Just a Girl From North Manchester - Karen McBride Book launch and live performance evening

Just a Girl From North Manchester tells a story of bringing it home. From growing up on a North Manchester council estate to photographing the city’s independent artists in underground venues, this book documents a journey shaped by place, people, and creativity outside the mainstream. It is a celebration of local voices, lived experience, and the culture that grows when you stay rooted in where you’re from.

Your ticket also includes a raffle entry for the chance to win one of ten exclusive A1 artworks, specially created by Karen for this launch – a unique opportunity to take home a piece of work from Karen's collection.

The evening will begin with a powerful performance from poet Tony Walsh. We’ll then continue with live music from Shimeon, followed by a Q&A with Karen about the story behind Just a Girl from North Manchester. There will also be more music from Helen Walford and Mary Joanna.

Please arrive at 6:30pm to settle in and enjoy the full experience.

Event Schedule

6.30 Doors open
7.00 Tony Walsh
7:30 Shimeon
8:00 Karen McBride Q&A
8:30 Mary Joanna, and Helen Walford

Tickets & Donations

Entry is free.

There is a gentle invitation to donate whatever you feel, entirely at your own discretion. 100% of donations go directly to The Yard — supporting them to continue providing space for independent artists and creative voices. This is a venue Karen had existed growing up in North Manchester. Supporting it means supporting the next generation of local creativity. 

A Homecoming

This evening brings together photography, poetry, music, and community — the same elements that shaped the book itself.

It’s about honouring the underground.

Celebrating local voices.

And bringing it home — together

Biography's

Karen McBride
Karen McBride is north Manchester bred. Her thirty-year career began with a simple favour—taking photographs for her brother’s band—but it quickly became something deeper. Growing up on a north Manchester council estate, with Elvis and Johnny Cash playing loud and often, music wasn’t just background noise; it was survival, identity, and escape. It taught her how to look, how to listen, and how to stay.

Since then, McBride has committed herself to documenting Manchester’s unseen and unheard musicians—the artists who exist outside the spotlight but hold the city together. She has spent decades in basements, back rooms, rehearsal spaces, and late-night stages, from legendary venues like the Roadhouse to places most people never notice. Her work isn’t about polish or fame; it’s about presence, persistence, and truth. For her, Elvis never really left. He lives on in the raw energy of a performance, in the sweat, the noise, the refusal to disappear. Every frame carries that defiance—music that survives no matter how hard it’s ignored. Karen McBride really is just a girl from north Manchester. Oh and she’s still here.

Tony Walsh
A former Poet in Residence for the world renowned Glastonbury Festival, Manchester’s Tony Walsh has performed everywhere from St James’s Park to St James’s Palace, from Kendal Calling to Kazakhstan. When Oasis took to the stage for their recent iconic performances in Heaton Park, the very first words spoken referenced his iconic poem, This Is The Place. Recent albums by rising indie stars, The K’s and Grammy-nominated dj/producer Duke Dumont have also featured Tony’s powerful words.

A perennial gig goer since the tail-end of punk, Tony will give a rare performance of his epic poem “And The Dreamers”, originally commissioned by Manchester District Music Archive. Celebrating the entire ecology of the Manchester music scene, it’s sure to be a memorable contribution to an important evening.

Shimeon
Shimeon is a Manchester-based singer-songwriter with over 30 years of live performance experience. His sets blend heartfelt acoustic originals with audience favourites from across his career, alongside new material from his forthcoming album.
Performing at an event that also showcases his sister’s photographic exhibition makes the occasion especially meaningful.“Seeing my sister’s photographic display and playing some of my old and new songs at the same event will be unique. We’ve never done this type of event before, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Mary Joanna
I am so incredibly proud to support the book launch of "Just a Girl from North Manchester" by the legendary Karen McBride. Being featured on the cover of this book is such a full-circle moment for me, especially as the photo was captured right outside the house where Karen grew up in Harpurhey. I’ve always been a massive admirer of Karen’s work. Her style is refreshingly raw, honest, and gritty. In a world of filters, she captures pure realness. No Photoshop - just a single, powerful moment preserved forever.

Born and raised in North Manchester, my roots here run deep. Growing up, I was constantly immersed in the city's vibrant creative scene through singing in bands, acting, and modeling. My family has always been a part of Manchester’s cultural fabric. From my dad Martin Coogan fronting the The Mock Turtles to my uncle Steve Coogan. Being a part of this project feels like a beautiful nod to that shared history in music, film, and art. Even though I don’t live in Manchester anymore, I will always be a Manc girl at heart. I am honored to be a part of this book and I can’t wait for everyone to experience the exhibition.

Helen Walford 
After a moment of pure coincidence or perhaps fate, I was introduced to Karen whilst I was director of Leek Blues and Americana Festival. Her photo journey from Memphis to Clarksdale became a multi-media exhibit called Just South of Memphis, and premiered at The Foxlowe Arts Centre in Leek as the opening event for the 2023 festival. Her work was displayed beautifully on a series of guitars that provided the backdrop for an evening including an in-conversation with Karen with BBC Stoke presenter Susan Hanks.I knew when I saw her photos that so perfectly captured the light a winter day in the Southern states, that she was the perfect artist to collaborate with us. And I’ve been blessed ever since to have worked with her. As an Americana singer/songwriter from East Tennessee, now based in Leek, Staffordshire, I’ve been living and performing in the UK for nearly twenty years, and am also a member of the bands Vox Americana, and Cheshire based Fine Lines. I’m absolutely thrilled to be a part of her hometown exhibition and book launch for Just a Girl from Northwich Manchester, and will have the honour of collaborating with the stunning Mary Joanna who graces the cover of her book.