FREE SHOWS & EVENTS IN MANCHESTER
FREE SHOWS & EVENTS IN MANCHESTER
Most Popular Free Shows & Events in Manchester
Wed 13 May - Wed 30 Sep 2026
Fri 15 May - Fri 14 Aug 2026
Sat 16 May - Sat 18 Jul 2026
Thu 14 May - Thu 16 Jul 2026
Tue 19 May - Tue 14 Jul 2026
Fri 15 May - Fri 17 Jul 2026
Comedy Circus
Wednesday 13 May 2026
A free open mic comedy show designed to give anyone who's ever wanted a chance to try standup comedy, and for established comedians to work out new material. It's a wild fun and chaotic show featuring weekly games and contests for drinks an...
LOWRY 360
Wednesday 13 May - Wednesday 30 September 2026
A unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of LS Lowry's iconic work, Going to the Match, in the UK's first free permanent immersive experience. Created in collaboration with Barcelona's renowned Immersive studi...
Nicola Ellis: Exercises in Knowing
Wednesday 13 - Sunday 17 May 2026
For this exhibition, Exercises in Knowing, Nicola Ellis has created three new bodies of work that extend her ongoing collaboration with the steel enclosure manufacturer Ritherdon & Co in Darwen, Lancashire. In it, Ellis explores how we rela...
Live performance activation by Willow Swan and Ellis Berwick
Thursday 14 May 2026
Live performance with reconfigured organ pipes creating a dialogue with Gabriel Kidd's solo exhibition I found the giant and he was dead. Willow Swan and Ellis Berwick activate the exhibition with a durational sound performance evolving the...
Rhyme Time
Thursday 14 May - Thursday 16 July 2026
Rhyme time is a fun group singing session for babies and toddlers (0-4 years) and their grown-ups. Singing together and repeating rhymes helps your child develop listening, visual and memory skills, which will help them develop. Rhyme t...
Under 5s Little Creatives
Friday 15 May 2026
Sessions not available during school holidays Come along to Little Creatives in The Lookout for 45 minutes of fun. These sessions are designed for children age 2-5yrs with lots of engaging activities for them to get involved with. All atten...
Coruja Jones
Friday 15 May 2026
Manchester-based songsmith Coruja Jones delivers honest folky storytelling and ambient outpourings. Dreamy Indie-folk. Beautiful songs with soaring high notes, combined with intricate, delicate guitar work into cavernous reverbs, which ta...
Live Hip Hop, Afrobeats and RnB + DJs
Friday 15 May - Friday 14 August 2026
DJs and live musicians play old and new school hip hop, afrobeats and RnB goodness from Kendrick Lamar and J Hus to Wizkid and Lauryn Hill. ...
Podcast Club
Friday 15 May - Friday 17 July 2026
Join in the fun at Z-arts' studio, where you can play games to improve your performance skills, learn how to record and edit audio, how to research, how to put together and give an interview, basically everything you need to become a supers...
Family Art Stars
Saturday 16 May - Saturday 18 July 2026
Families that learn together, grow together. We are very excited to continue our Family Art Stars sessions every Saturday! Come down, muck in and make some art as a family, spending quality time and learning new techniques. No skill is requ...
Ghosts of Garage - Todd Edwards
Sunday 17 May 2026
TODD 'The God' EDWARDS returns to GHOSTS OF GARAGE for another very special Sunday Session + very special guest JEREMY SYLVESTER one of Manchester's most respected crews returns to Freight Island this summer, bringing East Coast US club roy...
Roy Claire Potter in conversation with Gabriel Kidd
Sunday 17 May 2026
Join Roy Claire Potter in conversation with solo artist Gabriel Kidd on the occasion of their solo exhibition at HOME, I found the giant and he was dead. They will discuss the themes explored in Kidd's exhibition and Potter's book The Waste...
Baby Book Club
Tuesday 19 May - Tuesday 14 July 2026
Baby Book Club is a wonderful way to spend time together with your baby (0-2 years) and develop their love of books, stories and reading. Baby Book Club helps parents develop skills in how to make reading fun for their babies and help d...
Chetham's Lunchtime Concert
Friday 22 May 2026
Chetham's School of Music, in the heart of Manchester, is the largest specialist music school in the UK, and the only one in the north of England. It is made up of 330 students aged between 8 and 18 and the campus is a melting pot of differ...
