It’s been an eventful time for Manchester’s DJ Paulette. Already a legendary house music DJ and broadcaster – one of only two women to have had a regular residency at the Haçienda, she went on ply her trade everywhere from Ibiza to Paris –  she’s now been nominated for DJ of the Year at the inaugural Northern Music Awards taking place at Manchester’s Albert Hall on April 23. Earlier this year, Paulette also added author to her wide-ranging CV. Her first book, Welcome to the Club, has already received much acclaim. It’s not some sensationalist behind-the-decks exposé, but rather a keen-eye ..read more

One of 2023’s finest albums is headed to Manchester’s Band on the Wall in February as part of a tour from the genius musical combination that is HiFi Sean and David McAlmont. Happy Endings, their critically acclaimed, soulful, pop, Bollywood, dance-influenced collection of tremendously infectious songs, was, for many, the soundtrack of the year, ending up on numerous ‘Best of’ lists as 2023 came to a close. McAlmont is no stranger to successful partnerships. He’s one half of McAlmont and Butler, the duo who brought us the 100 per cent bona fide 1995 classic Yes among other great tunes. With co ..read more

Rebekah Okpoti writes for Northern Soul about her new work, Adelaide Watt: The Unwanted Burden, which premieres at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral later this month. It’s the little-known story of the Bishop’s Throne at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and brings slavers and slavery past, present and future into the public eye. Funded by Arts Council England with significant support from Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and Liverpool Hope University, this creative project sees Adelaide Watt stitched through opera and organ, across time. Born in 1857, Adelaide Watt was a descendant of a Lancastrian, Richar ..read more

All things have a beginning and all things have an end. As summer came to an end in Manchester, the Hallé Orchestra began another season at the Bridgewater Hall, its last with Sir Mark Elder as its music director. Sir Mark began his illustrious career with the Hallé at the beginning of the millennium. In the intervening 23 years, he has successfully guided it back to its rightful place as one of the world’s best orchestras, according to BBC Classical Music Magazine which has this to say on the matter: “Under the current leadership of Mark Elder, the Hallé has risen to new heights, and is argua ..read more

May Payne, a singer/songwriter based in Manchester, is an intricate painter of vulnerability, trauma, and love. Nowhere is this more evident than in her first EP, a radically vulnerable offering of real-life experiences woven into a tapestry of musical styles and genre. Payne wrote the title track Sane at a time when her mental balance relied on being ignored by someone while Between The Lines is a rumination on her feelings of unrequited love. Both were composed when Payne was about 16-years-old. The other two songs, I Hate It When You Touch Me and Take It Too, were written at age 21. When I ..read more

From babies bopping at the barriers to pre-teens asking if they can use their phones during a live set (er, no), I’ve taken my kids to a family-friendly festival in the North of England every summer, with the exception of those couple of years we were forced to stay home. What constitutes a family-friendly festival? For me, it’s not an event that sticks a bouncy castle in a corner for feral kids while their parents get pissed – the short-lived Beacons festival in Skipton in 2014 was that, and I remember worrying that my crawling baby might find drugs in the grass. Nor is it one with a back-to ..read more

Picture the scene: a gloomy Saturday evening in Manchester and the rain pours down like shoals of silver fish from a glowering, diluvian sky. Inside The Stoller Hall, however, The Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band, their instruments Brassoed to within an inch of their lives, unleash a sublime wave of gleaning golden sound that thrills and cheers a full house with an evening as varied as it is memorable. Under the adroit baton of Ian McElligott, the first half saw the band demonstrate its impressive range, and things kicked off with a thrilling and grand rendition of Strauss’s Vienna Philharm ..read more

However compelling the present, it’s hard to put the past entirely to one side. Tonight, in Manchester, this truism is one which potentially encumbers both performer and venue. For Alison Goldfrapp, stepping out for the first time under her own full name, the past whose weight she shoulders is the body of work she produced with Will Gregory over the first two decades of the century, from Felt Mountain in the year 2000 to 2017’s Silver Eye. Goldfrapp, the band, could occasionally seem compromised by their commitment to eclecticism, so that their work ran the risk of sounding like a wry collage ..read more

Many years ago John Grant nodded off on my sofa AND he bought me devilled eggs in a restaurant in Iceland. True story. Look at him now! And look at him you must, such was the stage presence and sublime voice of the man singing the songs of Patsy Cline this evening as part of Manchester International Festival (MIF). If you’ve ever seen John Grant live (and if not, why not?), you’ll know already how utterly spectacular his voice is. It’s simply stunning. Combine this with his witty repartee and personable nature and he’s justifiably placed at the top of any list of great live performers, past or ..read more

A sense of joy pervaded the building when the Royal Northern College of Music, as part of its 50th birthday celebrations, held an opera gala with alumni guest singers and the Orchestra of Opera North, backed by the RNCM Opera Chorus. It was a privilege to be part of this glittering occasion which comprised a staged performance with the orchestra and chorus on stage and singers belting out a wide selection of excerpts ranging from Mozart to Verdi. The RNCM building has played a meaningful part of my own history in Manchester as I worked for nearly 30 years next door. To save the blushes of my f ..read more