​New music venue and events space to open in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, renae

A brand new music venue, record store, and events space is set to open in Manchester’s Northern Quarter at the end of the month.

renae will open for the first time on Friday, March 28, featuring a dedicated dancefloor, a bar area, space to throw live music events, co-working desks, and a record and book store.

The three-floor space will also flaunt Manchester’s only L-Acoustics Syva soundsystem, which is put together by local audio company Soundhaus and designed by Beam Interiors.

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Launched by local DJs and hospitality workers Brad Parkins and Harris Mouridis (AKA Mouridis), renae draws from the pair’s expertise in nightlife, bringing together their shared passion for music.

Speaking to DJ Mag, Mouridis explained that renae will operate as a “hub for people who are into music and decent hospitality, so you can come and listen to great tracks on the ground floor, which will be very informal and open to everyone”.

“The top level will be a co-working space aimed at creatives, which is where some of the ideas for the events below will be formed,” he said. “The music programming is going to be quite broad, so people can expect to come for a boogie to disco, bathe in ambient sets and a lot more.”

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In January, Mouridis explained in an Instagram post that the venue had been granted a premises license. "It's full steam ahead for this multi-concept space spanning three floors," he wrote.

renae will also feature a record-turned-bookstore curated by Talking Drums’ Patrick Ryder, bringing in a selection of specially selected new and second-hand vinyl.

The record store will also operate alongside a pop-up bookshop by 20k and a dead sheep, featuring zines, photography and music books, art and culture magazines, and much more from independent publishers.

Keep up to date on renae's progress here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter