A second wave of artists has been added to the lineup for this year’s Green Island Festival, the hidden gem Manchester music festival tucked away inside a garden centre.
Genuinely one of our favourite festivals anywhere in the region, Green Island Festival 2024 is already looking set to welcome more people through its verdant doors at
Taking place for its fourth year, the fundamentally grassroots Manchester music festival takes place across three parts over at Hulme Garden Centre just on the outskirts of the city centre and has quickly become a cult classic.
Promising three spectacular days and nights this summer and championing all things new and local on the music scene, you won’t find many more diverse lineups or crowds on this year’s calendar. Speaking of, here’s a look at who they’ve added as part of their second wave:
Taking place on 15 June, 27 July and 7 September this year, Green Island 2024 is now set to welcome nearly 100 acts from Greater Manchester and beyond as well as more than 1000 festivalgoers in their biggest edition yet.
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Local experimental hip-hop jazz band Jointhedots have been added to the main stage in July, joining the likes of Def MaMa Def – two powerful women and rising stars of Senegal’s music scene – as well the smooth as silk R&B soul singer, Victoria Jane and contemporary jazz artist, corto.alto as headliners.
As for the other four stages spread throughout the beloved Manchester garden centre, which has served as a significant cultural hub in the Hulme neighbourhood since the Millenium, names like Ni Maxine, Ubunye the Zulu, Manchester legend of Finders Keepers Records fame, Andy Votel, upcoming DJ Jade Li and many more will be leaving their mark. Even local artist Stanley Chow is getting involved.
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With the Forest Stage firming itself as instant success from day one and The Bandstand stage now a permanent fixture at the garden centre even outside of the festival, this thing just keeps growing every year and it won’t stay the best-kept secret for long, so don’t miss out what is sure to be a belter.
Better still, Green Island Festival serves up great food from local independent vendors every year, plenty of sunny cocktails and alcohol-free options, places to chill like the soothing chamomile bed and so much more. Trust us, when the sun shines on this thing it is unmatched vibes.
As well as live music at NIAMOS next door, there’s also a whole host of afterparties for each of the three all-day festivals over at YES in the city centre and the organisers are encouraging everyone to donate an extra quid for every ticket sale to local charity Eat Well MCR, because they’re a sound bunch as well.
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In case we haven’t made it abundantly clear already, we’re very big fans of Green Island Fest not just simply because of the live music or the slightly quirky setting, but because of the all-day schedule, family-friendly approach and the immensely wholesome summery atmosphere it gives off every year.
Get yourself down there to at least one of them, if not all three, and we’ll see you there (most likely at the Forest Stage). Grab your tickets HERE.
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.
Bloc Party and Interpol announce exclusive co-headline tour and a pair of Manchester gigs
Danny Jones
In an increasingly rare kind of announcement, Bloc Party and Interpol have announced a co-headline tour across the UK and Europe, and Manchester is lucky enough to be getting two dates.
How the pair of shows may differ from night to night remains to be seen, but it feels like it’s been a good long while since we last heard about two acts doubling on gigs in this kind of way.
Officially confirmed on Halloween, both Bloc Party and Interpol revealed the plans for the collaborative shows on each of their social media channels, leaving most fans delighted and plenty crying out for dates in their own cities.
It might be only a small thing, but we really enjoyed how they announced the joint performances with two different twists on the same tour poster.
It might be more of just a colour variation than two different bits of artwork, but little stuff like this is always cool. (Credit: Supplied)
As two groups that soundtracked a very distinct period and era for alternative and indie rock, some would argue that you couldn’t find a more suitable fit of contemporaries.
Having both carved out their own corner of the music industry 2000s, Bloc Party‘s breakout debut, Silent Alarm, and Interpol’s seminal sophomore album, Antics, were two of the most seminal and definitive records in the scene at the time.
With that in mind, getting the pair not only back on the road to play the hits and more but doing it together at some of the most exciting venues in the country and on the continent is quite the coup.
Props to whoever came up with the idea, seriously.
Speaking of that landmark second LP from Interpol, the New York-formed indie and post-punk revivalists last played Manchester back in November as part of the release’s 20th anniversary at the O2 Apollo.
Danny Jones -
9th April 2024 
