Clark Paige at Poynton Workmen's Club

Clark Paige are a vocal and instrumental duo booked for the Saturday before Christmas at Poynton Workmen’s Club. Two people, a Vernon Suite stage, and a room that already feels like the week of parties has started. The set is built for a club crowd: songs people can sing, played close enough that you can see the hands on the instruments.

Doors are from 8pm on 19 December, through to about half eleven. Park Lane is the address. It is a local night out rather than a trek into Manchester, which is the appeal of the weekend before Christmas Eve, when town is heaving and the trains are full of shopping bags. If you want a seat with a view of the duo, arrive as the doors open. The bar gets busy once the first chorus lands, and the suite fills with regulars who treat this Saturday as their own.