The buzzing trams going by. The slurping sounds of coffee drinkers. Rivers swishing past against an urban sunset. Manchester is a city of sound, from its immense music and performance history to the everyday, unnoticed sounds bouncing off of the backdrop of the city.

What has this got to do with libraries? Festival of Libraries 2025 encourages connections between sounds and storytelling, below you can find a selection of events connected to library soundscapes!

If DJing or radio is the thing for you, then join Reform Radio at their interactive workshops on 4th June at Abraham Moss Library or 6th June at Gorton library. Their workshop will provide hands on experience on the decks, info about the life of a professional DJ, and beginner level mixing tips. Whether its further employment, volunteering opportunities, or just a fun musical event you’re after, you will leave the workshop refreshed and immersed in rhythm.

Are you more interested in musical instruments and playing with others? Join group Music Evermore CIC in Forum Library on 5th June for an exciting full band music workshop, where participants will be invited to pick an instrument from a drum kit to keyboard and learn a song. This workshop is perfect for absolute beginners and anyone who just wants to jam with a community of music lovers.

Do you prefer the thrum of people’s voices on a podcast as you get chores done or go out for a stroll? Salford University is putting on a workshop for podcast lovers on 5th June at Ashton Library.

Whether you’re interested in engrossing true crime episodes, listening to an author speak about their writing habits, or hearing about a particular community, this workshop is perfect for you to workshop ideas and have a discussion about the development of podcasting culture. You’ll learn the basics of how to start a podcast, how to make it successful and long-term, how to gain an audience and how to create and script a narrative.

Would you like to go to a full day event with over 60 performances where you can enjoy music and poetry amongst like-minded individuals? Join the Embassy of Utopia at Manchester Central Library on 4th June.

Artist and writer David Hartley will host performances where creatives and community groups have been invited to share reflections on the theme of eco-futures and ecology in the broadest sense. Performances from members of Fuse Manchester and Muslim Social Justice Initiative, our very own multilingual city poet Nóra Blascsók, community members from the Let’s Talk Rochdale group, international artists from Quebec and Nanjing, and work developed via a special collaboration with the Sonder Radio Community will be programmed throughout the day. Join for an extremely engaging day of poetry, song, and discussion!