Creative Tiny Humans
Friday 29 May 2026 - Friday 26 March 2027
Join us in the Creativity Corner for our baby and toddler group drop in session to enjoy crafts, chats and creativity. Expect making for tiny hands, stories and most importantly PLAY. Join artist and community facilitator Phoebe Foxtrot on ...
RNCM Opera Scenes
Thursday 4 - Thursday 18 June 2026
FREE EVENT. RNCM vocal and conducting students present excerpts from some of opera's greatest moments in this free series of staged scenes. A perfect way to feed your curiosity! Click on tickets link for the perfromers and excerpts presente...
Zoe Gilby
Friday 5 June 2026
Zo? Gilby is a vocalist and songwriter, making a stunning impression on the music scene today. Her compelling original compositions are written with double bassist husband Andy Champion, a powerful collection of songs with a strong narrativ...
We Invented The Weekend Festival
Saturday 6 - Sunday 7 June 2026
We Invented the Weekend festival is back for 2026! Across Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June 2026, Salford Quays and MediaCity will be buzzing with over 200 free activities in the UKs most ambitious, creative, original and fun-filled festival cel...
Ghosts of Garage - Preditah
Sunday 7 June 2026
Ghost of Garage welcome PREDITAH for a rare extended UKG set in Manchester, plus support from JOE HUNT & more ...
Spotlight: The Gorgi-Stewart Quintet - Notes on Separation…
Monday 15 June 2026
ProgrammeSonia Gorgi?Unseen OperationMaddie Stewart?After We Leave (Still There)PerformersMaddie Stewart?saxophoneSonia Gorgi?santoorIzzy MacMahon?drumsJade Serafin?double bassFraser Rowe?pianoAboutThis experimental cross-cultural performan...
Spotlight: Solaris Brass - Triton Messenger of the…
Tuesday 16 June 2026
ProgrammeMichael John Trotta arr Lewis Barton?Dies IraeGabriel Faur? arr Matthew Knight?Apr?s un r?veArthur Butterworth?Triton SuiteGabriel Faur? arr Matthew Knight?Le papillon et la fleurGabriel Faur? arr Matthew Knight?Le secretGeorge Ger...
Friends of Z-arts
Wednesday 17 June 2026
Friends of Z-arts is where the grown-ups of the Z-arts community meet each other, socialise and help decide what happens to Z-arts. You can ask the Z-arts team questions, tell us what you think, and have your say on what happens at Z-arts i...
Spotlight: Aidan Bryson - Music for Jazz Quartet…
Thursday 18 June 2026
ProgrammeJimmy Van-Heusen?Like Someone In LoveAidan Bryson?Music for Jazz Quartet and String QuartetAidan Bryson?In Your AbsencePerformersAidan Bryson?saxophoneJack Willan?drumsMarcello Rodrigues?double bassJim Gibson?pianoAlice Granlund, E...
Factory House Choir
Saturday 20 June 2026
Enjoy some singing for the soul in the Factory House Choir workshops. It's open to everyone - just bring your voice! Led by singer and music director Lizzie Simms, this isn't your traditional choir experience. Expect to get your groove on a...
Spotlight: The Carnival of the Animals
Monday 22 June 2026
ProgrammeCamille Saint-Sa?ns?The Carnival of the AnimalsPerformersEmily Ampt, Nyra Jain?violinsSophie Combes?violaChloe Chen?celloLukas Hall?double bassAdele Bracegirdle?fluteAnthony Arias?clarinetTheo Sanders, James Carrick-Buchanan?pianos...
Spotlight: The Rebirth of Language
Thursday 25 June 2026
ProgrammeKuba Williams New WorkPerformersEirwen Roberts?voiceJacob Wright?violinCara Smith?clarinetRoisin Fleming?pianoAboutA song cycle composed by RNCM Gold Medal winner Kuba Williams, this new work explores the brief friendship between I...
The National Youth Orchestra
Tuesday 5 January 2027
FREE FOR UNDER 19s. Feel the sound, free your spirit with this fearless performance by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain with conductor Andrew Gourlay, where hundreds of teenagers passionately share their love of music Hear ...
