What's On in Manchester This Weekend

Overmono presents Pure Devotion - World Tour, Manchester — Welsh electronic duo Overmono bring their Pure Devotion world tour to the cavernous, brutalist brilliance of Depot Mayfield at 8:00pm, and this is the kind of night that people will be talking about for years. Expect thunderous, emotionally charged club music that blurs the line between rave and something far more transcendent — the venue's sheer scale makes it feel like a religious experience. Tickets are £45–£75, and with Overmono at the height of their powers, every penny is justified.

The Bluetones 30th Anniversary of 'Expecting to Fly' — Thirty years on, 'Expecting to Fly' remains one of the great British debut albums, and tonight the Bluetones play it in full at the O2 Ritz Manchester at 7:00pm in what promises to be a wonderfully nostalgic, roof-raising celebration. If you grew up with 'Slight Return' rattling around your head in 1996, this is your night — and for anyone discovering the band fresh, prepare to wonder how you missed them. Check the website for tickets, but do not hang about.

Manchester Camerata: The Lark Ascending and The Sounds of Nature — For something altogether more serene amid all the Halloween chaos, Manchester Camerata take to the intimate and acoustically gorgeous Stoller Hall at 7:30pm for a programme centred on Vaughan Williams' timeless 'The Lark Ascending'. It is the kind of concert that slows the world down, wrapping you in sound so vivid you can almost feel the English countryside outside the window — even if it is raining sideways in Manchester. Tickets are £28, and this is the definition of an evening well spent.

One Pound Comedy: Friday — Quite possibly the best value proposition in the entire city tonight: a full comedy showcase at Creatures Comedy Club for the frankly absurd price of just £1, kicking off at 6:45pm. Emerging and established stand-ups take to the stage in what has become one of Manchester's most beloved grassroots comedy nights, and the intimate room means every punchline lands like a dart. Bring a fiver, buy a round, and prepare to laugh until your Halloween plans seem far less appealing.

Baked A La Ska Halloween Special — Band on the Wall has a well-earned reputation for doing things differently, and this Halloween ska special at 7:00pm looks set to be an absolute floor-filling, horn-blasting riot of a night. Ska and Halloween are a more natural pairing than you might think — both thrive on energy, spectacle, and a touch of the ridiculous — and this crowd will not be standing still for long. Tickets are £20, and dressing up is practically compulsory.

Rent Party - House of Horrors Special — The Nia Centre NIAMOS hosts this brilliant Halloween edition of Rent Party at 8:00pm, a night rooted in community, culture, and unapologetically good music spanning soul, funk, and beyond. With tickets starting at just £5, this is one of those events where the warmth in the room is palpable before the first record drops — inclusive, joyful, and genuinely important to Manchester's cultural fabric. Dress to impress, bring your best horror look, and settle in for a night that feeds the soul.

Room on the Broom - Interactive Halloween Storytelling — Kick off Halloween the right way for your little ghouls with this interactive retelling of Julia Donaldson's beloved classic at The Garden Bar Monton — a wonderfully unexpected venue that gives the whole thing a cosy, neighbourhood charm. Expect giggles, spells, and probably a broomstick or two, with tickets from nothing to £15 depending on how many tiny witches you're bringing along. It's the kind of morning that children will still be talking about come November.

Manic Street Preachers & Suede — Two of the most gloriously literate, impassioned bands to ever come out of the British Isles sharing a stage at Co-op Live on Halloween night — honestly, pinch yourself. The Manics' anthemic fury paired with Suede's velvet-draped melancholy makes for a double bill that feels almost designed to give you the feelings. Doors at 6:00pm; check the website for tickets before they're gone.

Korn — If Halloween calls for something heavier, Korn at the AO Arena at 6:00pm is about as visceral and cathartic as live music gets — a band who practically invented the late-nineties darkness that so many of us grew up with, still delivering it with ferocious conviction. The AO Arena is an enormous room and Korn know exactly how to fill every inch of it. Check the website for tickets and brace yourself.

