What's On in Manchester This Weekend

RADAR Festival: Friday - Thy Art Is Murder + Volumes + SikTh — The O2 Victoria Warehouse becomes a cathedral of controlled chaos from 12:00pm as Radar Festival's Friday bill unleashes some of the heaviest names in modern metal under one roof. Thy Art Is Murder bring their ferocious deathcore, SikTh bring their genre-bending prog-metal wizardry, and Volumes fill the gaps with bruising groove — this is an afternoon and evening for people who like their music to mean it. Check the website for ticket prices and do not leave it too late.

Creatures Comedy Festival Showcase — The Creatures Comedy Festival rolls into The Fitzgerald from 6:00pm for an early-evening showcase that is the perfect warm-up for the rest of your Friday night, with a wallet-friendly £10 on the door. Expect a rotating cast of sharp, surprising voices — the kind of acts you will be recommending to everyone by Saturday morning. It is intimate, it is alive, and it is exactly the sort of thing that makes Manchester's comedy scene worth paying attention to.

Natiruts + O Rappa + Charlie Brown Jr Tribute with Bloco do Caos — The Bread Shed transforms into a corner of Rio from 7:30pm as this extraordinary triple-header celebrates Brazilian music with full-blooded passion and rhythm you will feel in your chest. Natiruts bring reggae warmth, O Rappa deliver socially charged rock, and Bloco do Caos pay tribute to the iconic Charlie Brown Jr with the kind of energy that makes a Friday night feel like a festival. At just £10, this is arguably the best value ticket in the city tonight.

The Plastic Cabaret: Freakshow — On Bar Manchester hosts this gloriously unpredictable cabaret spectacular from 7:30pm — think sequins, spectacle, and a very healthy disregard for the ordinary. The Plastic Cabaret has built a devoted following for its ability to blend burlesque, drag, comedy, and performance art into something that feels like nothing else on a Friday night in this city. Grab a £11 ticket, grab a drink, and prepare to be genuinely dazzled.

Full Circle presents Miguel Campbell — Joshua Brooks opens its doors from 10:00pm for a house music night anchored by Miguel Campbell, a producer and DJ whose warm, soulful take on the genre has earned him a place in serious record collections for well over a decade. Full Circle consistently delivers the kind of nights where the music is the main event and the dancefloor reflects that — and at £0–£5, there is almost no reason not to turn up. This is late-night Manchester doing what it does best.

Ramp On The Roof — Depot Mayfield brings something genuinely electric to its rooftop from 11:00am — a skate ramp experience perched above the city with tickets ranging from free entry up to £45 depending on your level of involvement. Whether you are there to skate, to watch, or simply to soak up the atmosphere of one of Manchester's most architecturally striking venues on a summer's day, this is the kind of event that reminds you the city keeps reinventing itself. Bold, physical, and completely unmissable for anyone who likes their Friday to start with a rush.

Ramp On The Roof — Depot Mayfield — one of Manchester's most thrillingly repurposed spaces — throws open its rooftop for a skateboarding event that promises serious style and serious air from 11:00am. Whether you are dropping in yourself or watching riders work the ramp against a city skyline backdrop, this is the kind of only-in-Manchester moment that feels genuinely alive. Tickets range from £0 to £45, so there is a way in for everyone.

RADAR Festival: Saturday - Skindred + Northlane + Protest The Hero — O2 Victoria Warehouse goes full tilt from 12:00pm as RADAR Festival brings together three of heavy music's most electrifying live acts on a single bill. Skindred's genre-defying reggae-metal, Northlane's punishing progressive metalcore, and Protest The Hero's technical fireworks make this a lineup that fans will be talking about for years. Check the website for tickets — and don't sleep on it.

Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons — At 6:00pm the elegant Stoller Hall hosts one of the most quietly radical pieces of classical reimagining in recent memory, as Max Richter's breathtaking deconstruction of Vivaldi's Four Seasons gets the live treatment it deserves. Richter stripped Vivaldi down to its emotional bones and rebuilt it from scratch — the result is simultaneously ancient and urgently modern, and hearing it performed live in this intimate acoustic jewel of a venue is something else entirely. Tickets are £28.

