What's On in Manchester

Do As You Please Pop-Up Record Store — Kick off your Saturday the right way with a midday crate-dig at Ramona Manchester, one of the Northern Quarter's most characterful spots. This pop-up record store is a proper treat for music lovers of any persuasion — the kind of event where you arrive planning to browse for twenty minutes and surface an hour and a half later clutching something you absolutely did not need but definitely cannot leave without. Check the website for entry details and get there early before the good stuff walks out the door.

Wu Lyf — This is a big one. Manchester's fiercely loved post-rock cult act Wu Lyf are playing the magnificent Albert Hall at 7:00pm, and the room — all vaulted ceilings and stained glass — could not be a more fitting stage for their enormous, hymn-like sound. Reunions do not always live up to the myth, but this band and this city have unfinished business, and the atmosphere inside tonight is going to be something you will talk about for years. Tickets are £26 and worth every penny.

Battle of the Slams - Final — The spoken-word scene has been building to this all season, and tonight the Star and Garter plays host to the Battle of the Slams final — an electric evening where poets compete with nothing but words, timing, and nerve. If you have never been to a slam poetry night, this final is the perfect entry point: the stakes are high, the performances are raw and often astonishing, and the crowd is always wonderfully loud about it. Doors from 7:00pm and tickets are just £10.

Saturday Afternoon Showcase|| Creatures Comedy Club — Creatures Comedy Club is one of Manchester's most reliably good-value nights out, and the Saturday Afternoon Showcase at 5:30pm is ideal if you want your evening to start with proper belly laughs before the city fully wakes up. A rotating lineup of sharp, hungry comics means you are never quite sure what you are getting, which is exactly half the fun. Tickets run from £7 to £12, making this one of the best deals in town today.

Funkademia la Classica — Tucked away in Withington Public Hall, Funkademia la Classica is the kind of underground institution that reminds you why Manchester's music scene is genuinely different. Expect soul, funk, and classic dance floor fillers delivered with the care of people who truly worship at the altar of the groove, in a community hall setting that gives the whole thing an irresistible unpretentious warmth. It starts at 8:00pm and tickets are a very reasonable £5 to £10.

Cause & Effect presents Lewis Carroll, Lady Passion, Apex, SBA — For those whose Saturday does not truly begin until the late side of midnight, Hidden is the place to be from 10:00pm as Cause and Effect bring a heavyweight lineup to one of Manchester's most respected underground venues. Lewis Carroll, Lady Passion, Apex, and SBA make for a billing that covers serious ground across electronic music, and Hidden's cavernous, dimly-lit rooms do exactly what the name suggests. Tickets start at just £5 on the door if you move quickly.