MAPS - The Northern Quarter Festival 2008

MAPS - The Northern Quarter Festival takes place at various venues over Manchester and offers 4 days of music over 12 venues with 200 bands, artists and dancers. MAPS is held from Friday 23rd to Monday 26th May. The festival's aim is to support and promote music, art and creativity in the busy Northern Quarter of the city.

The music venues in Manchester will host headline acts like The Dykeenies, Operahouse, Misty's Big Adventure, Thomas Truax, Ten Bears, The Displacements, El Policia, Jay Jay Pistolet, Daywalkers, Gideon Conn, The Mekkits, Dieter & The Gadabouts, Teamnoir, Yellowdog, Kid British & Action Manky, and great 'Art & Music' exhibitions from Manchester muso's like Kathryn Edwards, Butler-Williams, Samson & Delilah and Gideon Conn.

There will be a big opening party at Manchester's urban museum Urbis on Friday 23rd May to kick everything off. For Folk's Sake and The Green Room's Speakeasy are holding poetry and music events, there's a rock opera from Thingumabob & The Thingimajigs, Gabe Minnikin's 17-piece orchestral wonder and a huge chill-out day and barbecue at The Bay Horse on the Monday.

The line-up confirmed so far is as follows:
Friday 23rd May
Urbis: The Dykeenies; Operahouse; The Great Fury; Orchids; Twem
Dry Bar: Urban Circus; The Circus Electric; Syd Bozko; Kid British & The Action Manky; Aristocrash; Gasperilla; Twilight Robin; Jealous; Optional Wallace; The Times; Cine; Bleached Wail; The Last Loft; Floone; and more TBA
Ruby Lounge: Exit Calm; Cardinal Saviour; Stupid Little Cars; Honeymoon Suite; The Killer Heels
Joe's Bar: DJ - Up At The Red Bricks (Stan Chow); The Maladies of Bellafontaine; Box Kid; George Borowski & The Fabulous Wonderfuls; Dan Melrose; God's Gif; Tramps & Horse(acoustic)
Bar Centro: TRIPTRONIC Presents Shmoo DJs; Entropic Reveversal & Theanon Wonder from m.f.t.b.s; Light Syndicate; Armrug; Special guest
The Castle: Billy Ruffian; guests

Saturday 24th May
Dry Bar: The Vortex; Northern Uproar; Orhpan Boy; Exile Parade; Jesus in India; Shanty Town; The Score; The 66; Stop The Blackout; All The Kings Men; Sandbox; The Chase; The Slow Readers Club; Pistola Kicks; Sloganeer; Me Versus; Dile; Enertia; White Sunday; Hey Bulldog; More TBA
Ruby Lounge: Gone Til Winter; Incassum; Daywalkers; Mantric Hatters; Drop Science; By The Dorcia Deceived; We Are The End; and more TBA
Roadhouse: 10 Bears (The Deadbeats); Walton Hesse; Little Tremors (formerly Troy de Trop); Bluebird Kid Clark; The Black Velvet Band; Fake Kings; More TBA
Joe's Bar: DJ til 3am; Hows My Pop; The Ending Of; The City Joy Cons; Little Engine; El Condorez
Moho: A Foreign Town; Creepy Morons; Penny Blacks; Eskimo Smil; The Jade Assembly; Milo Cho; Gideon Conn; Dr Butlers Hatst and Medicine Band; Thingumajigs Rock Opera
Cup: Nomad Jones (acoustic); Neville Skelly; Si Connor (acoustic); Mike Dignam
The Castle: Dirt Blond; and guests
Mint Lounge: Feral Man; LazyFader; Ill Memba; Elavi; Sylence; Scam; and more TBA

Sunday 25th May
Dry Bar: No Life; The Nouvelles; Dovestone; The Rools; The Broadcast; The Domino State; Juno Ashes; The Ronnies; Six10Repeater; Bauer; Red Sea; Purlin; Fox Force Five; The Unstoppable Team; Titus Straks; Daniel Land & The Modern Painters; The 64; The Romes; The Lizzies; The Phonophobics; El Gazelle; and more TBA
Ruby Lounge: Firelines; Live Wires; The Stations; The Would Be Emperors; The White Light Parade; The Rise and Fall of the Rockets; and more TBA
Official MAPS Afterparty: Whim Wham Club (with secret headline guest) ; The Deadly Brotherhood of The Gun; The Brute Chorus; Hard Luck Child; and more TBA
Roadhouse: Downtown Rag; The Fayre; The Arcadian Kicks; Reemer; El Policia; The Hems; Epiphany; Metromax; Harrison Drive
Joe's Bar: DJ til 3am; The Cordels; Neil McSweeney; Port Erin; Got Got Need; Blue Gary; The Filthy Souls; Clipshow; The Bollocks; Yerba; and more TBA
Mint Lounge: The Glorious Yang; Modern Bullies; Shmoo; This Morning Call; Dieter & The Gadabouts; Misty's Big Adventure; Frazer King; Thomas Truax; The Mekkits; Maria Jordan; Amongst the Russians; The Imogen Styles
Night & Day: Our Fold; Lowline; Bells For Rene; Yellowdog; The Reverend Coyote; Lucky Star; Mudflaps
Moho: Teamnoir; Highroller; Karma; Rainbow Trout; Figmo; Without A Reason; and more TBA Bay Horse: The See See; Ernie's Rhythm Section; The Steals; Eva Petersen; Carlis Star (acoustic); Dan Haywood's New Hawks; Kamal Arafa & The Moonshines; Natalie Findlay; Chris Thom; Ben McGarvey
TV21: Grand Volume; The 100 Club; Phre the Eon; God's Gift; The Windfall; Moore Marriott; Rook And The Ravens; Gabriel Minnikin; George Agan; Last Chance
Cup: Kid 4077; Catherine Taylor Dawson; The Valentines; Raini

Monday 26 May
Bay Horse: The Yellhounds; The Green Half; Jay Jay Pistolet; Danny Mahon; Ivan Campo; Gillan Edgar; The Miracle Cure ; Petty Thief; The Chimps; Becca Williams
The Castle: Kev Fox; and Guests

MAPS will also have a programme of comedy with Belowsky at various venues over the weekend. On Monday at the Cup is For Folk's Sake with acts such as Mike Garry (poet) Jenny McCormick (musician) Joola Denby (spoken word) and a book stall courtesy of Comma Press which is FREE entry.

Frog & Bucket Comedy Club has weekend comedy shows at their Oldham Street venue. There is also Barrel of Laughs with MC Toby Hadoke presenting John Scott, Steve Shanyaski and Alex Boardman. On Sunday there is Laughing Cows the all female comedy night with Sarah Millican presenting Karen Bayley, Susan Calman, Jo Jo Sutherland, Kelly Roberts and Chloe Bezer. On Bank Holiday Monday the venue has a FREE comedy night with MC Jonathan Mayor presenting Mel Moon, Chris Stokes, Mike Taylor, Joe Troop, Eddie O'Dwyer, Graham Goring, Fiona Abernethy, Scott McCloud, Rex Purnell, Joe Munrow, Sean McLoughlin, Peter Livings, and Johnny Armstrong.

Venues will also have markets, burlesque dancers and face-painters as well as music and the streets are set for a carnival atmosphere with circus acts, fire-spinning and street busking.

Day tickets are available priced at £10 and weekend passes are £19. To buy tickets click here.

Please note this is an over 18 event and there is no provision for camping.

More information will be here when available.

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