How do, Manchester – it’s that time again, time to look back over another great month of new music and pick out some of the best local artists we’ve been listening to over the past four weeks.
Be them veterans of the Manc music scene by now, or more up-and-coming bands and solo artists that are just getting excited, there’s space for all on this monthly list.
We’re all here for the same reason after all: we just love finding new tunes and acts that we’ve not come across before and with so much out there these days, it can be tough to sift through everything.
That’s where we come in, so without further ado, here are the five Manchester music artists that we’ve been listening to throughout the month of March.
1. The Covasettes
First up on the list is a Fallowfield-formed quartet with roots in Hyde and various other parts of Manchester that many of you may have seen on festival lineups over the past few years. They also happen to have just announced their biggest tour yet in support of more new music on the way.
If you’ve been lucky enough to see them live before like us, then you’ll know these lads have a dedicated following already that just keeps growing and deservedly so. With an irresistibly defiant and uplifting indie sound, there’s something very late 90s/2000s British alt-rock about them and we love it.
Having been releasing stuff since 2018, you can’t start anywhere else other than their biggest tune ‘Be Mine’ but we’d highly recommend ‘Duvet Thief’ (great album artwork too) as your second play and their latest single ‘One Tear a Time’ has already become a proper earworm of ours.
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2. James Holt
Moving out to the borough of Bolton, local singer-songwriter James Holt has something very old school about his sound that we can never quite place – sometimes it’s almost a bit Cat Stevens, other times it’s Jimmy Webb, Elvis Costello and even Beatles or Lennon at the very least. All we know is we like it.
There’s just lots of twinkly 1960s and ’70s throwback about it and he’s had some serious praise from legends like Brian Eno and as you sweep through his expansive style, it’s easy to see why. A vintage look and sound paired with a bloody great hairdo and what do you get? One of the coolest artists in Greater Manchester.
It’s hard to recommend one particular place to begin but we’ll do our best; start with ‘Pendulum’, then his biggest tune ‘Mystery Girl’ and then we have a soft spot for ‘Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?’ because the little melody in it sounds a bit like ‘Keep on Movin” by Five — we can’t unhear it and now neither will you.
Falling deeper in love this one the more we hear it too.
3. Dr Dr
A bit of a whiplash turn now with Manchester post-punk outfit Dr Dr, who recently played a superb set at Disorder that we’ve not stopped thinking about for a while.
Led by charismatic and supremely energetic frontman Fred Farrell, they give off a little bit of The Blues Stones, Royal Blood and plenty of other contemporary British rock; it’s fast-paced, great to bounce to and there’s some great electronics and distortion at work that really helps hit their style home.
Still early in their career and with only five tracks out so far, we’re just going to go ahead and tell you to give them all a listen but we will say that their latest single ‘Uppercut’ has had love from XS Manchester, BBC Introducing, Radio One and more – let’s just say can firmly put us on that list if admirers too.
No-nonsense Manc indie at its finest. If you like fast rhythmic guitars, a great live BPM, reliable vocals and that instantly familiar feeling that only Northern bands like this can deliver, then M60 need to be in your rotation.
‘I Don’t Mind’ may be their biggest tune and it’s undeniably catchy no matter how many times we hear it, but our other two picks simply have to be ‘Honey’ and our day one favourite ‘Darling’. Honestly, that’s a sing your lungs out and jump up and down with your mates kind of tune.
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They’re also currently spearheading a very funny campaign to keep getting their name out there and it involves Gary Neville. We sincerely want them to succeed and have every faith they will.
They’re nearly half a year into their campaign and still no word from the man. 🙄
And the last spot this week could be no other: Manc alternative legends Everything Everything, fresh off having sat with their latest record, Mountainhead, for a good month now and boy is it a belter.
These guys have set a pretty high bar when it comes to albums over the years and Raw Data Feel was one of our most-played albums of 2022, but this might genuinely have some of their best work to date. ‘The End of the Contender’, ‘Don’t Ask Me To Beg’, ‘Enter the Mirror’ – all absolute rammers.
Stockport locals were honoured with their presence at a very special gig at The Plaza earlier this month and we’re still kicking ourselves for missing the ticket window. If you haven’t listened to these extremely experimental and immensely creative musicians before, rectify that mistake pronto and thank us later.
And there we have it, another month and a handful of amazing local artists from around the region and the best part is, since we do music so well around these parts, you already know there’ll be plenty more to get stuck into next time.
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Speaking of which, you can find the Greater Manchester acts we picked out for February down below and you best believe you’ll be seeing us back here same time again next month.
DJ at centre of Parklife cancellations speaks out over ‘unsafe’ crowds
Daisy Jackson
A rising DJ whose set was cancelled due to ‘safety concerns’ at Parklife festival has now spoken out on his side of events.
Josh Baker is a popular Manchester-born DJ who was set to perform on the brand-new Matinee stage on the Sunday night of the local music festival.
