OnThisWeekend OnThisWeekend

What's On in Manchester

Thursday 25 June 2026

Wed
17 Jun
Thu
18 Jun
Fri
19 Jun
Sat
20 Jun
Sun
21 Jun
Mon
22 Jun
Tue
23 Jun
Wed
24 Jun
Thu
25 Jun
Fri
26 Jun
Sat
27 Jun
Sun
28 Jun
Mon
29 Jun
Tue
30 Jun
London Manchester Birmingham Edinburgh Bristol Leeds Liverpool Glasgow Cardiff Newcastle Brighton Sheffield Nottingham Leicester Belfast

Thursday in Manchester is pulling out all the stops, and the city is fizzing with the kind of energy that makes you want to be in three places at once. From blues-soaked stages and sweat-drenched rock halls to a salsa dancefloor and a comedy room where anything can happen, there is a night here with your name on it. Lace up, get out, and let the city do its thing.

Highlights

The Black Crowes — One of rock and roll's most gloriously lived-in bands rolls into the magnificent Albert Hall at 7:00pm, and if you've never seen The Black Crowes in full flight, this is the night to fix that. Their Southern-fried grooves and ragged, soulful swagger feel tailor-made for Albert Hall's breathtaking arched interior, which adds a cathedral-like grandeur to every power chord. Check the website for tickets — but do it quickly, because this one will sell.

Acid Bath — Manchester Academy hosts a genuinely rare spectacle at 7:00pm as Louisiana sludge-metal legends Acid Bath bring their cult catalogue back to life on a UK stage. Their music is equal parts crushing heaviness and haunting beauty, and hearing it in a proper academy venue is a visceral, full-body experience. Check the website for ticket availability — devotees have been waiting years for this.

What the Heckle? || Creatures Comedy Club — For just £1 — yes, one single pound — Creatures Comedy Club invites you to throw caution, and the occasional jibe, at the performers in this gleefully rowdy interactive comedy format at 7:00pm. It is chaotic, it is irreverent, and it is the best value laugh you will find in any city tonight. Perfect if you fancy dipping a toe into the comedy scene without committing your entire wallet.

Salsa De Cuba - RAMONA — Ramona Manchester shakes off the midweek dust at 8:00pm with a Cuban salsa night that promises heat, rhythm, and the kind of dancefloor abandon that makes a Thursday feel like a Saturday. Whether you have been dancing for years or plan to learn on the spot, the atmosphere at Ramona is always warm and welcoming, and £10 feels like a bargain once the brass kicks in and your feet decide they know what they are doing.

Master Wen: Live Performance [UK Tour] — The Blues Kitchen is the perfect setting for Master Wen's UK tour stop at 7:00pm — an intimate, atmospheric venue that lets you get close enough to feel every note. Master Wen brings a deeply soulful, genre-blending live show that rewards proper listening, and at £15 this is an evening of real musical substance rather than background noise. Grab a drink, find a good spot, and let it wash over you.

Zoe Cousin and Justina Seselskaite Work In Progress — There is something deliciously exciting about a work-in-progress show — the material is raw, the performer is on the edge, and the audience feels genuinely involved in something being built in real time. Fairfield Social Club hosts Zoe Cousin and Justina Seselskaite at 7:30pm for £7, and this kind of intimate, unpolished comedy night is often where you discover someone brilliant before everyone else does.

Full listings

EventVenueTimePriceLink
Live Music
BarbarismNight And Day Cafe7:30am£12Tickets
1000 RabbitsThe Abbey7:00pmCheck websiteTickets
1000 RabbitsThe Abbey7:00pm£10Tickets
The Black CrowesAlbert Hall7:00pmCheck websiteTickets
Acid BathManchester Academy7:00pmCheck websiteTickets
Master Wen: Live Performance [UK Tour]The Blues Kitchen7:00pm£15Tickets
Ike DweckManchester Academy 37:30pmCheck websiteTickets
Salsa De Cuba - RAMONARamona Manchester8:00pm£10Tickets
Nightlife
Under One Roof - Thurs 23rd JulyThe Yard Manchester6:00pm£0–£10Tickets
Comedy
What the Heckle? || Creatures Comedy ClubCreatures Comedy Club7:00pm£1Tickets
Zoe Cousin and Justina Seselskaite Work In ProgressFairfield Social Club7:30pm£7Tickets
Thursday night Comedy || Creatures Comedy ClubCreatures Comedy Club8:30pm£8Tickets
General
Sea Life Manchester - Standard EntrySEA LIFE Manchester10:00amCheck websiteTickets
← 24 Jun 26 Jun →