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Five Greater Manchester-based artists we’ve been listening to this month | December 2025

We're going into the New Year with plenty for the regular rotation.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 2nd January 2026

This is it: the last Greater Manchester music round-up of the year, only a couple of days late due to a mix of the post-NYE 48-hour hangover and quite possibly still being in a largely mince pie-induced food coma.

In all seriousness, 2025 has been an absolute belter not just for music but the North, in particular, and especially here in Manchester.

We know we say it all the time, but we really are blessed and well beyond lucky to live in one of the creative and audio capitals on planet Earth.

So, for one last time (an Audio North encore, if you will), please give it up for the amazing musicians based in and around Greater Manchester that we were listening to in December.

Five local artists we’ve been listening to this past month

1. Concrete Club

First off is some deeply satisfying British indie in the shape of Concrete Club – a fitting name for a band based in an ever-growing metropolis, swept up in a sea of cranes and never-ending construction. Intentional? Unsure, but given they formed in 2022, it makes sense and sounds as good as they do.

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Vocally, it can take a minute to get used to frontman and bassist Jonny Brewster’s approach, as it swings between everything from Fran from Red Rum Club, Brandon Flowers and White Lies’ Harry McVeigh. There’s some serious range on show, and it makes seeing where each track goes next exciting in itself.

Not only is it extremely impressive, but once you get used to the minor whiplash, it can often feel like you’re getting an ever-so-slightly different singing style each time. In terms of tracks to start with, we’d recommend ‘Relentless’, ‘Jackie Don’t Mind’ and ‘Electric Sunrise’, but there’s plenty of breadth to enjoy in their easily-digestible discography. They even got the nod from the late, great Mani. RIP to a legend.

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2. Lissy Taylor

Next up is some unapologetic girl rock, which may have been born in the West Midlands, but solo artist Lissy Taylor is fast taking her music all over, with the ride so far taking her across the UK, Europe and even the United States, before posting up here in Manchester.

We’ll admit that seeing any musician donning a Stoke City shirt whilst performing live on BBC coverage was always going to catch our eye, but after we learned she had also become the first woman from the area to ever be signed by Universal, she held our attention. She might not be the finished article just yet, but you can tell she’s a woman on a mission.

More than a decade into her career, and now based in our fair city, you can tell that Taylor has more confidence and conviction than ever: you can hear it in her music. It started in 2023 with our fave, ‘Feel For Me’, and has spread into tunes like ‘Life Changing’ and her latest single ‘Jealous’. Give them a go.

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3. Plastic Heart

They say three is the magic number, and judging by what we’ve heard so far from Manc alternative rock outfit Plastic Heart, they just might be on to something. Even with just a few properly studio-produced and finished tunes on the internet, they already have a very well-defined sound, and it’s got us hyped.

A five-piece from in and around Greater Manchester, these lot look like they’re off on the right foot, as they’re not just getting themselves about on social media but, most importantly, they’re clearly busy at work writing, rehearsing and recording a solid first batch of material.

In terms of what is out there so far, you’ll get hints of Vukovi/PVRIS in ‘Hear My Call’ and ‘Tension’; plus, based on their little teaser on Instagram, we’re looking forward to the fully-fledged version of another as-yet-unreleased song, ‘Ashes’. Get on board from the start and thank us later when that first EP drops.

@plasticheartbandofficial lil clip of us playing an unreleased tune- spite❤️‍🔥 #fyp #uk #supportsmallartists #band #rock ♬ original sound – Plastic Heart ❤️‍🔥

4. Bbird With Two B’s

From yet another female-led group to another fun, albeit very kind of vocalist, but one that we have been left very intrigued by, to say the least. We’ll begin by assuring that, yes, this is their name, and no, there are no typos in the spelling; this Manchester-based project isn’t like much you’ll have heard before.

We came across them via their show alongside equally unique poet and musician Edward Barton, as they joined up with the veteran artist and all-round eccentric at The Yard, as well as having written with each other earlier in the year. At first glance, they seem just as idiosyncrantic, charmingly unserious and entirely singular as he is, but we suspect there’s more to come.

