The imagery associated with the band is based around outer space, science fiction and B-movies, as can be seen in the music videos for their singles "Neon Baby" and "Do the Milky Way", as well as in song titles and artwork. In a feature in The Guardian in April 2016, the group were described as the "true heirs" of cosmic jazz pioneer Sun Ra, and praised for their "fusion of jazz, Afrobeat and electronica in an improvisational, intergalactic mash-up".

The Picturehouse Cafe Bar is open beforehand for delicious food and drinks.

Henri Herbert is a piano-playing phenomenon, and one of the best and most sought after boogie woogie blues piano men in the world. The former pianist of the mighty Jim Jones Revue now blazes his own trail, racking up an incredible 11 million YouTube hits on the way. Following successful tours of the UK, USA, Canada, Holland, Spain and France, showcases at SXSW 2016, two critically acclaimed EPs, and live sessions for Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6 Music, Herbert has firmly establishing himself as one to watch.

Born in France, and raised in the UK, at an early age he was drawn to records made by the piano-pounding pioneers Jerry Lee Lewis and Albert Ammons. He spent many long days and nights studying their styles, spinning them into what he calls “Supercharged Boogie”. He cut his musical teeth performing all over Europe before being invited to join the mighty Jim Jones Revue in 2011, co-writing and recording songs on their album The Savage Heart.

“Like Jools Holland possessed by Jerry Lee Lewis and The Devil Himself”

- Jon Aizlewood, The Evening Standard

The Picturehouse Cafe Bar is open beforehand for delicious food and drinks.

The desert is a place of hardship and subtle beauty, a stark world that reveals its secrets slowly and carefully. Life in the desert is resilient and strong, and the people are gentle giants among the sand, storms, and sun. For Saharan blues band Tinariwen, the desert is their home, and their hypnotic and electrifying guitar rock reflects complex realities of their home base in North West Africa.

The Picturehouse Cafe Bar is open beforehand for delicious food and drinks.

A firm favourite here at Band on the Wall, we welcome them back for what promises to be another knockout full live show.

“To say Smoove & Turrell are the greatest modern Soul act to emerge from the UK would be an epic understatement!” - Craig Charles (BBC 6 Music)

The Picturehouse Cafe Bar is open beforehand for delicious food and drinks.

Slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis. To find out more or to pre-book your slot, contact Laura: mca.laura@gmail.com

Slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis. To find out more or to pre-book your slot, contact Laura: mca.laura@gmail.com

Slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis. To find out more or to pre-book your slot, contact Laura: mca.laura@gmail.com

11 December / 19:30 / More Info / Buy Tickets

The Comet is Coming are a London-based jazz, electronic, funk and psych rock band, signed to the seminal multi-disciplinary imprint The Leaf Label. They describe their sound as “Apocalyptic Space Funk” and their debut LP, Channel The Spirits has been nominated for a 2016 Mercury Prize.

The imagery associated with the band is based around outer space, science fiction and B-movies, as can be seen in the music videos for their singles "Neon Baby" and "Do the Milky Way", as well as in song titles and artwork. In a feature in The Guardian in April 2016, the group were described as the "true heirs" of cosmic jazz pioneer Sun Ra, and praised for their "fusion of jazz, Afrobeat and electronica in an improvisational, intergalactic mash-up".

ft. Henri Herbert live

16 December / 21:00 / More Info / Buy Tickets

A new night of live music and DJ sets curated by producer, songwriter, guitarist and bona-fide national treasure Richard Hawley. Tonight we present a live performance from the Jim Jones Revue’s Henri Herbert, plus a DJ set from Richard Hawley.

Henri Herbert is a piano-playing phenomenon, and one of the best and most sought after boogie woogie blues piano men in the world. The former pianist of the mighty Jim Jones Revue now blazes his own trail, racking up an incredible 11 million YouTube hits on the way. Following successful tours of the UK, USA, Canada, Holland, Spain and France, showcases at SXSW 2016, two critically acclaimed EPs, and live sessions for Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6 Music, Herbert has firmly establishing himself as one to watch.

Born in France, and raised in the UK, at an early age he was drawn to records made by the piano-pounding pioneers Jerry Lee Lewis and Albert Ammons. He spent many long days and nights studying their styles, spinning them into what he calls “Supercharged Boogie”. He cut his musical teeth performing all over Europe before being invited to join the mighty Jim Jones Revue in 2011, co-writing and recording songs on their album The Savage Heart.