M&P's Jazz Brunch — Matt and Phreds is one of Manchester's great jazz institutions, and this early-afternoon session from 1:00pm is the perfect way to ease into a long Saturday with a drink in hand and something warm and wonderful washing over you. At just £5 to £7 it is an absolute steal for live music of this quality, in a room that always seems to smell faintly of good times. Come hungry, stay as long as the music keeps playing.

Todd Terry - Haçienda All Night Long — House music royalty arrives at Joshua Brooks from 9:00pm as Todd Terry — a man whose records helped define New York house and whose influence still ripples through every dancefloor on earth — takes over under the legendary Haçienda banner. This is not a nostalgia exercise; it is a masterclass in how the music that built Manchester's club culture still hits harder than almost anything else. Tickets are £18 to £25 and worth every penny.

Creatures Comedy Festival Finale Showcase — The Creatures Comedy Festival goes out in style with its grand finale showcase at 8:45pm, gathering the sharpest voices of the weekend for one last brilliant evening at Creatures Comedy Club. After a day of festival chaos and rooftop ramps, there is something deeply satisfying about settling into a room full of people all agreeing to laugh together — and a finale show always carries that extra crackle of occasion. Tickets are £20.

Ramp On The Roof — Depot Mayfield continues to surprise, and this one is genuinely jaw-dropping — skateboarding, BMX, and wheeled mayhem staged on an actual rooftop in the heart of the city from 11:00am. Whether you are a seasoned skater or someone who has never set foot on a board, the energy up here is infectious, with skyline views thrown in for free. Tickets range from £0 to £45, so there is a way in for everyone.

HIT & RUN: FREE Summer Super Sunday w/ ALIX PEREZ (2 hr set) — Freight Island transforms into a sun-soaked bass music mecca from 12:00pm as HIT & RUN bring drum and bass don Alix Perez in for a full two-hour set — and it is completely free to attend. This beloved outdoor series has a knack for making a Sunday afternoon feel like the best decision you have ever made, with the cavernous railway arches and open-air terraces of Freight Island doing all the heavy lifting on atmosphere. Check the website for any entry requirements and get there early.

RADAR Festival: Sunday - Animals As Leaders + The Pineapple Thief — If you like your Sunday with a side of technical wizardry and emotional weight, RADAR Festival's closing day at the O2 Victoria Warehouse from 12:00pm has you covered in spectacular fashion. Animals As Leaders are one of the most breathtaking live acts in modern progressive metal, while The Pineapple Thief bring a more melancholic, atmospheric grandeur that will linger long after you leave. Check the website for tickets — this is the kind of bill that sells out fast and leaves those who missed it genuinely regretful.

Millennial Girl Edinburgh Fringe Preview | Creatures Tour Show — For just £2 you can catch a sharp, funny work-in-progress before it heads to the Edinburgh Fringe, and that is one of the best value propositions in the entire city today. Creatures Comedy Club has a gift for spotting acts on the cusp of something big, and a preview show has a particular electric quality — rough edges, live rewrites, and the sense that you are in the room when something clicks into place. Doors at 7:00pm, and your wallet will barely notice.

Sunday Service @ Kitten — Kitten Restaurant does not just feed you on a Sunday evening — it holds you in a warm, dimly lit embrace and eventually convinces you to dance, with tickets priced between £15 and £40 from 6:00pm. Sunday Service is exactly what the name suggests: a ritualistic gathering of good food, good company, and a gradually escalating soundtrack that nudges the night somewhere unexpected. It is the kind of evening that makes Monday feel very far away indeed.

Solya — The Deaf Institute is one of Manchester's most beloved intimate venues, all ornate tiling and perfect acoustics, and Solya takes to its stage at 7:00pm for what promises to be a compelling live performance. There is something about seeing an artist in a room this size that feels genuinely precious — every note lands close and personal. Check the website for ticket details and do not sleep on this one.