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The lyrics are arguably even more anecdotal and amusing, and rather conveniently, we can only find two tracks on Spotify, so you can similarly get up to speed on this very intriguing concept before falling into what we can only imagine will go on to be a pretty wild Bandcamp wormhole.

5. Chloe Slater

One more fantastic artist doing wonders for women in music, for good measure, shall we? Plenty of you will have no doubt heard of Bournemouth-born singer-songwriter and 0161 adoptee, Chloe Slater, but we’ll confess it’s taken us far too long to dive deep into her full catalogue.

It was probably one of the biggest musical mistakes we made this past 12 months, but we will be rectifying it as one of our first New Year’s Resolutions. Going from a somewhat disaffected uni dropout to an opinionated, outspoken and politically charged lyricist – she’s been a Northerner in spirit, alright.

Touching everything from regional and generational challenges, we struggle to play favourites, but sod it: ‘Price On Fun’, ‘Harriet’, ‘Nothing Shines On This Island’, ‘Death Trap’, ‘Tiny Screens’. Just trust us and listen to every second of this up-and-comer who’s already supported fellow rising alt-pop star Role Model and, coincidentally, is a dead ringer for actor Daisy Edgar-Jones…

So that’s it for another year, only the best part is we’ll be keeping this show on the road all throughout 2026 as we hunt for more local music legends in the making.

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With that in mind, if you’ve got suggestions for Manchester-based bands we should listen to next or know a native who you believe is the next best thing, please do drop them in the comments.

Oh, and if you want even more of our favourite artists over the past year, why not check out the list of what The Manc, Hoot and The Sheff team named as the top albums of 2025?

Audio North’s favourite albums of 2025

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Liam Maxwell (via Plastic Heart Facebook/Instagram IG)Concrete Club (via FB)

Audio

Kendal Calling turns 21 in fine form with a brilliant bunch of headliners – and that was just the start…

Danny Jones Danny Jones Kendal Calling festival review 20206

Oh, what a long weekend we had at Kendal Calling 2026, our fourth consecutive visit to the beloved festival proclaimed as ‘the favourite’ by many across the North West, and forever ‘the best’ if you hail from in and around Cumbria.

Now 21 editions into its run, the Penrith party down in Lowther Deer Park has gone from being a cult classic among natives in and around the Lake District a couple of decades ago, to one celebrated all over – and for good reason.

Apart from delivering stellar lineups year in, year out, it’s also one of the most family-friendly festivals you’ll ever come across.

But having said that, they still know how to kick a party into gear when the sun sets…

Kendal Calling Review | 2026

Starting strong and looking as stunning as ever

With The Kooks, The Cribs, Manchester up-and-comers Spangled, Oldham’s very own Tim Burgess, and many more opening up the party on Thursday night, they hit the ground running early doors.

Speaking of the turf, the wider arena was nice and dry this year, with punters only being treated to very short showery intervals, and most overnight.

Having the perfect conditions obviously helps, but we will say that Kendal Calling remains one of the brave few that powers in through regardless of the weather.

Nevertheless, we didn’t have to worry about it for KC2026, and maybe it’s just recency bias, but the entire festival site somehow looked prettier than ever, especially soaked in all that sun.

The dappled rays coming through trees over in the ‘Lost Eden’ definitely made the Woodlands stage as special as we’ve ever seen it – including those magical neon nights – and we even got to chat with Yorkshire lass Ellur ahead of her spellbinding set out in the forest.

Still surprising people more than two decades in

Lots caught us by surprise this year, such as Dutch indie pop group Son Mieux (our new obsession, by the way), as well as Fletchr Fletchr, who we now believe really need to be seen live to truly appreciate every aspect of their huge potential.

And then there was rising Sunderland star Tom A. Smith (again, over in the Woodlands), who joked he was “never there” after filling in on short notice at the same festival he first played when he was 12.

Fair to say he’s come some way since then, and you won’t find many more electric performers from this very confident, talented and still very young man.

But nothing more so than the surprise acoustic set starring the legendary Pete Doherty ahead of The Libertines’ main stage slot later that day, which we had to sprint across the fields to just about catch after hearing about. We had to climb up the side of a window to get the view of those that beat us there.

Not often you get treated to stuff like this.

