What's On North 12-19 May: Museums at Night
We know it's bad form to talk about the weather, but how about all this sun, eh? Being the absolute angels that we are, we've compiled a guide to the best spots to enjoy a sunny pint in Manchester and Liverpool, but in the meantime scroll down for Liverpool LightNight, Manchester After Hours and all the gin...
Each week The Skinny team hand pick a selection of the best events from the Northwest 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 beyond every Thursday morning.
Liverpool LightNight
Various venues, Liverpool. Fri 13 May, times vary
Just in time to let us soak up these increasingly pleasant evenings, the nationwide Museums at Night returns this week, and as always Liverpool's doing its thing with LightNight. On the agenda this year is new music from Bill Ryder-Jones at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Deep Hedonia's responsive video installation disSociation at the Bluecoat, late night exhibition openings and more. Read our programme announcement for more info, or find out about 2016's exciting new commissions here.
Photo: Matt Thomas
Leeds Indie Food
Various venues, Leeds. Thu 12-Mon 30 May, times vary
Here at The Skinny HQ we're buzzing for the kick-off of Leeds Indie Food, one of the North's best-run celebrations of food and drink. This year it's all about Leeds Feast, Brett Barnes' pop-up restaurant Thornback and Laynes' Carl Fleischer cooking up a storm at The Brunswick, but there's also lots on for coffee lovers, artistic types, gin guzzlers and craft beer connoisseurs – read all about what we're most looking forward to here.
Photo: Tom Joy
Manchester After Hours
Various venues, Manchester. Thu 12 May, times vary
Manchester's also going all out for Museums at Night, with another round of Manchester After Hours. Venues across the city will come to life, as the Whitworth hosts its own arty dart tournament, Hey! Manchester uses the Museum of Science and Industry's oldest surviving passenger railway for an evening of acoustic sets, Bad Language takes to Manchester Jewish Museum, while Manchester Camerata musicians camp out in Common for an intimate live performance. Head over to our full preview for the best tip-offs.
Afro Supa Hero
International Slavery Museum, Liverpool. Fri 13 May-Sun 11 Dec, 10am
Celebrating the importance of role models and icons in tackling longstanding legacies of racism and discrimination, Afro Supa Hero is an exhibition from Jon Daniel, whose personal collection of comics, games and action figures reflect the positive black role models that he discovered growing up in South West London, both from the West Indian culture of his family and the African-American culture of the States.
Photo: Courtesy of Jon Daniel and National Museums Liverpool. Afro Supa® is a registered trademark owned by Jon Daniel. All rights reserved.
Parade
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Tue 17 May-Sun 5 June (previews Fri 13-Sun 5 Jun), 7.30pm (2.30pm matinees)
Ancoats' Grade II listed Hope Mill Theatre launches its first in-house musical this week, going in with a bang with the Tony Award-winning Parade. Serving up a moral lesson about the dangers of prejudice and ignorance, the play details the 1913 trial of a Brooklyn-raised Jew living in Georgia accused of murdering a young girl, set to a stirring score by Jason Robert Brown.
ADVERTISEMENT: Liverpool Artist Clare Sophia unveils debut single, Cold
British singer-songwriter and Liverpool International Music Festival Academy finalist Clare Sophia unveils her debut single, Cold, ahead of her forthcoming debut EP. Produced by Mike Di Scala, the track hones her feel-good fusion of dance, electronic and soulful pop sounds – perfect for her summer storming the global festival circuit with several dates in Ibiza and Barcelona, as well as taking to the stage closer to home for LIMF, Liverpool Pride and Liverpool Loves. Having previously worked with leading producers including Damon Hess, Deep Matter and Fitz & Baron, the Liverpool-born, Manchester-based artist is fast becoming one of the Northwest's most compelling exports to the UK's burgeoning dance music scene.
Listen to Cold via Soundcloud here.
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Botanical Garden's 1st Birthday
Botanical Garden, Liverpool. Sat 14-Sun 15 May, 12pm
There's a deckchair with your name on it this weekend, as the Botanical Garden fires up the fun for its first birthday weekend, marking a year since a rundown warehouse became one of the city's finest al fresco gin dens. The boys from Cuban pop-up Finca will be slinging their Cubanos, while DJs, bands and gin tastings will keep you spoilt enough to believe your own birthday came early... *CLINK!*
Awesome Tapes From Africa
The Deaf Institute, Manchester. Fri 13 May, 11pm
The ingenious project from Brian Shimkovitz, whose love for African cassette culture was ignited when studying in Ghana, Awesome Tapes brings you the most leftfield sounds from the depths of the continent, spanning everything from highlife and Tsonga disco to Ethio-soul and curious local pop. Support comes from MogaDisco and Cervo. Expect to have all the fun.
Channel One Soundsystem
24 Kitchen Street, Liverpool. Sat 14 May, 8pm
Coinciding with the influx of our kinda summery weather (we'll take it, for now), Channel One roll into town with their thunderous hand-built sound system, bringing the sunshine vibes of Notting Hill Carnival to 24 Kitchen Street for a night of reggae, dub and roots rock goodness led by legendary selector Mikey Dread. This Liverpool debut will be a great warm-up for June's Africa Oyé, too.
Photo: Nick Satta
Manchester Psych Fest IV
Various venues, Manchester. Sat 14 May, 3pm
It's time for Manchester Psych Fest no. 4, which this year spreads acts across Night and Day Cafe and the former Kraak unit, Aatma. On the lineup you'll find Clinic, Telegram, The Watchmakers, Novella, Triptides, Plank, Spectres (pictured), Secret Fix, Cowtown, Phobophobes, Enemies Eyes, Psyblings, Lavender and Silver Vials, along with DJ sets from Electric Jug, The Beat Chics, Wet Dreams and Bleached.
Photo: Stuart Moulding
Everyword presents... Stories from the City
Everyman, Liverpool. Until Sat 14 May, times vary
A festival of experimental new plays and theatre-making, Everyword presents Stories from the City, where you'll have the chance to hear plays-in-progress or get inspiration from talks and workshops. One of the highlights includes a story-in-progress by Shôn Dale-Jones, who's at the initial stages of making a live solo show from content he's collected over the last decade, and The Stranger's Case (pictured), which sees Liverpudlians respond to the European refugee crisis.
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