The increasingly popular Cheshire Fest returns for 2025 next month, and some much-loved Manchester music names are leading the lineup.
Hosted at the stunning Capesthorne Hall estate, just a short drive from the city centre and even closer by for some boroughs, the Macclesfield-based music festival is ready for another big summer blowout.
Cheshire Fest came back with a bang and a bit of a rebrand back in 2022, selecting a whole new venue that has gone down as an instant hit across the North West.
Set to welcome more punters than ever this year, the lineup promises indie icons, up-and-coming artists from around the region and beyond, as well as plenty of the usual dancefloor fillers.
Credit: Press shots (supplied)
So, ‘Which local talents native to Greater Manchester are on the Cheshire Fest 2025 lineup?’, we hear you ask – well, get ready for a bit of the old, the new and the future.
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Not only will you be treated to performers from indie icons like Peter Hook & The Light, who will be sure to play plenty of Joy Division and New Order classics, but Bez from the Happy Mondays will be bringing the party atmosphere, along with veteran Oldham rock band, Inspiral Carpets.
There’ll be plenty more dance vibes too, as always with Cheshire Fest and their continued passionate partnership with Ministry of Sound (MoS).
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As well as the legendary Tunde from pop-soul duo, you can also expect plenty of club energy from the likes of DJ Billie Clements, Chester’s very own K-Klass and many more.
Oh yeah, don’t forget the stylings of MoS Ibiza Anthems featuring Ellie Sax and Friends, who’ll be pumping out tracks by the likes of Faithless, Eric Prydz, Becky Hill, The Shapeshifters, Daft Punk, Robin S and Fisher, just to name a few.
Made up of multiple stages, including the all-new ‘Indie Live Lounge’, around 5,000 are set to attend this all-day festival, with VIP tickets already sold out.
Taking place on Saturday, 2 August, you’ll have all fuel you need until the end of the night; there’ll be a street food village featuring local vendors, an international lager bar, a silent disco and even a ‘Wellness Tent’ and relaxing Premium Lounge by Bollinger for when you need to cool off, it’s to everything.
Cheshire Fest is a strictly 18+ only event, but trust us, those who are of age will be dancing the night away with all the vim and vigour of their youth.
General admission tickets are available now and can be purchased from £40 per person before booking/admin fees.
Harry Styles announced as latest performer at the 2026 BRIT Awards
Danny Jones
Yes, in what is set to be his Co-op Live debut (yes, the venue he’s literally invested in), Harry Styles has been confirmed as the latest blockbuster performer at this year’s BRITs.
The lineup for the 2026 BRIT Awards was already pretty stacked, but this just takes the cake.
Not long after FINALLY announcing his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally and releasing the new lead single, ‘Aperture’, the Cheshire-born singer-songwriter is coming to the Co-op Live arena for the very first time as part of the ceremony’s live music lineup.
Absolute scenes. Screaming, crying, throwing up.
we've got news… Harry's coming home 💋🪩@Harry_Styles will be making his live TV performance debut of music from his new album 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.' at The BRIT Awards 2026
Watch the performance live Saturday 28th February on ITV1 & ITVX in the UK and on… pic.twitter.com/Aax3lV03xM
The 31-year-old former One Direction member turned solo artist and global megastar recently revealed a raft of live shows this coming May (and there’s been plenty of discussion surrounding ticket prices), but he’s sadly overlooked Manchester for now.
However, anyone who already secured a seat at the first-ever BRITs here in Manchester will no doubt be doing cartwheels now following the announcement.
As if that wasn’t a mega enough name, he will be joining the likes of the wonderful, already award-winning and fellow multi-time nominee, Olivia Dean.
As quite literally two of the biggest musicians on the planet right now, we couldn’t pick a better roster if we dreamed it up ourselves.
Speaking of Ms Dean, she is also one of several acts confirmed to be playing a series of intimate acts across the country – and her’s is right here in Manchester.
You can see the full lineup of gigs HERE – all we’ll say is that there’s some seriously big hitters playing very small capacity venues on this list.
What a great few weeks for music, eh?
Taking place on Sunday, 28 February, public tickets for the show unfortunately sold out some time ago for what will also be his first-ever live musical TV performance.
Perhaps his booking is at least partly why we haven’t got a standalone Harry Styles Manchester gig on the ‘Together, Together’ tour, but we’re still keeping everything crossed that he’ll announce a second leg of shows here in the UK.
You’d think he’d fancy properly headlining the gaff he helped pay for, or maybe a return to the Etihad Stadium across the way, right?
Find the complete shortlist of nominees, as well as the rest of the live music lineup for the 2026 BRITs ceremony here in Manchester, down below; and if you see on screen trying to clutch at Harry’s ankles, we’re sure you’ll understand…
Featured Images — Leticia Moraes (via Flickr)/Press shots (supplied)
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Sounds From The Other City releases 2026 lineup with 100+ acts playing on 17 stages across Salford
Emily Sergeant
More than 100 exciting artists are set to perform on 17 stages dotted across Salford this spring.
In case you hadn’t heard, 2026 is the year Salford is celebrating 100 years since it was first declared its own city, and to celebrate such a monumental occasion, the popular Sounds From The Other City (SFTOC) festival has now released its full lineup ahead of its return on the early May Bank Holiday weekend.
Salford’s long-running independent festival of new music is known for its genre-spanning showcase of new artists from across the UK and beyond.
This year’s festival is curated by some of the most exciting promoters, record labels, radio stations, magazines, and tastemakers in the North.
Music lovers will get the chance to see artists in a wide range of independent venues and unconventional spaces across the city – with 17 stages around Chapel Street and The Crescent, from pubs and churches, to concert halls and galleries.
Artists announced today include the uncategorisable masked provocateur Lynks, South African ‘future ghetto funk’ trailblazer Moonchild Sanelly, Manchester-based artist jasmine.4.t, who has recently been named BBC 6 Music Artist of the Year 2025.
Other artists to look out for include Grey Lantern, FaT OuT, ambient pop artist Pollyfromthedirt, genre-straddling South London six-piece, Blue Bendy, South London trio ashnymph, and Manchester quartet Pyncher.
The Sounds From The Other City festival has released its 2026 lineup / Credit: Breige Cobane (Supplied)
One of the undeniable highlights of the lineup is that the spiritual home of the festival, Islington Mill, will be programmed day and night by the legendary Band on the Wall, multi-award-winning Reform Radio, Manchester’s infamous queer day-rave BENT, and the LGBTQ+ POC collective Swagga, with performances from Sorvina, Renee Stormz, and Chimpo.
“This year, we’re shining a spotlight on Salford’s independent venues and the selectors in the North who shape our programme,” commented Emma Thompson, Co-Director of From The Other, as the lineup was announced this week.
“Giving these organisations the space to showcase the artists they champion is vital, not just for discovering emerging talent, but to recognise how important these spaces are for our scene.”
Sounds From The Other City 2026 takes place on Sunday 3 May, and tickets go on sale this week – with Early Bird ticket access available to mailing list subscribers from tomorrow (Thursday 29 January) and the remaining tickets going on general sale from Friday 30 January.
Prices remain unchanged from 2025 with tiers at £30/35/40/45, and you can get tickets when they go live here.
Danny Jones -
21st July 2025 
