This years SICK FESTIVAL contains a couple of strong LGBTQ pieces. The first one being Birthed from Rain and River by Michael Betteridge. Birthed from Rain and River is a sonic mosaic of voices, spoken and sung, individual and collective, unfolding from one simple question: what makes a queer home? Combining live and prerecorded sound, the work has grown from conversations and workshops with queer people in Manchester and Oulu, Finland. Choral songs co-created by residents in each city, solo songs inspired by interviews, and rich tapestries of spoken word come together in different forms across both cities. This sonic jigsaw invites listeners into different perspectives on the queer experience, from the deeply personal and individual to the universal. Where do you find your queer home? Michael Betteridge is a composer and conductor known for bold, story-driven work across opera, orchestral, and choral music. His music has also been performed internationally across Europe, North America, and beyond. Location and tickets And secondly, Building the Auntiverse by afshan d’souza-lodhi. The Auntiverse invites you to step into a playful, powerful and thought-provoking performative walk through North Manchester, one that places the voices, wisdom and visions of aunties at its centre, and invites you to experience this city through their eyes. Along the way, you’ll join an ever-growing commune of aunties: sharing stories, encountering poetry and performance, and imagining what the…