Live music in Manchester this week: 21-27 Sep

We're taking to The Deaf Institute for Stay Fresh Fest on Saturday with Cowtown, Peaness and others, while Thursday provides more than ample choice with Plaid, Father Murphy and a Faitala EP launch.

Feature by Jess Hardiman | 21 Sep 2016

We dive into the listings to bring you this essential guide to gigs in Manchester this week plus the latest news on festivals, tour announcements and more. Think we've missed something? Hit up jess@theskinny.co.uk with the details.

Thu 22 Sep

Seems Thursday 22 Sep is the in-demand date for Manchester’s live circuit, as gigging season picks up the pace again for an autumn of goodness – though if there’s one not to miss it’s London-based electronic pioneers Plaid, aka Andy Turner and Ed Handley, aka two-thirds of The Black Dog. They’ll be playing live with drone maestros The Bee, with support from audio-visual artist and one-man powerhouse John Powell-Jones. The Deaf Institute, 7pm, £12.50

Hailing from Italy, Father Murphy are an avant garde art rock outfit channelling ‘the sound of the Catholic sense of guilt.’ Building their sound on the back of some hellish guitar noise, expect both compelling stuff and a far from easy ride. Soup Kitchen, 7pm, £6

[Faitala]

Elsewhere, local indie-pop heads Faitala launch their debut EP, Departures, with a hometown show at Fallow Café, with Gymnast with Elizabeth Preston opening the show. Fallow Café, 7.30pm, £3-£4

Sat 24 Sep

[Peaness, photo: Debbie Ellis]

We're teaming up with The Deaf Institute this weekend for Stay Fresh Fest, a two-stage festival welcoming some of the most vital new acts in the North and beyond. We'll be welcoming Leeds trio Cowtown, Glaswegian outfit Catholic Action, Manchester's own Ethan & The Reformation, Shaking Chains, Peaness, Kyotoya and Francis Lung, plus Liverpudlians Pink Kink. We'll be there; you should come. The Deaf Institute, 4pm, £6

Mon 26 Sep

[Cassie Ramone]

DHP welcomes LA’s Colleen Green and fellow Burger Records labelmate Cassie Ramone, former Vivian Girls vocalist and one half of The Babies alongside Kevin Morby. They’ll be joined by rising Manchester surf-pop/shoegaze trio Blooms and singer-songwriter The Bear Around Your Neck, injecting an already strong line-up with some fine local flavour. The Castle Hotel, 7.30pm, £7

Pep up the beginning of your week with the synthpop stylings of The Invisible, a project that originally began as the solo project of singer and guitarist Dave Okumu, before he was joined by pals Tom Herbert and Leo Taylor. Soup Kitchen, 7pm, £10

Now booking:

[Submotion Orchestra]

The support acts for Cinematic Orchestra's upcoming show at the O2 Apollo have been announced – in the form of Submotion Orchestra and Mr Scruff, matching the headliners through fitting doses of dubby ambient basslines from the former and late 90s/early 00s Ninja Tune nostalgia from the latter. There are still tickets available, but judging from the fact that Cinematic Orchestra's gig at the Albert Hall last year was one of the best things we've ever encountered, you might want to get a move on. Scruff reference very much intended.

You'll remember the tickets for Peaches selling out at the speed of light; if you didn't manage to get one first time around you'll be chuffed to hear that a venue upgrade to Manchester Academy 2 has led to another batch of tickets being released, on sale from 9am on Wed 21 Sep. Go go go. 

Also...

While not strictly-speaking a gig and definitely not in Manchester, we’re pretty excited to be heading over to Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds this week in honour of our new Sep/Oct issue. Not only do we have Now Wave, Super Friends and Beacons Metro DJs gracing the decks, there will also be food from Patty Smith’s and Dough Boys, as well as great booze – obviously. Entry’s free, so hop on a train from Manc and come and say hiyaWed 21 Sep, Belgrave Music Hall, 6pm, free

http://theskinny.co.uk/music