Hey! Manchester promotes gigs by folk, Americana and experimental bands from around the world in Manchester, England. Read more here, see below for our latest shows, check out our previous shows, contact us, or join our mailing list, above.

Upcoming shows: Simon Joyner... Jim Moray... Josh Rouse... John Craigie... Julian Taylor... Emily Barker... Gratis: Sophie Jamieson... Anna B Savage... C Duncan... Dustin O’Halloran... Chuck Prophet... The Ocelots... Sean Rowe... Jim Ghedi... Fionn Regan... The Weather Station... Beans on Toast... Joshua Burnside... Easter... The Loft... Martin Kohlstedt... Nadia Reid... Danny & the Champions of the World... The Delines... Helena Deland... Chris Brain... Heather Nova... Mark Eitzel... Jeffrey Martin... Federico Albanese... Amelia Coburn... Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble... Jerron Paxton... Throwing Muses... Lael Neale...

When: 7.30pm on Wednesday 2 November 2016
Where: Gullivers, 109 Oldham Street, Manchester, M4 1LW

We’re delighted to be working with Emanuel and The Fear for the first time in six years!

Emanuel-The-Fear-Gullivers-Manchester

‘My freedom thus consists in my moving about within the narrow frame that I have assigned to myself for each one of my undertakings. I shall go even further: my freedom will be so much the greater and more meaningful the more narrowly I limit my field of action and the more I surround myself with obstacles. Whatever diminishes constraint diminishes strength. The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself of the claims that shackle the spirit.’
– Igor Stravinsky

It was with inspiration from this quote that Emanuel and The Fear began to write their newest release, Primitive Smile. Simple and refined, with every note and every beat having a purpose. This was the goal, the final realisation of a musical experiment in restriction.

Diverging from the progressive and fantastical elements of 2012’s The Janus Mirror, Primitive Smile adheres to the most formulaic elements of pop music: the verse, the repeating chorus, the single bridge. Emanuel and The Fear sought to find a way to add their own eclectic and unique perspective that held itself strictly to those constructs. Through painstaking revision and laborious arrangement, the ‘Primitive Smile’ began to peel back and show itself becoming a homogeneous blend of pure song; a kaleidoscope of ideas dancing wildly within a the tunnel of organised structural confine.

After a four-year hiatus, Primitive Smile marks the beginning of the new chapter for Emanuel and The Fear as they work tirelessly to break the shackles of the popular mindset and attain an honest and unique communication through music.

Support comes from The Awful Truth. Manchester’s finest purveyors of the modern folk song The Awful Truth play largely acoustic instruments (upright bass, cajon, flute, harp, violin, Spanish guitar) and sing songs about sex, politics, drink and reptiles. They released their first album, Songs of Love and Lust, in 2015.

Buy tickets now. Tickets are available from the bar, Common (both no booking fee), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, Billetto.co.ukWeGotTickets.comTicketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

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All shows are 18+ unless otherwise stated.