Greater Manchester music backs Our Pass, plus chances to see bands and acts perform live

• New wave of opportunities includes competition to see one of Manchester music's most exciting young talents: New Moston rapper Aitch.
• Our Pass holders also have the chance to win one of ten pairs of tickets to see a concert live at the O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester, O2 Apollo Manchester or O2 Ritz Manchester.

NOVEMBER'S new wave of opportunities includes the chance for Our Pass holders to win tickets to watch live music at some of the city region’s most iconic venues.

New Moston rapper Aitch will be performing at the Manchester Academy on Thursday December 19. The event is sold out, but Our Pass holders have the chance to win one of five exclusive pairs of tickets.

Our Pass holders also have the chance to watch live music, whatever your style, with 10 pairs of tickets up for grabs to watch your favourite artist or band at the O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester, O2 Apollo Manchester or O2 Ritz Manchester.

Aitch was recently named YouTube Music's new ‘Artist On The Rise’. The 19-year-old started out freestyling at school. His YouTube channel has had over 40 million views and 222,000 subscribers in just over 12 months. Ed Sheeran recently teamed up with Aitch on a special remix of his track ‘Take Me Back To London’. The pair were even seen dining in a New Moston butty shop, when they were out filming for the music video.

Aitch said: “I’ll do whatever I can to support my peers in Manchester, it's tough times growing up and we all need all the help we can get. Free travel, free football, free gig tickets and money off at JD! I love my hometown. Nowhere else in the country is investing in young people like this.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “It’s brilliant to see our music industry and supporting business industries becoming the latest to step forward and back Our Pass. We don’t want anyone to have their chances in life limited because they can’t afford the cost of travel or tickets.”

The new music wave builds on the opportunities already being provided by Greater Manchester’s arts and culture community, who have teamed up to provide an exciting season for Our Pass holders. The Halle Orchestra, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Palace Theatre, Opera House, Royal Exchange Theatre, Chetham’s School of Music and the Oldham Coliseum are all taking part.

The Our Pass card accesses offers for young people that already adds up to an equivalent value of over £3.8m. Last month’s wave of opportunities included new offers from the city-region’s football giants Manchester City and Manchester United. There’s also a wide range of other activities available including rock climbing, zip wires and exclusive discounts across Greater Manchester.

Rishi Arya, Head of O2 Manchester, said: “Our Pass is an amazing idea, Greater Manchester has so much to offer and it’s fantastic that young people can get opportunities to explore new and diverse things, as well as do their day-to-day activities.  I really think Our Pass is a game changer.  At O2 we are proud to be part of this great initiative.”

Northern Quarterz (NQ) founder Adex, who’s based in Manchester and manages Aitch, will be doing ‘A Day in the life of a Music Manager’ careers talk for Our Pass holders in the New Year. Further details to be announced shortly.

Adex added: “Nobody tells you can have this as a career, but you actually can and there’s no careers lessons so I’m going to share with you how I got into the business and look forward to inspiring the future generation.”

Already 32,000 glossy purple cards have been issued to over half of eligible 16-18-year olds in Greater Manchester. Now, on average, they are taking over 250,000 journeys per week.

Young people, for a one-off £10 administration fee, have been able to take advantage of free bus travel across Greater Manchester since the start of September. By the end of service on 6 October, over one million free bus journeys had been made.

Article Published: 01/11/2019 07:13 AM