Emily Mercer / Nicky Bray's Musical Menagerie

Emily Mercer plays Wharf Chambers on Wednesday 21 October, with support from Nicky Bray's Musical Menagerie. It's an album launch gig, and she'll be performing with her full band.

Mercer is a Manchester-based indie artist originally from the Suffolk coast. She describes her songs as being for over-thinkers, self-saboteurs and anyone still thinking about something they said in 2016. The sound blends indie-pop hooks, jazz-inspired harmony and classic piano songwriting into something nostalgic, off-centre and quietly sincere. Critics have picked up on the jazzy, quirk-pop results: Guy Garvey called her an 'amazing recommendation', John Kennedy of Radio X described one track as a 'great track', and the Manchester Evening News said her songs are full of surprising twists and turns.

The night celebrates her debut album, Read Aloud, which came out on 18 September 2026 alongside her first UK tour. This is one of the dates on that run, so you'll hear the new material played out in full with the band behind her.

Wharf Chambers is a members' club, so you need to be a member or a guest of one to get in. Membership is £2 and takes at least 48 hours to take effect, so if you're not already sorted, it's worth getting it sorted a few days before. The night is strictly 18+. Tickets are £11.36, and the music runs from 7:30pm to 11:00pm.