Some might say they recognise the dulcet tones of the person making Metrolink announcements this week.
Manchester music mogul Liam Gallagher will be announcing the stops on his favourite tram line in celebration of the Bee Network – Greater Manchester’s integrated public transport system – and Beyond the Music festival.
But if you want to find out which line he chose, you’ll need to get onboard over the next few days.
Beyond the Music festival
Beyond the Music is a new music festival and change-making conference that takes place across Manchester from October 11 – 14. The spotlight is on new music, grass roots venues and developing talent and infrastructure support for the city region that will make an impact on the music and content sectors across the UK and Beyond.
More than 100 artists will be performing at 17 grassroots venues across the city – including an entire day of free concerts in partnership with Lush, titled ‘Music for Everyone’ – culminating in a secret gig sponsored by The Face.
Beyond the Music organisers are urging people to make most of the new Bee Network system to travel into the city to enjoy and support the incredible music heritage Manchester has and continues to have.
Up and coming talent
A spokesperson for Liam Gallagher said: “Liam’s doing his bit to get behind the festival and encourage people to get into the city and support new up and coming talent.
“When the request was first made by Bee Network champion Andy Burnham, Liam loved the idea of surprising tram users by doing the announcements and he was given the chance to choose his favourite line. You’ll have to get onto a tram into the city to find out which it is!”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said it was ‘truly wonderful’ to see the inaugural ‘Beyond the Music’ finally taking place with such a strong line-up in venues across the city.
The founding member of the Beyond the Music co-operative, alongside Manchester City Council, CityCo and the city centre BIDs AO Arena, Coop Live and Factory International, added: “We are supporting it all the way and are confident that it will become a fixture in the city’s calendar.
Mr Bunham added: “True to Manchester’s traditions, Beyond The Music is a cooperative endeavour which aims to give all players in the music industry an equal voice and equal say on the change it needs. By doing that, our aim is to strengthen one of Manchester’s, and Britain’s, most important exports.”
“There surely can’t be any better way of marking the launch of the Bee Network and the first Beyond The Music than getting one of Manchester’s most famous voices announcing the stops on his favourite Metrolink line.
“It means a lot to us that Liam has agreed to do this and show his support for his home city. Supporting our music venues and giving people cheaper and better public transport to and from our gigs is what we’re all about. I am sure that Liam’s dulcet tones will wake up a few early-morning commuters, brighten up many a journey and produce a lot of smiles along the way.”
Huge step forward
The Bee Network has taken a huge step forward with last month’s launch of Greater Manchester’s first locally controlled bus services in nearly 40 years. Bus franchising signifies the start of the plan for an integrated, ‘London-style’ transport network across the region, combining bus, tram, active travel and eventually rail.
Beyond The Music will take place at venues across Manchester from 11-14 October 2023. Tickets can be bought from beyondthemusic.co.uk
