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: Admiral Fallow... Skinny Lister... New Starts... The Sheepdogs... The Dead Tongues... Svaneborg Kardyb... James Heather... The Unthanks in Winter... Jim Moray... Josh Rouse... John Craigie... Julian Taylor... Emily Barker... Gratis: Sophie Jamieson... C Duncan... Dustin O’Halloran... Chuck Prophet... The Ocelots... Sean Rowe... Jim Ghedi... Fionn Regan... The Weather Station... Beans on Toast... Joshua Burnside... The Loft... Martin Kohlstedt... Nadia Reid... Danny & the Champions of the World... The Delines... Chris Brain... Heather Nova... Mark Eitzel... Jeffrey Martin... Hayden Thorpe & Propellor Ensemble... Jerron Paxton... Throwing Muses...

When: 7.30pm on Monday 10 December 2012
Where: Islington Mill, James Street, Salford M3 5HW

We’re delighted to be working with My Brightest Diamond – their first Manchester show in over four years!

As impressive as her list of recent collaborators, Shara Worden’s voice and arresting live performances have left audiences thunderstruck from the Sydney Opera House to Lincoln Center to the House of Blues. She’s performed under the experimental-pop moniker My Brightest Diamond for the last seven years, and counts Bryce Dressner (The National), The Decemberists, Bon Iver, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson among friends and fans. They are just a few of the many who’ve fallen in love with Worden’s mystical voice and mythic storytelling.

Growing up outside of Detroit in a family of musical evangelists, Worden studied multiple instruments (her father is an acclaimed accordionist and mother an organist). She became equally passionate about classical and Motown, later pursuing a degree in Opera at the University of North Texas where she wrote and recorded original material for the first time. After moving to New York by way of Moscow, Worden recorded three albums before joining the ranks of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoisemakers. She then expanded her musical education further by studying composition under Padma Newsome (Clogs, The National), and turned out several scores for off-Broadway productions.

Worden’s artistry seems to transcend music itself. On stage she evokes as much Martha Graham as Edith Piaf, and can be found collaborating with visual artists (Matthew Ritchie) and filmmakers (Matthew Barney, Murat Eyuboglu) alike. Where worlds are colliding, there is a Shara; a zeitgeist for a growing movement of experimental musicians eager to bend the borders of artistry and genre.

Having recently moved to urban Detroit, planted a garden and given birth to a son, Worden’s latest offering, All Things Will Unwind draws inspiration from the motor city itself. More folk inspired than much of her recent work the new album addresses the painful juxtaposition of life and death, class and race, art and politics—as heard through the mesmerizing lullaby of a new mother.

Special guest is Jessie Rose. Hailing boldly from Manchester, England, is enigmatic singer song-writer and musician, Jessie Rose. Her stunning soulful pipes and insane electric blues guitar riffs have won rave comparisons with everyone from Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse to the legendary guitarist that is Jimi Hendrix.

Book tickets now. Tickets are also available from Common (no booking fee), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, Seetickets.comWeGotTickets.comTicketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

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All shows are 18+ unless otherwise stated.