Hello there. That greeting may be giving Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars vibes, and we can’t lie, we have listened to some cantina music while working this month… but not as much as we’ve been immersing ourselves in more new Manchester artists.
You should know the drill by now, and it is very much a what-it-says-on-the-tin scenario, but every few weeks, we round up some of the music – all crucially hailing from the Greater Manchester area – that we’ve been listening to of late.
We don’t discriminate when it comes to genre either. There’s only one simple rule: if it’s good, then we listen to it and then, hopefully, so do you.
Get your playlists at the ready.
Five Manc music artists we’ve been listening to recently
1. Arkayla
First up for June are relative newcomers Arkayla, whose name is inspired by “a terrible Oasis demo” from 1991 (their words, not ours – thought it is…) of the same name, a.k.a. ‘I Will Show You’, in which describe Liam Gallagher’s now legendary as once sounding “like a dodgy Ian Brown impressionist.”
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However, there’s nothing dodgy about these lot and, thankfully, they’re in an era when you don’t have to hand out tapes recorded in the Boardwalk basement on the street to be heard. The Manchester band, which only formed in 2020, may be Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, but they’ve already got a sound.
There’s an unmistakable British indie element to them and hints at everything from The Kooks to The Lathums, but most notably, there are ’60s guitar notes and some real maturity already. Standouts include ‘Ella Malone’, the acoustic version of ‘Lost In a Valentine’, where the lead singer, Cal Blakebrough, really shines, and ‘Rita’ is such an addictive track.
They don’t get more unknown, undiscovered, but sure to be up-and-coming than iNNAFIELD, who are a female-fronted psychedelia-forward five-piece with roots in Brighton but building a career in 0161. Having recently shone at The Deaf Institute playing a support slot at Academy 1, they have our interest.
If a glimpse of lead singer Jessie Amy Leask’s curly hair, 70s belts and long, flowing skirts plants Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac in your mind, you’d be right in thinking so; a listen to their other live tracks scattered across their socials confirms there’s plenty of other influences going on too, though.
Now, they’ve only got one proper recording out on Spotify called ‘Tell Me What’s On Your Mind’, but we’ve had it popping up on our algorithms everywhere, and we can see why: there’s soft, twinkly strumming, soft almost sleepy vocals before a nice big breakout at the end. Glorious stuff.
No, not that one, the Princess of Monaco isn’t back from the dead, but ‘r Grace Kelly, who is based right here in Greater Manchester, is playing her part in the ongoing country revival taking place across the music world, offering her soulful voice and faux American-folk vibes to our ears.
She may not be a Mancunian by birth, having moved from New Zealand to our shores back in 2022, and although the weather change might have been a big sea change for her, there’s no culture shock to be found in her style; from the audio to the aesthetic, it still somehow feels pretty authentic.
Uplifting acoustic guitars, drum brush strokes, solos, Southern-twang harmonies – you name it, all the ingredients are there. The thing is, if you spend enough time immersing yourself in a genre, you can still pull off tracks like ‘Carry On’, ‘San Jose’ and the intimate ‘For Us To Change’.
We’re really lane switching when it comes to genre this month; maybe it’s because festival season is in full swing and we’re just being exposed to so much different stuff in a short space of time, all we know is we’re not complaining about it.
And neither should you, especially when you’ve got names like hip-hop, grime, soul and flag-flying Afrobeats rising star, Prido, being platformed. Blending all the above with R’n’B and a sprinkling of not just Northern but easily detectable Manc slant, it makes his music stand out in the ever-thriving space.
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‘Free Ur Mind’ was the first track we ever heard, so we’ve struggled to shake that as our favourite, but ‘DND’ is a supremely dancey but chill example of laid-back of the genre that you need in your mixes this summer, and we also have a soft spot for his verse on the sensual ‘Lifeboat’ by Prima.
Last but not least on our list of new Manchester artists for this June, we’ve got local DJ Josh Baker, whose name you might recognise from the headlines surrounding Parklife 2025, as his set was unfortunately cancelled due to problems out of his control.
