On the 22nd of May, Popeyes and Pie Radio paired up in a collaboration of a lifetime and took over the CUPRA City Garage, here in Manchester.
Popeyes – a New Orleans, Louisiana flavour brought to the UK, and Pie Radio – a youth-led radio station based in Manchester that broadcasts all the latest music, entertainment, news and culture. With focus on genres such as Afrobeat and hip-hop, Pie Radio aims to engage communities together and create spaces for younger generations in the media. The brands independently assume the same aim: to bring communities together and share joy amongst them. Together, they created a power couple looking to share “the energy of music, culture and community to a series of upcoming store openings.”
CUPRA City itself was most definitely an interesting venue to choose, but in the best way possible. Based on the CUPRA car brand universe and CUPRA racing, the choice for a venue was by no means arbitrary. With “the brand’s Mediterranean roots” and “Manchester’s cultural and creative heritage” at the core”, this cultural destination is “designed for connection and creativity, providing an immersive programme of music, wellness, design and independent food and drink, all underpinned by CUPRA’s electrifying performance DNA”. Neon signs, nicely designed rims on walls, and a modern industrial interior design came together in an atmospheric venue that many seemed to leverage for their social media aesthetics.
As part of the Feel The Heat x Pie Radio live event, the radio station hosted a competition for DJs local to Manchester, who then will gain a spot on the night’s line-up. The lucky winner was a local DJ, JaeSpinz, who, had I not been told that this was her first live event DJing, the thought would have never crossed my mind. Seamless transitions, club classics, and engagement with her audience in the DJ booth – she most definitely won the top spot as the DJ of the night.
Hosted by @sambamtheenergy, his input into the DJ sets was the sole drawback to the event. If, as a reader, you’ve never had the opportunity to attend a live DJ gig, it’s quite common for DJs to have a co-presenter or host that will take over the microphone, engage with the audience, announce any exciting surprises coming up, keep the crowd entertained etc. This event was no different, except the host had the tendency to go over the line, turn the music down to talk instead and sing into the microphone and over the music. Whilst on occasion, this is not a problem, this happened just too often during a few of the sets.
In between, however, the DJs did an overall phenomenal job. Varying their sets from club classics, Afrobeats, hip-hop and R&B remixes, the more the night progressed, the more they warmed up and the more the crowd went insane, keeping the dancefloor entirely packed. And the fun did not end there, because twice during that night, food was brought out to the masses – serving iconic Popeyes sandwiches, everyone had the opportunity to dig into probably one of the most delicious burgers in the world of fast food restaurants. As Popeyes quotes on their website, they believe “in the power of good food and the effect it has on our people and our planet.” The opportunity to share that was not wasted.
As promised by the event organisers, the night was going to be full of other surprises, most notably – giveaways. Free t-shirts were thrown into the crowd, sometimes handed out – a nice little souvenir for those who attended an unforgettable night that brought the Mancunian creative communities together. And at the end of it all, if nothing else was to your taste, Feel The Heat x Pie Radio was a great networking opportunity. Gathering an entire venue full of influencers, media staff, musicians, DJs, producers and creative industry professionals had people exchanging numbers and socials with hopes of keeping in touch in the future. Truly embracing the core values of the venue, Popeyes and Pie Radio, the event became a hub of creative exchange and sheer pleasure.
If you missed the event this Friday, 22nd, you’ll have to be on the lookout for future gigs. It will not be a night wasted, filled with great food, great music and a room full of like-minded people. The only thing left to say is a massive thank you to the organisers and DJs (JaeSpinz, DJ G.Askin, Tone Rarri, DJ Nay Maxwell, DJ G2, Mulano) for hosting such a gig and embracing the youth culture of Manchester (and not only).
Article by Rozalia Lewandowska
