / Sunday, 8pm / £22.50 Music / Kojo Funds Since breaking through with his 2016