It’s hard to beat summer in Manchester, beer gardens, plenty to do and importantly some brilliant live music. Castlefield Bowl takes place every year in the old Roman era fort of Mancunium and has had a who’s who of artists down the years from James, Blossoms to even Kylie Minogue all performing at the annual Sounds of the City festival. Here’s what we know so far about who’s performing in 2024.
Avril Lavigne – Wednesday 3rd July
The Sk8er Girl is back in Manchester after selling out the Apollo in May 2023 and seems to be more popular than ever before. Hailing from Canada’s pop-punk scene, Lavigne has eight Grammy nominations and her seventh studio album Love Sux was released three years ago.
The National – Thursday 4th July
Hailing from Brooklyn in New York, The National have got 10 albums to their name with the most recent, Laugh Track being released last year. The band are no strangers to arenas having ticked off Madison Square Garden, The O2 and Alexandra Palace. Expect to hear something along the lines of Leonard Cohen crossed with Interpol.
Fatboy Slim – Friday 5th July
One of the biggest and renowned DJs globally returns to Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl for a gig that is an almost guaranteed sell out. The ‘Funk Soul Brother’ known for hits such as Praise You and Right Here, Right Now has played everywhere from 250,000 people on Brighton Beach to headlining the Other Stage at Glastonbury.
The Saw Doctors – Saturday 6th July
Bigger in their home of Ireland, The Saw Doctors topped the Irish charts for nine consecutive weeks in 1990 and hold the record for the country’s all-time biggest-selling single with “I Uesta Lover ”. Expect a lot of fiddles and harps at Castlefield Bowl. For fans of The Pogues and Frank and Walters.
Tom Grennan – Sunday 7th July
Familiar with viewers of Sky Sports and FIFA players, Grennan has made a name for himself with his tunes being used on various soundtracks. “Found What I’ve Been Looking For” has got 17 million views on Youtube and in February 2022, Grennan received two Brit Award nominations for Song of the Year with “Little Bit of Love” and Best Rock/Alternative Act.
Jungle – Thursday 11th July
More of a dance and hip-hop feel compared to the other artists on the days before at Castlefield Bowl, Jungle are an electronic project put together by producers Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland. Another band that was helped by plenty of TV shows using their music and giving them plenty of exposure has taken Jungle to arena-sized tours. Their debut album was shortlisted for the 2014 Mercury Prize.
Manic Street Preachers and Suede – Friday 12th July
Two of the most influential bands of the 90s are coming together to tour this summer and there are a lot of serious hits to choose from. The Manics, well known for albums such as The Holy Bible and Everything Must Go are one of Wales’ finest exports with a loyal following.
Suede, who recently released their 9th studio album in 2022 are still as fresh as they sounded back in the mid 90s with Animal Nitrate and Beautiful Ones being two of their biggest hits from a wide discography of classics.
Hacienda Classical – Saturday 13th July
Hacienda Classical has become a bit of a staple of Sounds of the City in recent years and it’s a crowd pleaser in Manchester making its eighth appearance this summer. Expect plenty of yellow and black paint on the stage and to hear Factory staples New Order, Happy Mondays, A Certain Ratio and more from that scene.
Watch this space for news on Castlefield Bowl, and grab tickets here