CityLife

Hidden city gem Nexus' folk special

BREATH OF FRESH AIR: Nexus

 IT would be roughly a year ago that this CityLifer first stumbled upon Nexus in the Northern Quarter.

Walking along Dale Street I noticed a fake staircase covered with evil grinning polystyrene cups, each one unique, grimacing up at passers by.

Intrigued, I stumbled down the stairs to find a large, jauntily furnished, open-plan space.

Its walls were covered with contemporary art, its floors supporting some of the most ridiculously comfortable furniture I’ve ever had the fortune to sit down upon, and its menu boards sporting some of the most scrumptious homemade, fair trade food and drinks to be found in Manchester. 

It marked the start of a love affair with one of the warmest places to kill time and relax in Manchester, and since then I’ve stumbled down again and again.

Nexus was started in 2005 with funding from The Methodist Church as a night café, a “dry” haunt to help sober up night stalkers.

Further guises

Since then it’s taken on further guises. A non-profit community centre, an area for local artists to display their work, and now the latest project a full-on folk rock night to help fund the construction of an urban garden for the site.

Summer’s coming, and it will be the perfect addition to a flourishing environment.

This night with no name, simply called Band Night in Association with Acoustic Sundays (a free jam for those of you who love music without voltage), is shaping up well.

You can look forward to To Sophia, an up-and-coming flamenco folk outfit are taking centre stage, and they are backed up by gravel voiced Gabriel Minnikin, more Mark Lanegan than Tom Waites, more traditional jazz/folk Vanessa Lewis, and Pablo’s Last Hour. It’s a fine line-up for a fine venue

Now I know the non-alcoholic element may be slightly fearful, but for others it will be a great chance to enjoy a night out without the prospect of waking thick-headed from a coma-like sleep. Pleasure without repercussion…a rare thing.

So come down, enjoy this dark night of fine music, and help out a venue looking to give something back in return.

Tickets £5. This Thursday (April 23) at Nexus on Dale Street at 7pm.