From beloved grassroots music festivals and homecoming gigs to dog socials at one of the city’s best boozers, here’s our guide to the best things to do in and around Manchester over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
One of Manchester’s most exciting homegrown talents, post-punk favourites Ist Ist come to the Albert Hall on Friday night for their biggest ever homecoming show. Again, tickets are going fast for this one.
Green Island Fest is warming up for this year’s three-part festival by teaming up with Nell’s, Common and Yard & Coop to throw an all-day street party in the Northern Quarter this Saturday. Completely free to attend, there’ll be sets from Born to be Wild, Deptford Geoge, La Noche, Me Gusta Collective and Sprechen
The Science and Industry Museum hosts a May Bank Holiday weekend packed full of free, family-friendly space-themed activities, inspired by its latest universe-first exhibition, Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos.
Launching on National Space Day (Fri 1 May) and running until Mon 4 May, the programme includes new science shows, interactive challenges, creative workshops, and the chance to experience a giant projected night sky.
The Hallé make their first appearance at Aviva Studios with ANNO, a powerhouse work of immersion and atmosphere by Anna Meredith that recontextualises Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for a contemporary audience. Designed as a fully immersive experience which heightens the sensation of time’s passing, the work takes place in near-total darkness, with the musicians’ tablets and projected animated visuals by Meredith’s sister, Eleanor, as the only sources of light.
New open-air electronic music festival Outwards debuts with a day-to-night programme in Ardwick, featuring a big-hitting lineup that boasts names like Orbital, Black Grape, A Certain Ratio, Octave One and Annabel Fraser. Tickets are down to final release.
The Blues Kitchen Manchester is celebrating its fifth birthday with a Bank Holiday weekend takeover, headlined by none other than Gilles Peterson on Sun 3 May. Expect an evening packed with genre-spanning sounds across jazz, funk, soul and beyond.
Pub, pints and pooches…does it get better than that? The Crown and Kettle will be hosting its 2026 dog social on Monday — it’s BYOD (Bring Your Own Dog), and there’ll be a pop-up stall with all kinds of dog-friendly treats, pet paw-traits and prizes up for grabs for best (and cutest) in show.
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Bar Shrimp joins forces with Contours and Yadava, who bring their longstanding NTS show Expansions to the venue for a special Bank Holiday daytime session. Special guests King Kit and Lejon are on board, too, with a soundtrack covering house, disco and raw club cuts. Free entry, 2pm – late.
Over in Stockport, Sunday sees SOULJET bring a house and disco extravaganza to The Underbank. Topping the day party’s bill is the renowned Highlands duo, Shaka Loves You. Their sets blend the best of funk, soul, disco and house, mixing current tracks with timeless classics.
The party kicks off at 2pm and runs through until 10pm. Grab a ticket below.
- Words:
- Bradley Lengden
- Published on:
- Fri 1 May 2026
Salford’s beloved celebration of grassroots music is back for another blockbuster edition this Sunday. Now in its 21st edition, this year boasts another stacked lineup, with the likes of Lynks, Moonchild Sanelly, Blue Bendy, Rainy Miller, Sorvina, jasmine.4.t just some of the 100+ acts set to appear across 17 stages. Tickets are running low, so don’t hang around.