“Like Jools Holland possessed by Jerry Lee Lewis and The Devil Himself”

- Jon Aizlewood, The Evening Standard

06 November / 19:30 / More Info / Buy Tickets

Tinariwen are poet-guitarists and soul rebels from the Southern Sahara desert. Their music expresses the aspirations of their people, the Kel Tamashek or 'Touareg' of the southern Sahara desert. The guitar is their weapon. Simplicity is Freedom.

The desert is a place of hardship and subtle beauty, a stark world that reveals its secrets slowly and carefully. Life in the desert is resilient and strong, and the people are gentle giants among the sand, storms, and sun. For Saharan blues band Tinariwen, the desert is their home, and their hypnotic and electrifying guitar rock reflects complex realities of their home base in North West Africa.

12 November / 19:00 / More Info / Buy Tickets

For those of you who don't already know, Geordie electronic soul duo Smoove & Turrell are at the head of the pack of the new UK funk and soul scene. Fronted by the fabulously gutsy and gravelly voice of Turrell, they mix up contemporary electronic soul rhythms with old school stylings to wonderful effect. With an obvious love and northern soul and deep, dancefloor-bumping funk, it's retro-future party music of the highest order.

A firm favourite here at Band on the Wall, we welcome them back for what promises to be another knockout full live show.

“To say Smoove & Turrell are the greatest modern Soul act to emerge from the UK would be an epic understatement!” - Craig Charles (BBC 6 Music)

25 August - 08 December / 10:30 - 12:30 / More Info / Pay-per-session

Brighter Sound and Band on the Wall are proud to support Manchester’s most welcoming choir. Golden Voices started over six years ago with eight members and has gone from strength to strength to number almost sixty today. It is open to anyone aged 50+ and previous experience of singing is not needed to join.

“I’ve never been to singing yet where I haven’t come away feeling better than when I went.”

Prospective new members are welcome to pop in and join in a rehearsal before signing up as a member. No booking required.

As well as enjoying a new activity and meeting new friends, you’ll also be improving your health. Singing has been scientifically proven to improve your breathing, your posture and make you feel happier.

“It’s given me a new life…. I was doing very little and was quite lonely. Now I’ve got some good friends and I’m very busy.”

The choir meet every Thursday morning at 10.30am at Band on the Wall – full dates below. Visit their Facebook page, or more more information contact Julie Jones on choir@goldenvoiceschoir.com

BBC Get Creative is a celebration of the world-class arts, culture and creativity that happens every day across the UK.  As a BBC Get Creative Champion, Brighter Sound is delighted to support music making opportunities for residents of Manchester and beyond.

14 September / 18:00 / More Info / Enrol

Brighter Sound presents Sing City – a re-vamped programme for young and emerging composers, producers and musicians this autumn.

Sing City runs on a Wednesday evening in six-weekly themed blocks, each culminating in a live night at Band on the Wall. It is free and open to musicians under the age of 18 with an interest in songwriting and composition, collaboration, live performance and just generally finding out more about the world of music.

Sing City is led by a fantastic collaborative team of young professional musicians each bringing a different and exciting specialism to the mix.

Following Brighter Sound's open call for participation and careful selection process, we're delighted to reveal the lineup for the Inner City Ensemble, with thirteen emerging professional UK jazz musicians joining Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard for a landmark UK tour this September. 

The lineup features alumni of the Royal Northern College of Music, Chethams School of Music, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Leeds College of Music and more. Working outside of the traditional jazz or big-band arrangement, the Inner City Ensemble includes instrumentation such as French Horn, Oboe and Tuba.

Collectively, the ensemble’s accolades comprise performances with London Jazz Orchestra & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; awards from British Jazz Awards, Help Musicians UK and European Young Artists’ Jazz Awards plus features and collaborations with Keith Tippett, Jean Toussaint, Gary Crosby, Krzysztof Urbanksi and Charlie Hunter. 

Terence Blanchard and the Inner City Ensemble perform live in Manchester, Warrington, Bradford and Kendal from 15^th to 18^th September and tickets for the performances are available here.

Find out more about the members of the ensemble below...

