What's On North 19-26 Jan: Independent Venue Week
See past the murk of inauguration on Friday and through to a spring that's packed full of festivals like SFTOC, while this week you can head to the Manchester Beer and Cider Festival, the Club.The.Mammoth. All-Dayer at the Arts Club and more.
Each week The Skinny team hand-pick a selection of the best events from the North's cultural calendar to provide you with this 'ere top ten guide to the most exciting goings-on for the week ahead. From gigs, plays and exhibitions to spoken word, pop-up foodie events and one-off film screenings, we give you the insider's guide to things to do in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds every Thursday morning.
Independence Day
Bandying the notion of independence around may seem like dodgy territory to wander into during these Brexit wilderness years, but in the world of local music it's very much a positive thing.
Returning for its 4th consecutive year, Independent Venue Week (Mon 23-Sun 29 Jan) takes over 137 venues across the UK for live gigs, events and general celebrations of the little guy. Liverpool's 24 Kitchen St, EBGBs, The Magnet and The Zanzibar Club will all be getting involved, along with Brudenell Social Club and The Lending Room in Leeds, while in Manchester things are getting fired up at Band on the Wall, Soup Kitchen, Night & Day Cafe (Dream Wife, pictured, perform on Tue 24) and newcomer Jimmy's. We're particularly excited for Horsebeach, Documenta and Yucatan at Soup next weekend.
Yay for independence! In this context, anyhoo.
Spring Festival Season
[Photo: Sam Huddleston]
You won't need to wait 'til summer to get your festival fix; here are some of our favourites coming up, from the streets of Salford to the slopes of Austria...
Snowbombing | 3-8 Apr
Take to the Austrian mountains for a high-altitude spread of Run the Jewels, De La Soul, Courteeners, Blossoms, Slaves, Groove Armada and more.
Live at Leeds | 29 Apr
With Wild Beasts (pictured), Jagwar Ma, White Lies, Flamingods and Let's Eat Grandma set for the multi-venue Leeds bash this year, it looks to be another corker.
Safe as Milk | 21-23 Apr
Taking over a Pontins site in North Wales, Safe as Milk makes its debut with the likes of Anna Meredith, Islam Chipsy, and Cheek and Actress. Photo: Kate Bones
SFTOC | 30 Apr
Always a major highlight of our year, Salford's Sounds From the Other City returns with help from Now Wave, Heavenly Recordings, Grey Lantern, Hey! Manchester, NTS and others. Photo: Alexander Bell
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Events this week:
Manchester Beer and Cider Festival
Manchester Central. Thu 19-Sat 21 Jan, times vary
Manchester Central welcomes the Northwest's largest beer and cider festival of 2017, filling the lofty former train station with over 700 beers and ciders from across the world – including much-loved local names such as Magic Rock (pictured), Runaway, Mad Hatter, Hawkshead, Blackjack and Marble. Photo: Sam Needham
Club.The.Mammoth. All-Dayer
Arts Club, Liverpool. Sat 21 Jan, 4.30pm
Excitement's mounting for the inaugural Club.The.Mamoth. All-Dayer this weekend, which will welcome a hefty bill of post-punk/noise types including Mark E Smith and The Fall, Hookworms (pictured), Eagulls, Tigercub, Kagoule, Cabbage, Goat Girl and more. You can also win tickets for you and a pal – but be quick: you only have until midnight on 19 Jan! Photo: Stuart Moulding
Advertisement | WireDo
The Lowry, Salford Quays. Sat 4 Feb, 8pm
With her body, a tightwire and a physical composition that draws on the Japanese rope art of Shibari, Hanna Moisala’s WireDo tells a mesmerising story of stepping out to the unknown. WireDo explores human behaviour with the question: "What happens to the body when it chooses to surrender and be manipulated?" Moisala’s daring tightwire stunts, combined with long Shibari-ropes and elaborate knots, offer an unprecedented spectacle. The evening also features aerialist performer Maisy Taylor. Suitable for ages 15+.
RE/Western: Felice House
Blenheim Walk Gallery (Leeds College of Art), Leeds. Fri 20 Jan-Fri 24 Mar
A feminist view of the Wild West? That's what American artist Felice House has been concocting with her life-size paintings of famous Western actors like Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Gary Cooper and James Dean reimagined as female cowboys. Image: Felice House, Liakesha Cooper in High Noon, 2013. Oil on canvas. Image courtesy of the artist.
One From the Heart
HOME, Manchester. Sun 22, Tue 24 & Wed 25 Jan, times vary
Billed by our Film Editor as a grittier La La Land, Francis Ford Coppola's 1982 flick One From the Heart is an inventive, ambitious tour de force – infamous for its spiralling production costs that crippled the director's career. We're screening it at HOME next week, so come on down!
Top 3: Burns Night
Wed 25 Jan
Koffee Pot celebrate Burns Night by pairing a four-course dinner with cocktails, bagpipes, Scottish dancing and lots of whisky (Manchester, 25 Jan, £25), or you can put yourself in the reliable hands of Headrow House's Ox Club, who are serving up a special five course tasting menu (Leeds, 25 Jan, £30). And if you can't wait 'til the big day itself, Red Door are teaming up with Talisker whisky for an early Burns do with whisky tasting (Liverpool, 19 Jan, £15).
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