The second wave of the lineup Neighbourhood Festival for 2024 has just been revealed and the city centre celebration of live music is looking top-notch.
Neighbourhood Fest returns this October for another all-dayer packed full of local talent and rising stars from all over the UK and a whole host of new acts have been added to the 2024 lineup.
With the likes of high-flying Manchester artists Corella, Antony Szmierek, Seb Lowe and Chappaqua Wrestling already topping the bill alongside ever-growing indie outfit Red Rum Club and fellow Scouse stars The Mysterines and more, we were already spoilt for choice, to be honest.
However, the excitement is only continuing to ramp up with just a couple of months to go until the festival and a shed load of new additions filling out this year’s roster.
Announcing the second wave on Thursday, 15 August, Neighbourhood has now confirmed thatThe Royston Club lads, the hugely exciting Villanelle – fronted by Liam Gallagher’s son Gene – singer-songwriter Bellah Mae and another local band, The Guest List, will all be joining the 2024 lineup.
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And that really is just the tip of the iceberg.
Nearly 40 more acts have been tacked on to the already stellar lineup which will play across a total of 16 venues dotted around the city centre, such as the Manchester Academies, Albert Hall, Gorilla, O2 Ritz and other iconic gig venues.
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Other names rocking up to the festival this year include fast-rising singer-songwriter Liang Lawrence, who has become a viral sensation on TikTok; cult favourites of the Manc indie scene, M60 and Picture Parlour and promising solo artist Pixey, just to name a few.
Now running since 2016, Neighbourhood Festival and its Weekender parent event over in Warrington, have become two of the most popular music events in the North West in what feels like the blink of an eye, welcoming artists who have now gone on to become some of biggest names in the country.
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From Sam Fender, The Lathums and Yungblud; Mahalia, Declan McKenna, Holly Humberstone, The Lottery Winners and countless others, it isn’t just a proving ground for up-and-coming artists, it’s practically become a rite of passage.
Manchester’s biggest and best multi-venue festival returns on Saturday, 5 October and you won’t get many other events that last all day and run well into the night.
While early bird sold out quickly and tier two is also selling fast, you can still grab your tickets HERE.
A brand new grunge and hard rock festival is kicking off in Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester grungers, hardcore heads, and fans of all things rock, pay attention because there is a brand new festival coming to the city centre – and it has possibly the best name for a live music event we’ve heard in some time.
Ahem… let us introduce you to Broken Knees Fest.
Yes, donning a name that feels increasingly more relatable the closer we get to the wrong side of 30, Broken Knees Festival 2025 marks the inaugural edition of Manchester’s newest series of rock and grunge gigs, helping spotlight rising artists across the genres from within two crucial grassroots venues.
Very loud music inside tightly-packed, small-capacity rooms? It’s a winning formula that never fails. It’s about time we broke a sweat – here’s hoping the knees just about hold out.
Hosted in the heart of the Northern Quarter, which continues to thrive as a creative hub for new music and art of all forms, the festival will be debuting at small-cap favourites Gullivers and Castle Hotel just across the road.
As you can see, the lineup is full of up-and-coming talent within the guitar-driven space, but you can bank on more than a few bringing their die-hard fans to fill the place out to the rafters.
It doesn’t matter if you prefer punk, hardcore, grunge or another specific sub-genre found somewhere in between the ever-sprawling rock spectrum, there’s something to suit all alternative tastes at this one.
With the likes of Bohmen, Mavis, One Dimensional Creatures and Smother headlining the first-ever iteration of the festival across four stages, you can expect plenty of energy and even more noise.
Set up by the events group of the same name, Broken Knees Promotions, who help platform rock and alt acts across Greater Manchester and beyond year-round, this is more than just a festival: it’s a grassroots celebration through and through.
Best of all, if you’re interested, you don’t have to wait long because it’s kicking off next month.
Gigs go off in here. If you know, you know… (Credit: Audio North)
Broken Knees Fest 2025 is happening on the weekend of 21-22 June, and you’ll be glad to hear that, as a brand new event, prices have been kept nice and low.
The early bird window had prices starting from just £12, and although this tier has now sold out, day tickets are still only £15 while a full weekend pass will set you back £25.
Until then, why not dive into another load of new Manchester music? We round up artists from all genres each month; we’ll also confess to leaning slightly more towards the heavier stuff from time to time.
Olly Murs cancels Manchester gig after walking off stage six songs into huge arena show
Daisy Jackson
Olly Murs has now officially cancelled his show in Manchester tonight, a day after walking off stage just six songs into a huge arena gig.
The Heart Skips a Beat star had been performing in Glasgow last night when he abruptly stopped the show, apologised to fans, and left the stage.
The gig was cancelled around 30 minutes into his show, which is part of a huge UK arena tour that was meant to be heading to Manchester tonight.
A tearful Olly said that he was seeing a doctor last night and would update fans of the rest of his shows ‘as soon as I know anything’.
It’s now been confirmed that his gig at the AO Arena will not be going ahead.
Olly Murs said in a statement: “30 minutes into my set in Glasgow I lost my voice & unfortunately had to leave the stage midway through the show. This has never happened before and not something I take lightly.
“I’m sorry to all the fans who came out to the show last night and am forever grateful for your support.
“To everyone in Manchester and Birmingham I’m deeply sorry, but am unfortunately going to have to cancel my shows this weekend. I have contracted a respiratory infection and have been instructed to go on a strict 48 hour voice rest by the doctor to ensure no further damage to my vocal cords.
“I have been enjoying this tour so much, and am so sorry to let down my fans – but have to put my health first. I’m hoping to be fighting fit in a few days to finish this amazing 15 year celebratory tour with a bang.”
In a video he shared to Instagram last night, Olly Murs said: “Firstly I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I had to walk off after six songs and cancel the show. I’ve never done this in 15 years.
“Most of the time as singers you can kind of get through it if your voice isn’t 100% – I walked out tonight thinking my voice was great, I maybe felt a little bit run down but I didn’t think I couldn’t do the show. I wouldn’t have come out there otherwise.
“So to walk off after six songs, as I said, I’m so sorry. As you can probably hear from my voice, I just sounded rubbish and it’s unfair for you guys that spent all that money to come and see me. You deserve the best show and me being at my best, and I’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart.
“Hopefully I can recover from this.
“I’m actually going to see a doctor tonight which is great, so I’ll give you guys an update as soon as I know anything. Obviously I wanna try my absolute best to make these shows possible at the weekend.
“So yeah, so sorry for everyone tonight, apologies from the bottom of my heart. Gutted.”
Danny Jones -
15th August 2024 