Michael Dawson - Tuba
Now residing in Manchester, Michael graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 2013.  He is a founding member of Twisted Tubes, a jazz fusion band based in Manchester, which performs all over the world and has recently returned from a tour of Dubai.

Adam Chatterton - Trumpet
Adam was born in Manchester and studied at Chethams School of Music. He then gained a place on the Jazz course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in 2010. Since moving to London, Adam has played with the London Jazz Orchestra, NYJO, Syd Lawrence Orchestra and the 606 Big Band as well as playing at the UK's jazz venues and festivals. Adam is a member of the newly founded Patchwork jazz orchestra, who have recently been awarded the Peter Whittingham jazz award from Help Musicians UK. 

Chelsea Carmichael - Saxophone
Warrington born Chelsea started her musical journey playing jam sessions and working with big bands in and around the Manchester area. She moved to London to study Jazz Saxophone at the Trinity Conservatoire of Music and Dance. She currently works with a wide variety of ensembles, from trio to big band, and has appeared at venues and festivals up and down the country including the Manchester Jazz Festival, and the BBC Proms.

Tom McCredie - Bass
Tom grew up in Wakefield and spent his youth watching and playing music at Wakefield Jazz Club. He moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music and since then has won the European Young Jazz Artists Award (with the Elliot Galvin Trio) and has recorded with artists such as Keith Tippett Octet and Reuben Fowler Big Band feat. Tom Harrell and Stan Sulzman. Elliot Galvin Trio performed at Berghausen Jazz festival and Love Supreme Jazz Festival last year and have just released their second album‘Punch' on Edition Records.

Ashley Henry - Piano / Keyboards
Ashley Henry is a London- born Jazz pianist and composer. Since graduating from Leeds College of Music with the Yamaha Jazz Scholarship award, Ashley returned to London and found himself performing with some some of the UK's leading jazz musicians such as Jean Toussaint, Shane Forbes, Gary Crosby, Jay Phelps and Nathaniel Facey. Ashley was a finalist at the 2016 UNISA International piano competition in South Africa and was the youngest on the bill for the 2015 International piano trio festival at Ronnie Scott's where he performed with, amongt others, Robert Glasper and Gerald Clayton. Ashley recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a masters degree in Jazz performance and Composition.

Ashley's debut ep "Ashley Henry's 5ive" was released on the jazz re:freshed label in March 2016.

Michael De Souza - Guitar
Michael taught himself to play guitar aged 12 whilst growing up in Hertfordshire. He went on to study Jazz at Leeds College of Music where he was awarded the LCM Guitar prize. Since moving to London to continue his studies at the Royal Academy of Music, Michael has played with groups including the Simon Read Octet and Adam Glasser Quartet. He fronts his own originals groups, the Michael De Souza Quintet and the award winning collaborative 4 piece, Big Bad Wolf who just recorded their debut album; set for release next year.

Diane Hammond - Clarinet
Originally from Suffolk, Diane has studied at Leeds University, University of North Texas and Royal Northern College of Music. Currently residing in Manchester, she performs with a variety of ensembles across the UK and has recently had the privilege of playing at festivals such as Glastonbury and North Sea Jazz Festival.

Sam Gardner - Drums
Sam Gardner studied Jazz at Leeds College of Music from 2007 until 2011. Since then he has been performing across the UK and Europe with a number of artists including Krzysztof Urbanksi, Dominic J Marshall, Submotion Orchestra, Ashley Henry and more. He released his debut album 'The Dance of Venus' (F-IRE) in 2014 with Samadhi Quintet, with the album release tour happening that year.

Sam has explored many genres of music, from contemporary and traditional jazz to Indian classical and South American music. His most recent endeavour is into the world of electronic music and production and he continues to write his own music, fusing  of acoustic and electronic styles.

Aisling Palmer - Oboe
Aisling moved to Manchester from London two years ago. Aisling studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama before completing her Masters at the Royal Academy of Music. Most recently she completed a Masters in Music Therapy.

As a busy freelance oboist, Aisling has performed with orchestras including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Welsh National Opera Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra. 

Amy Roberts - Flute
Amy was voted winner of the Miscellaneous Category in the 2015 British Jazz Awards, and the Rising Star category in the British Jazz Awards in both 2009 and 2011. She studied saxophone at the Royal Northern College of Music and was awarded the Martyn Edwards bursary for outstanding jazz performance. Amy played as a band member with Chris Barber for four years and also with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, The London Swing Orchestra, Pete Long's Echos of Ellington, Keith Nichols Blue Devils Orchestra and Harry Strutters Hot Rhythm Orchestra.

