Manchester Collective: Shaker Loops

Music and movement are doorways to spiritual experience. Enter the Shakers. A radical Protestant sect with roots in 18th-century Northern England, they harnessed this power for holy connection and transcendence. American minimalist composer John Adams pays homage to their frenzied worship and ecstatic energy in the high-octane Shaker Loops.

This is no ordinary concert. Woven into Adams’ oscillating rhythms is freshly-penned spoken word from lyrical force Christ Bryan. The Lancastrian poet emerges from the depths of The White Hotel – the iconoclastic Salford nightclub and arts space – to join the Collective live on stage. In three poems, we wade through the industrial smog of the past and the spiritual malaise of the present to seek salvation.

Before we reach the heavens, there’s a mysterious ode to the departed and an ancient hymn invoking the Holy Spirit. Come, let the light in, and surrender to a force larger than yourself.

Since their formation in 2016, Manchester Collective has become known for their imaginative programming, daring collaborations and engaging performances.

The shape-shifting ensemble performs a combination of cutting-edge contemporary music, classical masterpieces and staged work nationally and internationally, in spaces ranging from concert halls to warehouses, nightclubs to festivals.

Manchester Collective is a Southbank Centre Resident Artist for Classical Music: Autumn/Winter 2025/26.