Why the locals love it

This year, we also thought we’d go around and ask those who know it best just what makes it so special, and more importantly, what keeps them coming back. Here’s what they had to say:

“I’ve been five times over 11 years. I’m Cumbrian-born but based in Manchester, so there’s always the pull to travel back home for it, and I’d definitely come more if I could. First memory that pops into mind is seeing The Vaccines when they were just getting big, and now over a decade on I got to see them on the main stage all these years and albums later – really full circle.

“One of the best parts about it is just how much there is on; back when I first started coming, they still were spotlighting local bands like Colt 45, but they just so happened to be on the same bill as Snoop Dog – and now I’ve seen everyone from Tom Jones and the Sugarhill Gang to The Darkness and now Biffy.

“Despite the festival growing in size and in terms of the acts that flock to it now, it still feels like one that looks after smaller names; it’s still got that wholesome, all-ages feel, and can be enjoyed for lots more than the music. I’ve definitely grown a new appreciation for everything it has to offer as I’ve gotten older.”

Nick, 32, from Dearham
The Lathums
Biffy Clyro
Red Rum Club
Deaf Havana, and SO many more…
Credit: Audio North

We also asked another seasoned veteran of the annual summer fest how they’d sum it up in as few words as possible, to which they responded: “Nature, variety and (at times) questionable weather.”

Once again, we’ve definitely had wetter ones in the past – it is the North of England after all – but the music gods were smiling down on us all weekend long, and that extra dose of vitamin D definitely helped keep us going.

More personal highlights include closing headliners Wolf Alice, as well as Circa Waves and Groove Armada on the final night, as we somehow managed to catch a bit of all three, not to mention Deaf Havana, who drew their loyal crowd of passionate fans and gave us one of the best sets of the whole weekend.

And then, of course, there was ‘Biffy… F***ing… Clyroooo’. The Manc arm of the Audio North team were lucky enough to catch the Scottish gods at their huge headline gig at Co-op Live, but BOY did jumping around in a sea of people from all over as confetti, streamers, fireworks, and literal fire hit even harder.

With Kendal, Tramlines, Parklife, Beat-Herder, and Neighbourhood Weekender all under our belt already this year, we feel truly blessed to be in what is undoubtedly one of the best periods for live music festivals we’ve known; you can check out some of our other reviews down below.

Other than that, all we have left to say is thank you to Hanglands and the KC crew as always for having us along, and we’ll catch you in the fields the same time next year. Over and out.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE

Featured Images — The Manc Group

Audio

A reimagined dance music celebration is coming to Manchester later this year

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Get ready to hear some of the biggest anthems in dance music, reimagined and given an orchestral transformation right here in Manchester city centre. 

Powerhouse music business Ministry of Sound has been uplifting and promoting dance music through its varied and electric live events for over three decades. 

Now, it’s putting an all-new take on all your favourite dancefloor fillers that have been released over the past 30 years with a 31-piece orchestra, a whole team of vocalists and a stacked setlist. 

Expect to hear the likes of Fatboy Slim with his huge tune ‘Right Here, Right Now’ alongside Darude’s standout hit ‘Sandstorm’, as performed by a live orchestral arrangement and light production. 

After receiving a great reception at major music settings like Gone Wild, The Big Feastival and Silverstone Festival, paired with a sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall, this all-new live show now visits the music capital of the North. 

Of course, it’s only fitting that Manchester gets the chance to experience this innovative twist on classics and anthems, considering the city’s vibrant club contributions like the Madchester scene and legendary music institution the Hacienda. 

Now, dance, house and trance spanning the past 30 years come together courtesy of the Ministry of Sound Classical, playing out across UK locations like Brighton, Newcastle and Birmingham, as well as Manchester. 

The show is playing out at city-centre gig hotspot O2 Apollo, and is about to teach 3,500 Mancunians dance music history through a dance-meets-orchestra concert like no other. 

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This live music extravaganza is organised and led by dance music pioneers Ministry of Sound, who developed and defined the 1990s house music scene in London and across the country. 

Ministry of Sound Classical is heading to O2 Apollo in Manchester on Friday 18 December with tickets and more information available HERE. 

Featured Image – Press Shot (Supplied via Ministry of Sound)

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