Her current quintet with Richard Exall has recently released a CD dedicated to the music of Earl Bostic and Johnny Hodges - "Hodge-Stic"! The Richard Exall/ Amy Roberts Quintet were voted "Band of the Year" at the Rochdale Jazz Society for 2014!

Kieran McLeod - Trombone
Regularly gigging in Manchester with Riot Jazz Brass Band, Kieran is currently playing across the UK with Julian Argüelles Septet and Iain Ballamy's Anorak XL. Most recently he has been touring festivals around Europe with Nomad Collective and Young Pilgrims. Kieran will be performing with Charlie Hunter on his next UK tour in between his trips back to Scotland to play with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. Kieran's own projects include his 30 piece big band, "Human Resource System" and "New World" his sextet.

Chris Beagles - French Horn
Chris grew up in Sheffield and attended the Junior Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and has since freelanced with Orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and the Orchestra of Opera North, he's performed in venues all around the world with acts including George Michael, Tony Hadley, Dionne Warwick, Belle and Sebastian, and Donovan.

Sam Rapley - Bass Clarinet
Originally from Manchester and now living in London, Sam is making a name for himself as a highly regarded, up and coming saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. Sam writes and plays a diverse range of music, drawing influences from jazz, classical, contemporary and cinematic. Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 2014, Sam has been an active member of the UK music scene - recent endeavours include his debut performance at the Wigmore Hall, releasing and touring an EP with his band, Fabled, and composing the soundtrack to ‘Duet’ an independent short film, featured at Cannes Film Festival’s ‘Short Film Corner’.

27 September / 04 October / 11 October / Enrol

Brighter Sound and Modul:Projects (formally Modular Music School) present Modul:Meets, a series of free sessions for anyone interested in electronic music performance, composition and production.

Each Modul:Meets session will feature a different artist working at the forefront of electronic music, who will give demonstrations of their live and recording methods as well as tips and advice for your own work. The sessions will also be a chance to hear more about Modul:Projects including the upcoming residency Push:Music, delivered in partnership with Brighter Sound.

Modul:Projects (formerly Modular Music School) is a collective of electronic musicians and artists. They explore methods for collaboration within electronic and experimental music through unique artistic residencies and projects. They are particularly interested in pioneering innovative methods of electronic composition and non-traditional live performances.

For Full schedule and details click ENROL.

Sessions are open to all ages and are free but must be booked online in advance.

21 September - 30 November / 19:30 - 21:30 / More Info / Enrol

Brighter Sound presents an autumn series of Folk Group sessions with traditional fiddle star Emma Sweeney and guitarist Paul Cowham.  Learn to play Irish folk tunes and styles on any instrument.

This established and informal folk group led by Emma Sweeney focuses on traditional Irish folk with an emphasis on authentic style, ornamentation and embellishment. The ten week course (with performance) is open to any instrument including whistle, flute, accordion, harmonica and guitar. If you and your instrument can carry a tune or a chord sequence then you can play it in these sessions. We’ve even had cello and trombone taking part!

Sessions will include support for guitarists, banjo and mandolin players from Paul Cowham, giving tips on accompanying styles and putting chords to the tunes as they are learned.

There will be group performance opportunities to play with Emma at local folk sessions and in the Picturehouse bar at Band on the Wall on Wednesday 30th November. 

“A great way to learn some traditional tunes, improve aural skills and learn about how to play in an authentic Irish style.” - course participant.

For more information click the ENROL button.

02 September / 18:15 / 20:00 / More Info / Enrol

Brighter Sound presents Jazz Foundations led by saxophone legend Munch Manship at Band on the Wall. For intermediate and more advanced horn and rhythm section players. Play specially arranged classic jazz repertoire and work on solo 'chops' in a ten week programme of weekly sessions plus a performance. New members are very welcome.

We offer two Thursday Jazz Foundation sessions:

6.15-7.45pm: Intermediate (For participants who have been playing for two years with confidence but with basic knowledge of improvisation)

8-9.30pm: Intermediate-Advanced (For participants who have been playing jazz for over two years, with some experience of improvising in groups).

For more detailed information click the ENROL button.