'This is the story of how Factory pioneered Briton's independent pop culture, imagined a new Manchester, and blew a shedload of money:

Factory - Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays'
posted by Item on Aug 1, 2009 - 33 comments

The late, great Tony Wilson is being honoured today with a 24-hour long "intelligent" conversation in Manchester, England. Wilson was a musical Svengali par excellence. He co-founded Factory Records, helped discover both Joy Division and the Happy Mondays and has been credited with reviving the city that was cradle to the industrial revolution. [more inside]
posted by MrMerlot on Jun 21, 2008 - 16 comments

Remember the announcement for the BBC's Manchester Passion? The full list of songs and lineup were recently announced, rehearsals are over, tonight the procession through the city will be broadcast live on BBC Three - for now you can watch trailers and interviews with the cast (only for UK viewers/proxy users).
posted by funambulist on Apr 14, 2006 - 13 comments

Music for the Kind : A half-completed tentative lineup for the fourth annual Bonnaroo Music Festival has been announced. With no advertising budget, the festival draws 90,000 fans to the pastures of Manchester, Tennessee for some of the best that live music has to offer. Smaller local festivals, like Langerado and Wanee Festival in Florida, have popped up featuring many of the same artists. Phish may be phried, but the music jams on and there could be a brighter future for selling music than more MTV.
posted by trinarian on Jan 22, 2005 - 12 comments