Sampha

This event has ended.
Side angle of Sampha on a light blue background
Date
15 - 16 Feb 2024
Venue
The Warehouse, Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ
Tickets

10am–5.30pm: Aviva Studios daytime opening hours
7pm: The building opens for admission to Sampha
8pm: Isaiah Hull
9pm: Sampha

Me Gusta DJs/Werkha will be playing in the Social 7pm–12am

Last admission is 9pm.
Aviva Studios will close at 12.30am.

We’re putting art in the heart of Manchester, within reach of everyone; and have affordable options including £10 tickets for those on limited incomes.

For information about who qualifies for £10 and affordable tickets, visit our Affordable Ticketing Policy page

To book access tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org

This event has ended.

16+ only - Under 18's must be accompanied by an adult aged 18+

Accessibility features available for this event: Wheelchair Access

The Mercury Prize-winning artist returns to Manchester for an in the round performance celebrating second album LAHAI

Immerse yourself in Sampha’s signature sound as the multi-talented musician brings his acclaimed live show to Aviva Studios. Staged in the round, this very special performance will be his first headline Manchester show for nearly seven years and one of only two UK stops on his 2024 tour.

From UK breakout star to global icon, Sampha’s influence is felt throughout contemporary culture. Across a studied career, the south London songwriter and producer has released a host of era-defining records including his Mercury Prize-winning debut Process and his acclaimed 2023 follow up LAHAI. No stranger to collaboration, Sampha is also the inimitable voice called upon by some of the greatest artists of our times, from Kendrick Lamar to Stormzy, Drake to Solange, Frank Ocean to Alicia Keys.

Named after his paternal grandfather, LAHAI features contributions from some of Sampha’s closest friends, peers and collaborators including Yaeji, Léa Sen, Sheila Maurice Grey, Ibeyi, Morgan Simpson, Yussef Dayes, Laura Groves and Kwake Bass. The album is a communal affair seeing Sampha explore the many ways in which we as humans connect to each other, and to something bigger than ourselves. If Process was an artist figuring out his own place in the world, engulfed in the shadows of grief and loss, LAHAI is an exercise in the radical acceptance and joy in the human condition, and the beauty in the journey itself.

We’re thrilled to welcome Sampha to Aviva Studios after a sell-out headline show at Albert Hall for MIF17. Join us in the soaring spaces of the Warehouse for a very special in-the-round performance from one of the UK’s most talented artists.

With support from Manchester writer and spoken word artist Isaiah Hull. His work explores and questions the extremities of self with image, word and soul on the page and the stage.

Lead photo: Trinity Ellis. 

Screenings

As part of Sampha's residency visitors to The Social at Aviva Studios could watch two films from the artist.

Sampha Process

Process

A visionary visual companion to Sampha’s intensely personal debut album, directed by Kahlil Joseph. Shot between Freetown and London.

Directed by Kahlil Joseph, 2017
Runtime: 37 minutes
Location: The Social, Aviva Studios

LAHAI Time Travels Memories

Time Travels Memories

Created for the new album LAHAI in collaboration with poet, author and film-maker Caleb Femi, the film is Sampha’s directorial debut.


Written by Sampha
Directed by Sampha and Caleb Femi, 2023
Runtime:
4 minutes
Location: The Social, Aviva Studios

Ticket information

We have a range of affordable tickets, including options from £10 for those who may need them. You can find out more about our Affordable Ticketing Policy here.

For ticketing and box office related enquiries, please contact tickets@factoryinternational.org or call 0333 322 8679 (phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 10am to 8pm and Saturday from 10am to 6pm).

For more information please visit Ticketing and Sale of Goods Terms & Conditions – Factory International

Good to know

To keep you safe when visiting Aviva Studios, security checks and bag checks by our Visitor Safety team will be in operation on entry to the gig. Please keep personal belongings to a minimum – bags above the size of an A4 sheet of paper will not be allowed.

Access information

Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.

You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.

To book access tickets and personal assistant tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org

Access bookings can be made by email or phone. They are also available in person at Aviva Studios.

Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.

This event takes place in the Warehouse at Aviva Studio. This is a large, high ceilinged space.

The entrance to the Warehouse is by lift or stairs from the Social. Two lifts and a staircase to the Warehouse are located in the Social opposite the bar.

The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.

The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.

Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.

We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.

There is likely to be high noise levels and use of lighting effects such as strobe/haze used at this event.

You can find further information about general accessibility at Aviva Studios on our main Access Information page

There is step-free access to all areas of the venue, with lift access to the Warehouse from the Social.

For standing gigs and shows in our Warehouse space, we provide an accessible viewing platform with wheelchair spaces, and seating for those who need it. To book and for more information about accessible seating options for a specific show, please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org. Access bookings can be made by email or phone, or by popping into our venue (Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 9pm).

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.

Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.

Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails, as well as a Changing Places facility.

The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.

Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.

If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).

Travel information

The venue can be approached along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

The Water Street route is the quickest way to arrive at our City Square entrance (the main entrance for this show).

Our closest stations are:

Salford Central station: 0.4 miles

Deansgate station and Deansgate-Castlefield tram: 0.6 miles

St Peter’s Square tram: 0.6 miles

Manchester Victoria station is approximately one mile from Aviva Studios

Manchester Piccadilly station is approximately 1.3 miles from Aviva Studios

Click on the links above to find detailed access information for each station.

By Bike

There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.

National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.

You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest docking stations to our venue are currently on Deansgate by Liverpool Road and (400m from the building) and by King Street (500m from the building). Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.

By Walking and Other Active Means

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.

All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.

Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.

A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks.

Free bus services stop at all city-centre stations, and near to Aviva Studios along Deansgate, Bridge St and Quay St. Buses on these free routes are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus routes, please visit the TfGM website.

There is a car park approximately 0.6 miles from the event entrance at Water Street Car Park, New Elm Rd, Manchester, M3 4JH.

There is also a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.5 miles away from the venue at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.

There are 8 Blue Badge spaces close to our river entrance, under the railway tracks on Water St coming from Liverpool Rd. There are also a few along Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.

For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website.

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