One-day festival with a Smiths legend, live music, craft beers and family fun set for MediaCity

The magnificent Mike Joyce will be on the ones and twos, along with some great live acts

By Ben Arnold | 11 August 2023

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Box At the Docks (Credit: Box at the Docks/Media City)

A one-day festival featuring a legendary member of The Smiths, craft ales from one of the city’s best-loved breweries and fun family activities is heading to Media City.

Turn The Box Blue will be held at the Box At The Docks, the pop-up complex on the piazza at MediaCity, on August 19 from 10am.

There will be a DJ set from the iconic Mike Joyce of The Smiths, as well as sets from Twisted Tubes, Remake Remodel and DJ J’Adora with Amber Jordan.

Seven Bro7hers

The event is being sponsored by Seven Bro7hers brewery and boozy ice cream folk A Few Scoops, and aims to raise money for men’s mental health charity Mentell, based in Stockport.

As well as drinks from Seven Bro7hers, Beavertown will be giving away free non-alcoholic beers all day, while the likes of The Tasty Greek, You Melt! and Beigel will be among the food traders.

For kids, there will be The Beaut Truck, providing face painting, glitter makeup and hair braiding in their mobile salon, Born To Be Wild Child, which will be creating a huge mural for kids and adults to help complete, and a Story Time Corner, with stories with a focus on mental health and wellbeing.

Andy Walker, Interim CEO of Mentell, said: “Having turned various bars, barbers and boroughs blue over the last six years, we’re delighted to head to Box at the Docks in MediaCity UK – and turn the Box blue! 

“We wanted to create a fantastic, family-friendly event while spreading the word on Mentell, and we can’t thank Seven Bro7hers and A Few Scoops enough for organising everything.”