One of the biggest nights of live music in Manchester this year, the 90s Baby festival, is just around the corner and there are still some tickets left if you want to take a stroll down memory lane to some of the most iconic pop tracks of all time.
For anyone uninitiated in this huge celebration of ’90s and early 2000s that has now become a fixture of the Manc music calendar, 90s Baby is a day-long festival packed with non-stop chart-topping performances from pop icons past and present.
Tapping into that unmistakable era of commercial music when this city was on top when it came to pretty much every genre (I mean, we’d obviously argue we still are but that’s a conversation for a different day), the annual event sells out religiously, and we expect this year will be no different.
That being said, we thought we’d give you a nudge and hopefully an extra chance at getting your hands on some tickets if it is your cup of tea. With a lineup like this, how could it not be?
The likes of Pete Andre and Blue top the bill on the 90s Baby lineup for 2023. (Supplied)
Yes, not only will Mancs be treated to 90s favourites like Peter Andre, Boyzlife, East 17 and Five, but also a number of nostalgic Noughties too, such as boyband Blue, Nadine Coyle from Girls Aloud, Jamelia, Blazin’ Squad and many more.
There’s even going to be a DJ set by H from Steps. Say no more.
Promising the most authentic and immersive old-school music experience you could hope for, you’ll get to relive the decade and remember countless artists that you’d forgotten just how much you loved.
Gigs inside the AO Arena are always a blast anyway, but very few rival you and 15,000 others being part of a throwback festival, completely with impressive light displays, dancers, confetti, glitter and all the rest of it. How could you say no? They even held a summer event back in July.
With more than 20 different artists set to take the stage, it doesn’t matter whether you lived through it the first time around, or are just keen to know why it was such a special time for music and Manchester, there is no better way to experience them than at the biggest and best 90s Baby event to date.
The festival takes place on Saturday, 28 October, starting at 4pm and running right through till the evening. Available to anyone 14 and above, prices start from just £39.50 for a whole evening of music.
You can grab your 90s Baby tickets now from Skiddle or via SeeTickets now.
Featured Image — Supplied/Press Image/90s Baby (via Instagram)
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Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
Danny Jones -
6th October 2023 
