Two post-punk music legends have praised Bury after performing in the town for a unique music exhibition.
Gina Birch, a founding member of The Raincoats, and Helen McCookerybook, the bass player and co-singer with The Chefs, premiered a unique performance, "Beefheart the Musical" earlier this month.
The pair performed on Saturday, January 6, and later praised venue Bury Art Gallery.
Reminiscing about the day on her blog, Helen said: "What a great start to 2024!
"January can be a dump of a month, so to spend the first proper weekend in a lovely gallery surrounded by welcoming people and a warm-hearted audience (someone even photographed the embroidered pockets of our lab coats)- well what could be better than that."
She added that the pair were surprised by how many people showed as a few of her guests had pulled out due to illness.
"When Paula Chambers started her performance, a fascinating memoir/installation about her life on a barge in the 1980s, the gallery was pretty full," Helen added.
"She had a rapturous reception, and we were ready to go straight afterwards.
"It was all a bit of an intense blur; we made a few mistakes but I think it was OK.
"I'm glad we had rehearsed it a lot because when one of us got lost the other managed to cover.
"By halfway through, I was really enjoying it and could scan the audience to see what they thought.
"They didn't look nearly as baffled as I'd expected, and some of them were even smiling and... nodding their heads along in time with the... yes we had made MUSIC! Ha!
"We finished with everyone in the audience joining us in spelling out B-E-E-F-H-E-A-R-T at the tops of their voices."
The well-attended event, Rooms to Live II, was part of Rooms to Live, a unique programme of events that started on November 11 and will last until February 17.
Read more: Two post-punk music legends coming to Bury this weekend
It features live performances, workshops, screenings, talks/panel discussions, and artists/musicians residencies including emerging musicians in the North West.
Rooms to Live was created by artists Derek Tyman and Andy Webster.
Derek said: "The Sculpture Centre at Bury Art Museum is a special place and working here has provided us with a fantastic opportunity to realise an exhibition that combines our interests in art, sculpture, and music.
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"The museum's support has meant that we have been able to stage an exhibition that brings together a wide range of musicians and artists from different generations, to explore what music is and can be and what it means to people, and that's been thrilling."
Andy added: "It has also been great watching the audience for the events and band performances build, something we hope continues for the next five weeks".
Performances coming up in the next few weeks include Novacane who attended Bury College, Celebratory Cake, and Shoehorn, all young bands based in Bury
The next performance, on January 20, will showcase two upcoming Manchester bands GNUVU and Britizen Kane.
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