Live music in Manchester this week: 1-7 Mar

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. 

Wed 1 Mar

Stockholm psychniks Josefin Öhrn and The Liberation bring their latest album, Mirage, to a live setting; expect hypnotic, dark stoner pop from a band whose name is taken from the notion of 'Liberation Upon Hearing In The Between' from the Tibetan Book Of The Dead. Soup Kitchen, 7.30pm, £7.50

Meanwhile, Parlophone-signed four-piece Vant will be doing their indie rock thing over at Gorilla, graduating onto the venue after playing its little sister, The Deaf Institute, last year. Gorilla, 7.30pm, £11

Thu 2 Mar

Long Island’s seminal hip-hop heads De La Soul are out celebrating 30 years of breaking new ground with their genre-bending blend of alt jazz rap, which since its late 80s inception has been celebrated for its Afrocentric, positive-minded take on hip-hop. For the milestone they’ll be heading to Manchester for their first show since 2014 – tickets sold out long ago, so if you want in, you’ll have to get begging over on Facebook. Albert Hall, 7pm, £sold out

London-based indie/shoegaze quartet Novella hit the UK’s stages with new album Change of State, which they’re billing as a ‘post-Brexit record’ told through dizzying, swirling riffs and delicate vocals. Go see it in action as they pass through Manchester. Gullivers, 7.30pm, £8

Fri 3 Mar

Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, The Seshen are an electo-pop seven-piece signed to Tru Thoughts, led by singer and lyricist Lalin St. Juste and bassist and producer Akiyoshi Ehara. With a sound that fuses R’n’B, synth-pop and electronic music, we’re excited to catch St. Juste’s stirring vocals in action this week. Soup Kitchen, 7pm, £6

Sat 4 Mar

Long-celebrated for the crystalline vocals of Brian Briggs and Jon Quin's delicate arrangements, Oxford’s alternative indie-folk band Stornoway are now bowing out with a farewell tour. Catch them for one last time at Manchester Academy this weekend. Manchester Academy, 7.30pm, £16

Escape Manchester’s city centre and bob out to Oldham for Listening Test 4a, where 70s synth-pop group Chicory Tip will be celebrating the 45^th anniversary of their number one hit single. They’ll be joined by local legends and busking supremos The Piccadilly Rats and Manchester’s cosmic noisemakers Henge, as well as Water, Tangerinecat, Slow Knife, Slow Loris, Locean and The Maitlands – also making it an intriguing melting pot of some of the region's finest underground types. Stein Bierkeller (Oldham), 2pm, £10

Welsh artist Meilyr Jones, who was crowned winner of the Welsh Music Prize for his debut solo album, 2013, will also be knocking about with his dreamy chamber pop. Go get immersed. The Ruby Lounge, 7.30pm, £10

Sun 5 Mar

[Photo: Robert Martin]

Another one that sold out before you probably even knew it was happening, The xx are also back in town trailing new stuff with their I See You tour. Again, get on over to the Facebook event page to get grovelling – there are a few tickets being sold, so don't lose hope just yet. O2 Apollo, Sun 5-Mon 6 Mar, 7pm, £sold out

Book now:

[Photo: Hadley Hudson, © Random Records]

Known as a founding member of NEU! and Harmonia and for his work with Kraftwerk, German multi-instrumentalist Michael Rother heads to Manchester's Sound Control on 26 Apr to play one of just two UK shows, following his performance at Safe as Milk Festival on 23 Apr. He'll be playing songs from the NEU! and Harmonia back catalogues along with some of his own solo works, including the UK premiere of tracks like Feuerland and Zyklodrom from his solo album Flammende Herzen. Book tickets here.