Manchester Halloween Day Party With Bez — Yes, that Bez — the maracas-shaking, perpetually joyful Happy Mondays dancer who has more pure Mancunian energy in one arm than most of us have in our entire bodies. From 4:00pm at Freight Island, this is a day party with genuine city spirit baked into its DNA, priced at £10–£22 and set in one of the most atmospheric warehouse spaces in town. Come in costume, come with friends, and come ready to move.

DAHLIA STEREO HALLOWEEN with COCO MARIA — Coco Maria is one of the most exciting selectors working in the global sounds and balearic space right now, and catching her at Dahlia Stereo from 7:00pm on Halloween is a proper treat for those who like their nights a little more leftfield and a lot more soulful. Entry is between free and £10, which makes it one of the best-value things happening in the city tonight. Dress up, turn up, and let the music take you somewhere unexpected.

Maisie Adam: Whatsherface — If you'd rather spend Halloween crying with laughter in a theatre seat than dancing in a sweaty costume, Maisie Adam at HOME Manchester from 7:30pm is your answer — one of the UK's sharpest and most charismatic stand-ups bringing her acclaimed show to one of the city's most beloved arts venues. It's a perfect counterpoint to all the mayhem outside and a reminder that comedy at its best is genuinely spooky in how well it reads the room. Check the website for tickets.

Stockport Guildhall Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair — Kick off your Sunday morning with a proper rummage at the magnificent Stockport Masonic Guildhall, where dealers bring everything from Victorian curiosities to mid-century gems and vinyl you did not know you needed. Doors open at 9:30am, and for just £6 on the door you get access to one of the most atmospheric antiques fairs in the region — those high ceilings and ornate rooms make the whole thing feel like a treasure hunt inside a secret society headquarters. Go early, go hungry for discovery, and budget extra for the things you absolutely cannot leave without.

Mischief Under The Moon - A Family Halloween Day Party — Halloween may officially be over, but nobody told Campfield House — and honestly, thank goodness for that. This daytime party for families kicks off at 2:00pm and promises costumed chaos, spooky fun, and the kind of collective silliness that children will be talking about for weeks. At £0–£6 it is genuinely one of the most accessible family events in the city right now, so dig out those capes and fangs one last glorious time.

Manchester Storm vs Cardiff Devils — If you have never been to an ice hockey match at the AO Arena, tonight is the night to fix that — the Manchester Storm take on the Cardiff Devils in what promises to be a fast, ferocious, and deafeningly loud clash on the ice. Puck drops at 4:30pm, and with premium venue options available alongside standard tickets, you can tailor the experience to suit your evening. Check the website for pricing, grab a hot dog, and prepare to be completely, helplessly hooked on the sport by the first period.

Deaf Havana - Fools & Worthless Liars + More — Deaf Havana are performing their landmark album Fools and Worthless Liars in full at the O2 Ritz Manchester at 6:30pm, and for fans of emotionally charged, anthemic British rock this is genuinely unmissable stuff. The Ritz is one of Manchester's most beloved mid-sized venues — all sprung dancefloor and warm acoustics — and the crowd for this one is going to know every single word. Check the website for remaining tickets, and move quickly because evenings like this do not hang around.

Akaash Singh - Generational Triumph Tour — American stand-up Akaash Singh brings his Generational Triumph Tour to the stunning Aviva Studios at 7:00pm, and if sharp, culturally astute comedy delivered with total confidence is your thing, you are in exactly the right place. Aviva Studios — The Hall is one of the most exciting performance spaces Manchester has opened in years, and it lends a real event-night weight to an already compelling show. Check the website for tickets, and prepare to laugh harder than is probably dignified on a Sunday.

Made in Manchester || Creatures Comedy Club — Round off your Sunday the right way with a night of homegrown comedy talent at the Creatures Comedy Club, where the Made in Manchester showcase puts a spotlight firmly on the best acts the city and surrounding region have been quietly producing. At just £5–£8 for a late-night 8:30pm show, it is the kind of low-risk, high-reward evening that reminds you why Manchester's grassroots comedy scene punches so far above its weight. Arrive ready to be surprised — the next big name in British comedy might well be on that stage tonight.