He had the second-highest billing of the day, followed by Chris Stussy as headliner of that particular stage.
But despite being booked onto one of the festival’s smaller stages, Josh Baker’s popularity quickly saw the space becoming overcrowded.
Videos shared on TikTok show fans clambering over the safety barriers that Parklife security had installed as a queue system, desperate to get inside for Josh’s set.
The young talent has now spoken out again about the incident, saying he could see from his vantage point it ‘quickly became unsafe’.
Josh Baker said that ‘the organisers made the right call’ despite the show ‘meaning a lot’ to him.
He detailed that he has been going to Parklife since the age of 16, and playing such a big slot in the festival ‘felt like a proper full-circle moment’.
He added that he’s been looking into doing free follow-up shows, but has been unable to find a venue that would hold ‘anywhere near the amount of people who were trying to get in to see me play’.
Josh wrote on Instagram: “I’m honestly so sorry to everyone who didn’t get to see the set. It was completely out of my hands, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Just know I’ve felt every bit of frustration with you.”
He then said he’s planning ‘something ridiculous’ for his Creamfields appearance to make it up to fans.
Josh Baker said in his full statement on Parklife: “I’ve taken a few days to process what happened at Parklife last weekend, and I wanted to share a few words.
“This one was always going to mean a lot. Growing up in Manchester, I’ve been going to Parklife since I was 16, so to be booked for such a big slot felt like a proper full-circle moment. But just as I stepped on stage, the music had to be cut. When I came on there were too many people trying to get into the arena and it quickly became unsafe, and therefore the stage had to be closed for the rest of the day.
“It’s gutting, but I want to be clear – the organisers made the right call. Safety has to come before everything. After seeing a few of the videos from the crowd, I’m just relieved the situation did not escalate and everyone remained safe.
“Still, it’s hard to explain how much it hurt not being able to play. I know so many of you were excited for that set and it honestly blew me away seeing that many people turning up.
“Over the last few days, I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it right. I looked into doing a free follow-up show in Manchester, but the reality is, there are no suitable or possible venues which would hold anywhere near the amount of people who were trying to get in to see me play.
“The last thing I’d want is to announce something and end up disappointing even more people who couldn’t get tickets. After a lot of conversations and digging behind the scenes, we’ve had to accept that there’s no realistic way to do something that feels fair right now.
“I’m honestly so sorry to everyone who didn’t get to see the set. It was completely out of my hands, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Just know I’ve felt every bit of frustration with you.
“I really hope to see loads of you at Creamfields because I’m already planning something ridiculous to try and make this up to you in some way.”
Legendary funk and soul act Kool and the Gang are finally coming back to Manchester
Danny Jones
In case you hadn’t heard already, iconic funk, soul, and R’n’B artist Kool and the Gang are finally coming back to Manchester after far too long away from our musical city for a massive arena gig later this year.
Coming back to 0161 ‘For One Night Only’, the award-winning US supergroup and industry giants are set to make their first appearance here in over 15 years.
With a rich back catalogue and a career spanning six decades, not to mention multiple genres including funk, soul, disco, jazz (how they first began as an ensemble) and more, it’s only fitting they be given the top billing at the one and only AO Arena.
After Manc fans have had to wait for long, this is sure to be a night of ‘Summertime Madness’.
Though they need no real introduction if you know your music history, specifically African-American and Black music culture, Kool and the Gang are arguably one of the most influential acts to ever make it.
Having performed together longer than other R’n’B outfit on the planet, stood as one of the most sampled artists of all time and released a staggering 34 studio albums to date, they’re nothing short of foundational.
While, sadly, there is only founding member Robert ‘Kool’ Bell left from the original lineup formed back in 1964, the various iterations of the surviving live band have captured that same effortless cool, charisma, and effortless control of a crowd on the road that made the OG Gang such a toue de force.
As well as touring with everyone from Elton John and the Dave Matthews Band to The Roots and even a 50-city tour alongside equally legendary rock group, Van Halen, they have no shortage of accolades to their name.
How does two Grammys, seven American Music Awards (AMAs), a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award; a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a place in the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine top ten hits in the pop charts, as well as 31 gold and platinum albums, strike you?
— Melodies & Masterpieces (@SVG__Collection) May 27, 2025
Best known for beloved tracks like ‘Celebration’, ‘Get Down On It’, ‘Cherish’ and ‘Jungle Boogie’, just to name a very small few (again, their discography is huge), you’ve most likely heard their songs or at least one of their serially sampled beats more times than its possible to count.
Yep, if there’s anyone that deserves the ‘icon’ moniker, it’s these lot.
Kool and the Gang come to the AO Arena in Manchester next month on Friday, 11 July and will have fellow British soul counterparts, The Real Thing, who looked to mirror their success throughout the ’70s, along for the ride.
General admission tickets are already on sale as we speak – you can grab yours HERE.
Danny Jones -
29th March 2024 
