Congratulations to Jayne Compton (second right above) and Max Moran (left), joint winners of the music category at last night’s Best of Manchester Awards. Max is someone we didn’t realise we’d heard about – but besides running ThisTownSounds.com, it turns out he runs the Hot Club night, which has brought the likes of Micachu and the Shapes, Metronomy and Good Shoes etc to Manchester.

Two of the city’s most interesting bands played at Urbis either side of the award presentation: Gnod and Young British Artists. One of the Gnod members said he felt like a museum piece playing to the art crowd – nevertheless, both are well worth checking out.

In other news, we’re putting Efterklang and Bowerbirds on later in the year! The former will be performing at a Hey! Halloween special at the Deaf Institute on Saturday 31 October, while the latter playing at Dulcimer the following night – more information here.

And we’re delighted to confirm that Switchflicker Records’ Magic Arm will be supporting Final Fantasy at the RNCM next month!

May’s in full flow right now and so far this month we’ve enjoyed shows by Soap&Skin, Philip Glass, Murcof, Johann Johannsson, Jeffrey Lewis, the Broken Family Band and Melt-Banana. This week looks set to be no different…

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Canada’s Great Lake Swimmers are playing for us at Dulcimer in Chorlton. This show’s pretty much sold out now, which was predictable as it’s a great lineup with New York’s Sharon van Etten and Manchester’s own Last Harbour also playing.

Deerhunter, meanwhile, are doing something quite unusual – they’re playing two shows at the Deaf Institute tomorrow. The early show starts at 3pm, with the band on at 6pm, and the late show is from 8pm. Looks like the evening performance has sold out. And on Wednesday, the much-tipped Telepathe play another Now Wave night at the same venue. More info and tickets for both here.

Also on Wednesday, Chorlton-based label Broken Horse are promoting a rare performance by AC Newman (of New Pornographers  fame) at Retro Bar. He’s playing with his band, and Andrew Morgan is supporting. Tickets from here.

There’s nothing much happening on Thursday, but on Friday there’s the debut appearance by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. They’re from New York, they’re into Sarah Records-era c86 and we love them. This one’s a Friends of Mine night, at the Chorlton Irish Club. Tickets are here. Or local female-fronted Norweigan folkies Kalbakken are playing an intimate show upstairs in Briton’s Protection.

On Saturday, you’ve got a choice between Manchester’s Magic Arm, who’s launching his album with a full band show at the Deaf Institute, or Akron/Family at the Ruby Lounge. Both have their merits – the latter being one of the most fun bands we’ve put on, while the former has excellent support from Homelife and Beth Jean Houghton.

Finally, make the most of the bank holiday weekend with a Sunday show. We’ve pulled together some of the best folk talent in Manchester including Denis Jones, John Stammers, Starless & Bible Black and Sparky Deathcap – plus Drag City-signed headliner Alasdair Roberts – for an all-evening event at Dulcimer. There’ll also be barbecue (if the weather’s fine) and DJs playing. More info and tickets are here.

Bit quiet this week, with just the six shows for you to consider…

Tomorrow, Monday, Islington Mill in Salford plays host to a Golden Lab gig, featuring former Manchester resident Chris Corsano. The New England drummer has played with the likes of Jandek, Six Organs of Admittance, Thurston Moore and Mick Flower to name a few, and he’s toured with Björk. He’s joined by the Hunter Gracchus, Plum Slate, CKDH and Beach Fuzz. More info and tickets.

On Tuesday you have two choices. Emmy the Great‘s here to promote First Love, her debut album, and plays at the Ruby Lounge with God’s Little Eskimo. Meanwhile, further into the Northern Quarter, punk, er, shoegazers Titus Andronicus are at Night & Day Cafe. Little Death and Citizens also play.

And also on Tuesday, Canadian collective Woodpigeon are joined by the Miserable Rich and the Winter Journey for a Red Deer Club night at the Deaf Institute – more info and tickets for that one here.

Wednesday was going to be a big night for Hey! Manchester, with Gang Gang Dance and Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip at the Roadhouse – but sadly the whole tour was cancelled after a fire in Amsterdam melted their equipment. Hopefully they’ll be back with newly sampled samples later in the year. American folksters Vetiver (who sometimes count Devendra Banhart among their number) will play on Wednesday, at Dulcimer in Chorlton – but that’s well and truly sold out.

Then nothing happens until Saturday when the ever-popular, 10-year-old Club Brenda takes over the Deaf Institute. Locals Magic Arm and the 1,2,3,4s both play – with the former appearing as a full band to celebrate the release of new EP,  Bootsy Bootsy. More info.