What's On North 29 Sep-6 Oct: Black History Month
With the departure of September comes Black History Month, along with autumnal highlights including Manchester Food and Drink Festival, St George's Hall Beer Fest in Liverpool and Tor Festival in Todmarden.
Each week The Skinny team hand-pick a selection of the best events from the North's cultural calendar to provide you with this here 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.
Black History Month
Step aside Movember, Decembeard and, er, Fanuary: this month's all about honouring and celebrating black history and culture to address the ridiculous fact that, in 2016, inequality is still rife.
Take the opportunity to check out the Afro Supa Hero exhibition (pictured) at Liverpool's International Slavery Museum, A Thousand Words by Benji Reid at Manchester's Contact Theatre and Black Gold Arts Festival at several venues in Manchester. You can catch Michael Kiwanuka in Sheffield as he tours new album Love & Hate, and find more events in the North here.
Manchester Food and Drink Festival
Various venues, Manchester. Sat 24 Sep, times vary
Liverpool's just got theirs outta the way, so now it's Manchester's turn to host the annual Food and Drink Festival. Eat and drink your way into oblivion (the latter to be done responsibly, ofc) – either at the festival hub in Albert Square or via the rather tasty events programme. Find out more with our preview here.
Sensoria Festival
Various venues, Sheffield. Sat 1-Sat 8 Oct, times vary
Celebrating that sweet crossover where the worlds of music, film and digital collide, Sensoria returns for eight days of goodness on the theme of 'movement'. Expect stirring stuff from the likes of Bill Ryder-Jones, Hookworms and Gazelle Twin (pictured). Photo: Stuart Moulding
St George's Hall Beer Fest
St George's Hall, Liverpool. Thu 29 Sep-Sat 1 Oct, times vary
We hop you like drinking ale the beer (sorrynotsorry), as 'tis the saison (hohoho) for over 200 real ales, ciders and perries at St George's Hall! If you really can't grin and beer it (alsonotsorry), you can still get involved with wines and Prosecco or local gin and vodka. Cheers to that. Photo: Patrik Kristian
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Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. Wed 12 Oct, 7.30pm
Manchester's new-music group Psappha opens its 25th anniversary season with an emotionally charged programme where jazz meets mesmeric minimalism.
Featuring Steve Reich’s gripping Triple Quartet, the programme also includes Gavin Bryars' cult work inspired by a recording of a homeless man, and jazz guitarist and composer Mike Walker’s Ropes. This epic piece, commissioned by Manchester Jazz Festival, receives its second ever live performance, featuring Mike’s internationally renowned jazz quintet The Impossible Gentlemen (Mike Walker, Gwilym Simcock, Iain Dixon, Adam Nussbaum and Steve Rodby), with Psappha’s stunning 22-piece string orchestra.
For ticket information visit: rncm.ac.uk/performance/psappha/
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Skyline Manchester
Neo, Manchester. Wed 5 Oct, 6pm
In an age where you've not done anything unless you've Instagrammed it, a saucy skyline is a much coveted thing, and thankfully Manchester's is quite the looker. Not convinced? Let Andrew Brooks' exhibition sway you with his large-scale artworks fused together from hundreds of photographs – housed, aptly, on the 10th floor of Bruntwood's new WIP building Neo.
Tor Festival
Todmorden Unitarian Church. Fri 30 Sep-Sat 1 Oct, times vary
Quaint Pennine market town Todmorden braces itself for a heady blast of experimental, psychedelic, folk, drone and noise music with the arrival of Tor Festival, shaking the cobwebs reet from every nook and cranny with Bong, Magpahi, Tom Carter, Samara Lubelski and many more. Illustration: Elena Boils
Salford Music Festival
Various venues, Salford. Thu 29 Sep-Sat 1 Oct, times vary
Chow down on a tuneful feast of rising names while also counting up just how many sweet gig-holes Salford boasts, as multi-venue Salford Music Festival brings Cabbage (pictured), LIINES, Lucy Mae and others our way.
Looking ahead: High & Lonesome Festival
H&L Festival expands to two days for its third year, taking over Left Bank Leeds and Brudenell Social Club with live acts from around the globe. Find out who's on the line-up here.
The best Halloween happenings in the North
Along with an appearance from horror master John Carpenter (him up there ^) at Liverpool Music Week, you'll find many amazeballs things to sink those Dracula teeth into this Halloween...
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