Deansgate Mews Festival returns to the Great Northern for May bank holiday

The always-popular Deansgate Mews festival returns to the Great Northern Warehouse this May bank holiday.

The free three-day festival once again takes over the hidden pedestrianised street above the Grade II-listed warehouse, with this year set to feature a new Mini Mews Festival for little ones.

Running from Fri 24 May – Sun 26 May the programme promises a lively outdoor celebration of food & drink, entertainment, live music and shopping from a variety of stalls offering products from talented traders and local artisans.

Across the weekend, visitors can enjoy live performances at Lions Den, which will be running a pop-up outdoor stage hosting 30+ local acts, including 4-piece indie pop band, Foxglove, and Stockport-based bands, The Maddocks, and The Wears.

An additional stage at Low Four welcomes a range of collaborations over the weekend. Psych-rock and garage label, Sour Grapes host the Friday, led by Hull post-punk four-piece, Lumer, who’ll be supported by Manchester’s own The Talking Shop.

Melbourne indie-folk artist, Rowena Wise headlines Saturday at Low Four with support from The Punchies, Dee Rae and more.

Sunday shifts gear again as resident DJs from Manchester’s newest record store, Haunted Dancehall, deliver a full day of left-field electronic beats and vibes, plus a pop-up record shop.

Manchester One Media’s Third Stage features DJ sets from Cal Walsh and David Foran along with a variety of other talented live musicians.

Along Deansgate Mews, local restaurants and bars will have outdoor seating for visitors to indulge in al fresco drinking and dining throughout the festival.

Creative art studio, GRIT, will take over the Great Northern’s Village Hall for the full weekend with creative doodle tables for all ages. Manchester-based illustrator John Cooper will be creating his world-famous ‘speedy portraits’, whilst artist Sarah Wilde hosts a drop-in craft table between 12pm – 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.

For those with a competitive streak, Great Northern Ping Hub, the new free-to-enjoy ping pong space, will be open from 9am – 9pm all weekend, with ‘Beat the Robot’ running from 11am – 2pm on Friday with prizes up for grabs.

As part of the Mini Mews Festival on Sunday, there’ll be a family-friendly silent disco. For this, free spaces can be booked in advance here.

Entry to the festival is entirely free and Great Northern Warehouse will be collecting donations for community charity Forever Manchester.