• Over 50’s Line Dance Extravaganza

    Performance Space

    To Celebrate Valuing Older People’s Day, Manchester Libraries and Manchester Prairie Dogs present A BEGINNERS LINE DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA Age friendly line dance lessons County and Western photo booth Games and quizzes Refreshments at the Watering Hole Places are free but limited so please book early by calling 0161 234 1940 or emailing j.kettlety@manchester.gov.uk.  

  • Both Sides Now International Showcase

    A bold, experimental and genre-spanning evening of new music created as part of a unique cross-European collaboration. This free one-off performance will showcase new music and visuals by Laura Campbell (UK) and Mari Sainio (Finland) who have been mentored by multi-instrumentalist and producer LoneLady. The event will begin with an in-conversation with the three artists where […]

  • Make Music Day 2019

    Performance Space

    This event celebrates the diverse and inclusive nature of music making in Manchester. Showcasing the musical talent of our visitors to Central Library, and demonstrating the range of musical instruments freely available to our library members, join us throughout the day for impromptu performances. Free – just drop in

  • Peterloo in Sound

    Performance Space

    Sound as Being will present ‘Peterloo in Sound’ a 5.1 sound composition by Mark Pilkington inspired by a historical event that came to be known as ‘The Peterloo Massacre’, that happened in Manchester, England on the 16th August, 1819. The sound material consists of location recordings captured from student protests held in Manchester 2010 and […]

  • The Road to Peterloo

    Performance Space

    Musical concert performance of street ballads written around the time of the Peterloo Massacre, telling the story of the underlying circumstances, the events of the day, and the aftermath. Songs are performed by folk musicians Pete Coe, Brian Peters and Laura Smyth, with a variety of acoustic instruments.

    £9 – £11
  • Retro Silent Disco

    Hurrah. The next Retro Silent Disco is on Friday 8th November. The day the Christmas Markets open in Manchester! Spend the early evening soaking up the festive atmosphere in Albert Square, then dance the night away in the fabulous Central Library. Don't worry, we won't be overdoing the Christmas songs that early in November. We're […]

    £7
  • Tom Moore & Archie Moss

    Performance Space

    Accordion/Viola/Electronics duo debuting brand new material from their upcoming album to be released in 2020. Widely regarded as two of the best players, innovators and performers in traditional folk amongst a precociously gifted generation, their finely-crafted arrangements wield a rare potency. Now, having toured with with some of the biggest and brightest acts in the […]

    £10
  • Songs of Arrival

    Henry Watson Music Library

    As part of Holocaust Memorial Day, Manchester Jewish Museum's song-writing group will present an initial performance of songs inspired by the moving stories of Jewish Refugees arriving in Cheetham in the 1930s and 1940s. We have been working with baritone singer Peter Brathwaite (originally from Cheetham) Israeli opera composer Na'ama Zisser and community composer and […]

  • Club Ceoil: Manchester’s Irish Traditional Music Archive

    Henry Watson Music Library

    THIS EVENT IS NOW CANCELLED A celebration of Manchester’s traditional Irish music with young musicians, plus a presentation exploring the collaboration of the Club Ceoil Archive in partnership with the British Library’s ‘Unlocking Our Sound Heritage’ Free – please drop in

  • Hamdel Ensemble Concert

    Performance Space

    See a free LIVE gig by Iranian maestro musician Seyed Ali Jaberi and the Hamdel Ensemble on Saturday 17 July with two COVID safe repeated concerts at 2pm or 3.30pm. Fans of world music get - at last - an opportunity to hear global music which is extremely limited due to the restrictions on international […]

  • Dave Haslam ‘All You Need is Dynamite’ Book Launch

    Performance Space

    In ‘All You Need Is Dynamite: Acid, the Angry Brigade, and the End of the Sixties’ - the latest in his Art Decades series of small format books - Dave Haslam explores the fading of Sixties dreams of peace and love, and the emergence of urban terrorist groups, particularly the Angry Brigade who carried out […]

  • #Like Chopin – Mysterious Story in Manchester

    Henry Watson Music Library

    #LikeChopin – The Mysterious Story of Chopin in Manchester   In August 1848 Fryderyk Chopin travelled to Britain. During the visit he also gave a performance in Manchester.  The concert took place at the Manchester’s Gentleman Concert Hall on Peter Street. The Hall was demolished in 1887 and The Midland Hotel was built on the […]