The summer has seen plenty of big festivals in the city, but there is still more to come in Manchester across the Autumn, but, instead of muddy fields and dodgy phone signal, Manchester’s parks are swapped for the city centre.
Manchester Psych Fest – 31 August
A staple in Manchester’s festival calendar, Psych Fest returns with another strong line-up. Spread out over various venues, American Mancunian BC Camplight headlines after selling out Albert Hall last year and is joined by the likes of Baxter Drury, Juniore, Lambrini Girls and Pastel. DJs, art, films and workshops are also on all day and last time the music didn’t stop until the early hours of the morning. It’s an all-day marathon that’s worth the ticket price.
Price – £54 (final release) – Psych Fest
NBHD Festival – 5 October
More for fans of guitar music, NBHD returns for the 5 October and is split over 16 different venues in the city centre including Deaf Institute, Albert Hall and YES. The line-up is stacked with big names including The Mysterines, Red Rum Club, Seb Lowe and Picture Parlour.
It’s a good festival to discover emerging bands with top quality bands using NBHD as a launchpad to further their careers, going on to play bigger festivals and tours. It’s ran by the same people who run Neighbourhood Weekender in Warrington every year with decent bookers and decent production.
Price – £40 – NBHD
Beyond the Music – 9-12th October
13 Venues, 214 Artists, 3 Nights, all across the Northern Quarter, sounds pretty good right? Best part is that it’s £40 for a three-day ticket. The line-up already includes Martial Arts, one of Manchester’s most exciting guitar bands at the minute alongside Hip-Hop and Jazz inspired Conor & The GreensKeepers and Riya, one of pop’s coolest singers to come out of Manchester in recent years. There’s so many different genres it represents Manchester’s music scene thoroughly.
Last year’s event received rave reviews from the music press, and we think the second one will be even better with a lot of hype surrounding the event. Venues include the Peer Hat, Night and Day, Band on the Wall, Castle Hotel and Gullivers so you don’t have to go far between gigs at all. All-female punk stars Loose Articles played Night and Day last year and went onto support the Foo Fighters by the summer, so you never know which next big artist you’re going to see.
Price – £40 for a three day ticket – Beyond the Music