Festival-goers flocked to The Matinee Stage for a highly anticipated back-to-back bill of Baker followed by Dutch counterpart Chris Stussy, both of whom have thrilled some of the biggest club crowds in the country – sadly, he didn’t get to do so this time. That being said, we thought we’d give him a shout-out.
We’ll confess to only having got around to his discography following this news, but ‘Back It Up’, ‘Something To Me’, and ‘You Don’t Own Me’ with Prospa and RAHH are all bangers. We’re looking forward to listening to more.
And that should just about do you; there are five artists and, at the very least, 15 new tracks for you to give a go – there should be at least of few of them you like.
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But, let’s be honest: be it unheard, new, current, old or anything in between, Manchester music very rarely ends up being filed in the skippable category.
Then again, you can always check out last month’s list of Manc artists from last month and see if you get a better hit ratio.
Featured Images — Prido (via Facebook)/Arkayla (via X)/Grace Kelly (via Facebook)
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Five Greater Manchester-based artists we’ve been listening to this month | October 2025
Danny Jones
Surprise, surprise, it’s that time again: we’re rounding up the best music from in and around Greater Manchester that we’ve been listening to over the past few weeks, and this month’s been a belter.
In fact, we actually got a lot of our favourite stuff of late all in one day, and that just so happened to be Halloween 2025, a.k.a. one of the best new music Fridays we’ve had in ages.
We had a few new releases on our radar come 31 October, and they didn’t disappoint, with regional artists both new and old dropping some tasty new material.
So, without further ado, here is the Greater Manchester-based music we’ve been enjoying recently.
Music from in and around Manchester we’re listening to lately
1. Richard Ashcroft
Where else to start than with the man of the moment, in our opinion: the almighty Richard Ashcroft, who recently came back to not only the live circuit in the biggest way as the main support act on the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour, but who finally returned with new music since 2018.
Releasing his seventh studio album, ‘Lovin You, this October, we’ll admit that we much prefer his classic Britpop style to the few attempts at more modern poppy rock on the record, but the second you get onto the second track ‘Out Of These Blues’, you know that his timeless sound hasn’t depreciated one bit.
Now 54 and a music industry veteran, we still firmly believe he’s one of our greatest artists and songwriters. We’d recommend ‘Find Another Reason’ and ‘Heavy News’ off the new LP, as well as ‘All My Dream’ for old time’s sake. All hail “King Richard” and here’s to more long-overdue recognition for Wigan‘s finest.
We never tire of ‘They Don’t Own Me’, nor listening to the Oasis that pays tribute to him, either.
2. The Charlatans
From one local icon to another legendary British band with deep roots here in Manchester. This year’s big music story may have been the Oasis reunion, but there’s another band of Britpop/Madchester survivors that recently reared their heads again, too, and that’s The Charlatans.
Led by frontman Tim Burgess, the veteran alternative band always had one foot in the indie side of the Manc music scene, meanwhile keeping the other in the more psychedelic sub-section of UK rock, and nothing has changed with this satisfying return.
Even from the instantly recognisable and heavily processed keys in lead single ‘Deeper Deeper’, you’re immediately reminded of ‘The Only One I Know’, and the title track of their first new album since 2017, ‘We Are Love’, is one of the best in years; ‘You Can’t Push The River’ is also a quiet delight.
It’s good to have you back, lads. (Credit: Cat Stevens)
3. The Maple State
Now, this is a band that we always felt never really got the recognition back in the day, but since they’ve also been on an understated comeback trail of their own, we’d like to think they’ve picked up a few new fans – and that’s part of the reason they’re included this month, because they deserve it.
We’d argue that The Maple State never quite fully took off because the emo/American-influenced scene here in Greater Manchester didn’t either; back in 2004, when the band was formed by two brothers and some school friends who started playing regularly in college, it was still mostly a transatlantic export.
