Popular Manchester street and footwear brand, Clints Inc., has now revealed the lineup for its first-ever music and culture festival to mark five whole years in fashion – and it’s looking big.
The highly sought-after clothing and sneaker make started out from a bedroom in Moston and is now a premium label in British urban, skating, UK grime and hip-hop culture, having been worn by many famous names and welcoming even more through the door of their Deansgate shop.
Located in the ABC Buildings on Quay Street next to Spinningfields, the flagship Clints store opened back in 2022 and is much more than a place to buy some new drip: it’s a place that showcases art, music, and a whole sub-sect of shopping beyond just skate silhouettes and trendy trainers.
As hack as it might sound to some, wearing this brand comes along with immersing yourself in the wider style and scene; the very same scene being celebrated in tandem with their fifth birthday.
Up until recently, details were still scarce, but now the debut Clints Fest lineup has dropped, and there are some big names on board.
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Set to take place at Barton Aerodrome, a.k.a. City Airport, over in Eccles, the live performers confirmed for 2025 span multiple genres, spotlighting both music veterans and up-and-coming artists from all over.
Legendary DJ, producer and MC Mike Skinner – most famously for his music with The Streets – tops the bill, alongside Tottenham-born rapper and grime artist, Chip (formerly known as ‘Chipmunk’).
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There’s plenty of local love on show too, with Manchester R’n’B, jazz and soul singer, Victoria Jane, also set to perform, among many other acts from around the region and beyond.
Other names include the equally soulful hip-hop and rap star, Kofi Stone, as well as fellow Manc and rising DJ, Sammy V, plus plenty more.
On the launch of the event, Founder Junior Clint said: “We’ve built Clints on the back of our supporters embracing the DIY spirit. This festival is the ultimate expression of that ethos. Housing both music legends with upcoming artists is our ambition with Clints Fest, and we can’t wait to deliver it.”
Clints Fest (the inaugural one, at that) will take place on Saturday, 6 September, over in the Salford suburb of Barton-upon-Irwell, kicking off from 12pm and wrapping up around 10:30pm.
You can expect the festival to be packed to the rafters with die-hard followers of all things Clints and streetwear; here’s hoping this is just the first of many.
While the pre-sale and the first phase window for early access have both fully sold out, the second phase has now gone live, with general admission tickets available from £45.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/CLINTS Inc (via Instagram)
Audio
Akon speaks on his connection to Manchester after run of Co-op Live gigs
Danny Jones
Music veteran Akon has recently discussed his connection to our city following his run of live shows here in Manchester.
In fact, he went so far as to say he feels much more affinity here than he does with ‘The Big Smoke’.
The seasoned Senegalese-American rapper, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and humanitarian, teamed up with fellow chart-topper Ne-Yo for not just one, not even two, but three whole nights at Co-op Live this May as part of their co-headline tour across the UK and Ireland.
Chatting with Simone Riley on BBC Radio Manchester before the third and final gig of the trio, Akon admitted that there’s “something about Manchester” that he loves way more than London.
As you can see, while he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly is about it in the North compared to the capital, he said simply that “it’s crazy here”, and he loves it.
Same, mate. Same.
Admitting that he feels “more attached to Manchester than London” and labelling the energy from the crowds as “stupid” up here (he meant it in a good way, we promise), Simone couldn’t help but confess her joy over his comments.
He’s not the only global superstar to have recently shouted out their affection for 0161, either, as Billie Eilish also said something similar.
Speaking to the mainline BBC at the premiere of her Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), she said that while the dates lining up were certainly a key factor, there were other reasons why she chose Manchester to film her new movie.
Our Audio North team were also lucky enough to chat with Akon’s touring partner Ne-Yo recently, too, who also had nothing but good things to say about us as a place to play.
As for Akon, the 53-year-old has obviously played here plenty of times over the decades, with last year’s tour being his first return in a decade.
That being said, given how glowingly he’s spoken about us and how popular these joint performances were, we reckon it won’t be that long before he comes back.
Last but not least, we obviously couldn’t resist going along to at least one of the nights for ourselves; listen to what we had to say about the tour in our full review down below.
Antony Szmeirek announces second album along with biggest UK tour dates yet
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester spoken word artist Antony Szmeirek has finally revealed the name, cover art and release date for his second album, along with his biggest run of UK tour dates yet.
The Tameside teacher turned full-time artist dropped his maiden record, Service Station at the End of the Universe, back in February 2025, and now, just over a year on from its launch, he’s getting ready to deliver his highly anticipated follow-up.
Entitled Decoding Birdsong, the sophomore studio project is scheduled for this summer, with a series of live shows booked for the following autumn.
Having already dropped lead single ‘The Heron’ earlier this year, Szmeirek has just released the opener from his upcoming LP, which is simply called ‘Chalk’; he’s also unveiled the rest of the tracklist and a rather striking bit of album artwork.
The Hyde-born artist is making big moves not only within the spoken word space but across multiple genres, with his music blending everything from indie, hip-hop, electronica and more.
His latest song, for instance, is more of an acid-house-esque meets contemporary EDM outing, and has quickly gone down as a popular addition among fans.
On the album name itself, he’s never one to shy away from a weird title or two – case in point, ‘The Great Pyramid of Stockport’ from his debut and ‘Dave’s Angling Superstore’ on this new record.
The 34-year-old carries that same idiosyncrasy throughout his lyricism and creative concepts, as well.
‘Chalk’ is a perfect example of this, as the song is inspired by The Edge of Everything documentary: a film about the career of legendary British snooker player, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Here’s the music video…
As for his latest raft of live shows, these will be some of the biggest domestic gigs that the local lad has played in his career so far.
In addition to a pair of hometown shows here in Manchester, he is set to play a dozen different cities across Great Britain and Ireland.
Antony Szmierek UK/IE tour dates – October 2026
We’ve highlighted the Northern stops for you, too:
Danny Jones -
30th July 2025 
