What's On North 9-16 Mar: Springtime scran

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.

Winter is slowly, tentatively, coming to a close, so it's time to get some new springtime scran down your neck!

Following a water-testing Christmas pop-up shop called All the Trimmings, Friends of Ham’s new wine bar/deli/restaurant Ham & Friends inches closer to its spring opening in Leeds, while their Grand Arcade neighbours, The Domino Club, also look like they'll soon be serving up live jazz, funk, soul and blues, classic cocktails and exclusive whiskies.

Over in Liverpool it's all about Scandinavia and seafood, with the arrival of high-end seafood restaurant Hudson House in Beetham Plaza and pop-up concept SKAUS, launching on 6 Apr with a knees-up at Hus.

And in Manchester, the long-awaited Suri opens its doors to show King Street how it's done through Mediterranean and Middle Eastern small plates. We're also getting our very own SHERRY BAR in the Northern Quarter, as the old Incognito gift shop space makes way for Flok. Being big fans of sherry, we're all the way excited.

Read our full guide on new openings here.

Gwendoline Riley interview: First Love

Longlisted for the 2017 Baileys Prize, Gwendoline Riley talks to us about her new novel, First Love. You can also catch her in conversation with Lara Williams this week – scroll down for more info on that.

Doc’n Roll Film Festival returns

A three-day celebration of the best music documentaries around returns to FACT in Liverpool. Films on Sleaford Mods, The Orb, The Melvins, Gregory Porter, Norwegian House and Sparklehorse all feature.

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Do not miss:

Suspiciously Cheap Comedy
New Adelphi Building, Salford. Mon 13 Mar, 7pm

This collab between Skinny favourites Gein's Family Giftshop and sketch act Goose sees an A-grade line-up hit the stage for a suspiciously cheap ticket price. Don't question it... just buy a ticket and keep walking. Luisa Omielan, Alun Cochrane and Adam Riches bring the funnies, along with equally enticing Gein's Family Giftshop and Goose material, plus the mighty Kiri Pritchard-McLean is your MC.

Spirits Festival
Constellations, Liverpool. Fri 10-Sat 11 Mar, times vary

Liverpool's first festival dedicated to spirits comes from the minds behind Malt of the Earth Whisky Co., Whisky Business, Craft Beer Expo and Black Lodge Brewery. Tickets include entry, unlimited – yep, unlimited – samples of premium distilled gin, whisky, rum, vodka, cognac, tequila and mezcal, a souvenir taster glass, a water bottle and a pipette. Photo: cyclonebill

Advertisement | Scope Plus
Bates Mill, Huddersfield. Sat 18 Mar, 2pm-2am

With our new event series Scope Plus, we aim to explore the wide spectrum of what electronic music can be. By uncloaking processes and exhibiting art and music, stemming from various workflows it is important to us to make electronic music more approachable without compromising its expressivity. This all-day event consists of workshops, an exhibition and performances by local collectives, Visionist of PAN Records, and Giuseppe Ielasi. scopeplus.net

An Evening with Gwendoline Riley and Lara Williams
Waterstones Deansgate, Manchester. Thu 16 Mar, 6.30pm

Two kickass writers – Gwendoline Riley and Lara Williams – sit down for a chinwag. London-based Riley returns to Manchester (she wrote her first book while at uni here) to discuss her visceral new novel First Love, which has just been longlisted for the Baileys Prize, while local fave Williams (pictured) will be reflecting on her debut short story collection, Treats.

Sounds Like THIS
Various venues, Leeds. Tue 14-Fri 24 Mar, times vary

New music festival Sounds Like THIS launches this month, celebrating the best in new music and bold, boundary-pushing approaches to sound. Confirmed acts include electronic producer Rival Consoles, Nonclassical label founder Gabriel Prokofiev (pictured), electro-acoustic pioneer Elsa Justel and electronic duo A Man Called Adam.

Girl Gang Manchester #2: Bridesmaids
53two, Manchester. Sat 11 Mar, 5pm

Female friendships, competitiveness and wedding culture will all be celebrated, analysed and sent up during this immersive screening of gut-busting female comedy Bridesmaids! Described as "somewhere between the suffragettes and the Sugababes," Girl Gang's signature silliness and celebration are rooted in everyday activism and personal politics for women of all ages. Sound like a riotous and righteous night. Image: Joy Morris

WOW Festival
Various venues, Hull. Fri 10-Sun 12 Mar, times vary

Part of the programming for Hull's year as UK City of Culture, WOW (Women of the World) is a festival of talks, debates, music, film, comedy and activism celebrating women and girls, while also tackling inequality in all its forms. Panel discussions with Maxine Peake (pictured) and group exhibition The Female Gaze are just a couple of the good 'uns; check out the full programme at hull2017.co.uk.

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Read more news from across the Northwest cultural scene at theskinny.co.uk/news
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