The Week in Light & Sound
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The Bands Play On - Five days after the Manchester attack, 50,000 people turned out for one of the city's biggest concerts of the year. It was a chance for music fans to unite and remember the victims - but also to get lost in music for a while.
There were a few signs that The Courteeners' show at Old Trafford cricket ground on Saturday was not an ordinary gig. There were the armed police outside the ground, the flags at half mast over the pavilion, the regular proud chants of "Manchester, la la la" from the crowd, the smattering of "I heart MCR" T-shirts and #WeStandTogether stickers. It was the biggest gig of The Courteeners' careers, but the indie band's frontman Liam Fray told BBC News before the show it was "not about us any more". He said: "It's about everybody else. It's not just even about the fans that come into the gig, but the city as a whole."
Take That have paid tribute to their home city of Manchester, pledging to give the profits from their first show since Monday's bombing to charity. The group were supposed to perform at the Manchester Arena this weekend, but their three shows were scrapped after the attack that killed 22 people. They will now play a single date at the Etihad Stadium on 18 June instead. Appearing on stage in Liverpool on Friday, Howard Donald spoke of his pride in "the spirit of Manchester". Bandmate Mark Owen added: "All profits from tonight will be going to We Love Manchester emergency fund."
Liam Gallagher has said he will donate profits from his Manchester gig to the families of victims of the terror attack. Announcing his first solo tour, the former Oasis singer revealed a string of shows, with the first taking place at the O2 Ritz in Manchester tonight (30 May). The money raised will be donated to the Manchester Evening News' British Red Cross appeal, set up to help relatives of those affected by the tragedy." I just knew I had to. I'm not in it for the money," Gallagher told the Manchester paper.
Meanwhile, Ariana Grande has promised that she will return to the "incredibly brave city" to stage a benefit concert.
Beer Festival - An underground beer pipeline is being laid for the Wacken Open Air (WOA) hard rock festival, which kicks off in northern Germany in August. It is part of a new 7km (four-mile) pipeline network, which organisers say will make the event more eco-friendly. The beer flow rate should reach six glasses every six seconds, thanks to the 35cm (14-inch) diameter pipeline. The WOA line-up will include Megadeth, Alice Cooper and Trivium.
Occupational Hazards - The BBC is launching a new live theatre programme for Radio 4. Described as "virtual reality for radio", Theatre on 4 will record a production on stage in binaural sound and in front of a live audience. A pilot programme, broadcast on 17 June, will be a performance of Iraq-set play Occupational Hazards at Hampstead Theatre.
Programme producer Stewart Richards said Theatre on 4 would be a different experience for radio audiences by recording the production on stage rather than in a studio. "This kind of approach means that we can go and pick up shows that are performed on top of a pub in Sunderland or wherever. We're able to turn them around very quickly, too. We want to be able to do them when the shows are still being talked about."
(Jim Evans)
