Manchester's Nightlife

Manchester's nightlife runs deeper than most cities half its size. The Warehouse Project is the city's largest clubbing institution - taking over Depot Mayfield (and before that Boddingtons, Store Street and various other spaces) each autumn for months of bookings that pull the best electronic acts in the world. Tickets go in hours, sometimes minutes. Book early or make friends who did. For something more intimate, the White Hotel in Salford has become one of the most respected venues in the country - a raw, honest industrial room with a Funktion-One sound system and a programming policy that ranges from Detroit techno to experimental electronics. Hidden in Chinatown is another serious contender: two rooms, a terrace, a crowd that's there because they love the music. Soup Kitchen on Spear Street does the same job for a smaller, sweatier room - book early for the basement shows. YES on Charles Street covers everything: the Pink Room downstairs for DJs, the main space for live acts, a roof terrace in summer, and a restaurant that feeds you properly before it all kicks off. Band on the Wall on Swan Street has been doing live music since the 1800s - proper jazz, world music, and leftfield bookings in a room that sounds magnificent. Albert Hall in Bridgewater Street (the converted Methodist chapel) is worth a visit purely to stand in the room; it also gets excellent touring acts. Gorilla under the railway arches on Whitworth Street West handles the mid-size crowd brilliantly - 600 capacity, decent production, a back garden. Matt and Phreds on Tib Street is Manchester's serious jazz bar: no airs, proper musicians, food till late. Castle Hotel on Oldham Street books guitar bands you'll want to have seen before they got big. For cocktails with late-bar vibes, The Refuge in the Principal Hotel does Sunday sessions that run properly late. Alberts Schloss on Peter Street goes full Bavarian and runs till 3am. Canal Street and the Gay Village remain central to the city's nightlife - Queer Tuesday at YES, Cruz 101, and the summer street party of Pride are fixtures. The Northern Quarter bar scene from Port Street Beer House to Bay Horse Tavern and the Piccadilly Tap keeps early evening and late stragglers equally happy. Ancoats rooftops in summer, Salford warehouses year-round: Manchester nights are properly alive.