The best: May bank holiday events near Manchester

Now in its 20th year, Salford’s beloved celebration of new music, Sounds From the Other City, is back this Sunday, taking over 15 stages around Chapel Street and The Crescent.

Shows will be held in everything from pubs and churches to historic concert halls, with the lineup curated by some of the region’s best independent promoters and selectors.

Two of Manchester’s most exciting labels come together for an all-day rave at Salford’s Un.titled Studio this Saturday, packed with rolling Tech House beats.

From super-sized exhibitions and time-hopping video game thrills to revolutionary objects and stories that shaped the world we live in today, the Science and Industry Museum hosts another fun-filled and inspiring spring programme of interactive entertainment for the entire family to get stuck into.

A landmark new exhibition at the Whitworth features work from over 90 women artists and collectives, whose ideas helped fuel the women’s liberation movement during a period of significant social, economic and political change.

This first-of-its-kind major UK survey of feminist art celebrates the powerful and often provocative work of women whose radical ideas and rebellious methods changed the face of British culture.

Visitors are invited to experience L.S Lowry’s most iconic work like never before, through an immersive 360-degree experience.

The free, immersive gallery installation surrounds you with the sights and sounds of Lowry’s famous Going to the Match. Created in collaboration with Barcelona’s renowned Immersive studio, Layers of Reality, the multi-sensory experience captures the excitement, anticipation and ritual of matchday through a super high-resolution display of the painting, accompanied by factory whistles, chatter and crowd sounds.

Erasure’s Andy Bell will be bringing his new solo album, Ten Crowns, to the Bridgewater Hall on Saturday.

The show will feature songs from the new record, favourites from Andy’s solo catalogue, and, of course, plenty of Erasure hits, as Andy performs with a live band featuring his main Ten Crowns collaborator, the Grammy-winning US producer Dave Audé.

People’s History Museum will be holding their first ever May Day Makers Markets across Saturday and Sunday, filling the building with talented makers, craft workers, indie shops and cultural creators.

Entry to the market will be free. There are also some bookable workshops hosted by the makers, plus Hallé Ancoats Community Choir will be performing.

Another huge day party, this one seeing the iconic Shy FX leading an 8-hour stint of UK garage at Progress. Also joining the bill will be the likes of Shadev, Misschief, Babyface, Shelly, TSU and Soundscape.

Featuring an immersive installation, audio, film and interactive elements, as well as an array of natural history collections and artworks, Wild is a stunning exploration of our precarious but optimistic relationship with the natural world at Manchester Museum.

This Sunday, Castlefield Gallery will launch an ambitious, unique exhibition of new work inspired by the University of Salford’s groundbreaking Energy House 2.0 facilities.

Artists Mishka Henner and Emily Speed each spent 18-month residencies with Energy House 2.0. This exhibition is the culmination of that experience, with both artists responding to their time there in vastly different mediums.