Either way, we always had a soft spot for this unsung act that tried appealing to fans of that style over here, and their debut album, At Least Until We’ve Settled In, became a cult favourite of some famous names. ‘Temperate Lives’ is a timeless track for us, and we love ‘Canonball’ from their long-overdue 2018 follow-up, but we couldn’t be happier to hear them back in the studio again. Hear more below.
4. Westside Cowboy
Speaking of US influences, one group that has arguably benefitted from that same climate shifting over the years is the hugely exciting Westside Cowboy. As a kid who grew up somewhat awkwardly straddling a love for the big bands in the States and our domestic rock artists, the ‘Britainicana’ movement is right up my street.
Delivering the exact kind of sound you’d expect with a name like that – blending those more American, perhaps even ‘Midwest emo’ sounds with more familiar UK vibe and context – this isn’t a culture clash: it’s a contrast that really works and we’re hoping to see more of, with the guys at the forefront.
Expect twangy, metallic guitar riffs, staccato snares mixed in with marching drum patterns that steadily build behind the joint vocals of their different vocalists and more. Our favourite songs so far include ‘Don’t Throw Rocks’, ‘Drunk Surfer’, and ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Love (Until I Met You)’. How very 1975 of you, WC.
Last but not least, this one is almost more of a special mention as they’re more North West than Manc per se, but they’re only based down the road in neighbouring Warrington; plus, since we’ve already written about other bands from Cheshire and other nearby outposts, we’re making an exception.
‘Why so keen to include them…’, you ask? Well, for one, they’re so bloody brilliant we couldn’t not talk about them, and two, they already have strong roots here in Manchester. Besides, regularly visiting and performing here, they recorded their first-ever EP in our city and even feature a tram on their single art.
Speaking of their material, Gustaffson‘s debut album, Black & White Movie, was even produced by Elbow’s very own Craig Potter, which only reinforces that local connection further. The LP itself has soulful notes similar to The Teskey Brothers and St Paul and the Broken Bones, and really is a joy from start to finish – get a load of their latest track, which was also recorded and visualised in Manchester:
A soulful, funk throwback with contemporary blues and a dancey feel. What a vibe.
We hope you give this October’s round-up of new Greater Manchester music a go and find these names in your rotation for months to come.
As always, the best part about doing this is sharing artists people may not have heard yet, so please feel free to ping your own suggestions our way.
You’ll find us here again the same time next month, but until then, why not check out September’s picks?
Featured Images — Press shot/Cat Stevens (supplied)/Gustaffson (screenshot via YouTube)
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A rave in a chippy is happening in Greater Manchester this weekend
Daisy Jackson
We have always loved a weekend trip to the chippy, but that trip might look a little different this week – because there’s a rave going on inside.
A collective of local DJs will be putting their decks alongside the fryers at one of Manchester’s top-rated fish and chip shops, Chips @ No. 8 in Prestwich.
The one-off event is part of the latest instalment of Love Dose, which has been hosting parties all over the North for more than a decade.
This week, Love Dose will be upstairs in Cuckoo until the early hours, with a number of DJs playing alongside special guest Simba.
Before the main event kicks off in Cuckoo though, they’ve announced a pre-party at Chips @ No. 8 to get warmed up.
“You’ve seen the recent trend of parties popping over in coffee shops, why not a chippy!?” they said.
Kerrie DJing at a previous Love Dose rave
Love Dose was founded back in 2012 and is run by Ste Evans, Ste Nalty and Pete Asiaw, DJs who all live around Prestwich.
They said: “We’ve always loved the vibe at Chips@No8 and thought it would be a great pre party spot.”
Previous Love Dose events have taken place everywhere from warehouses and rooftops to disused car garages and even a prison.
They’ve also appeared in legendary local venues like Hidden, Ramona and The White Hotel (before it was known as The White Hotel).
Once they finish with the chippy rave, it’ll be over to Cuckoo to dance into the early hours.
Love Dose is promising quality beats to go with your batter from 5pm til 8pm on Saturday 1 November.
Danny Jones -
30th June 2025 
