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Review: Summer of Love Festival 2021

The inaugural two-day festival from Animal Crossing went without a hitch.

Hannah Starkie Hannah Starkie - 2nd September 2021

To say we’d missed festivals is a bit of an understatement. But we didn’t realise just how much until we stepped through the gates of Summer of Love – the brand-new festival venture from the Animal Crossing team.  

Announced only a couple of months ago, the newest date in the calendar had its inaugural outing on 21 and 22 August.

Sadly, we were only able to get down to the site on the Sunday. But despite already being a day into the festival, we were still met with that familiar buzz when we arrived. And in fact, come Sunday afternoon the sun was blazing – the perfect festival ingredient.  

The lineup boasted a huge collection of DJs from all over Europe, bringing big names in house and Romanian minimal to a random car park on the outskirts of Manchester city centre. And this had Animal Crossing written all over it.  

If forced to pick out highlights, we could be here all day. There was no lull in the day. There were no bad vibes. Just dancing and catching up with old friends as if no time had passed. And the setting for it all was like no other. Expertly organised, our entry was quick and efficient – so no time was wasted waiting in line. Nor at the bars either.  

The 60s love and peace hippy theme of the event could be seen through every detail of the site. From the huge handmade mushrooms that stood a couple of foot high beside the DJ booth, to the painted skylights that let in a stained-glass window effect of colour, everything was a perfect example of what Animal Crossing are all about.

The ‘Love Factory’ stage was dressed the part in colourful props with multi-coloured windows. Credit: Animal Crossing

The previous day had welcomed DJs Priku and Praslesh, and You&Me’s Josh Baker throughout the day across the three stages – which unfortunately we’d missed out on.  

But we made up for lost time on the Sunday with the likes of Dyed Soundorum, Traumer and Shonky.  

Arriving at around 2pm, we headed straight to the Trommel Stage where London-based DJ duo Hamish and Toby were getting things going. Despite playing the smaller stage, the vibe and atmosphere were there as the pair chucked out some genre-bending tracks that made for an intriguing set. With roots in the north, the pair looked at home and were enjoying the day as much as us. Always good to see.  

By 4pm, it was time for Dyed Soundorum at the ‘Love Factory’ – the festival’s main stage for the weekend.  

As one third of the French trio Apollonia, Dyed’s expert selections were a hit with the crowd who lapped up his minimal house soundtrack. Three hours of his thumping and driving beats flew by too quickly.

Traumer B2B Shonky was next, back outside at the Trommel Stage. It was an exclusive set as the duo joined forces for their first ever B2B together. As two powerhouses of the genre, we expected nothing less a heavy-hitting set packed with surprises. And they delivered.

Traumer and Shonky played their first ever B2B set. Credit: Animal Crossing

The place came to life at night, though, just in time for [A:RPIA:R] – a.k.a. the Romanian minimalist trio of Raresh, Petre Insperecsi and Rhadoo. With years of experience in the game, the three of them bring something deeper.  

They were accompanied by a myriad of trippy visuals from Dreamrec which were cast onto each wall of the ‘Love Factory’. The 360-degree experience was a delight for the eyes, as well as the ears.  

All in all, our first festival outing since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted was one to remember. And we couldn’t think of a better place to help us resume normal life again.  

Trommel hosted a stage at this year’s Summer of Love. Credit: Animal Crossing

Summer of Love 2022

If you’re already looking towards the 2022 festival season, you’ll be pleased to know next year’s dates have already been announced.

It’ll take place on 27 and 28 August next time. And like this year, organisers have selected another secret location for the occasion, which will be revealed in due course. And whilst there’s no lineup announcement yet, we know the AC team always pull it out the bag.

So, if you’re keen to get it in the dairy now, grab your tickets here. 

For more Manchester music content head here and don’t forget to follow The Manc Audio on Instagram.

Featured image: Animal Crossing

Audio

Revenue from Manchester’s ‘big gigs’ to go towards supporting local grassroots music venues

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester City Council is set to earmark almost £250,000 to support grassroots music venues in the city.

Following on from the success of the city’s huge summer of music, which in recent weeks has seen hundreds of thousands of fans converge in the city to see massive names like Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Charlie XCX, Elbow, and Robbie Williams, as well as other talents like Fontaines D.C. and Sam Fender still yet to come.

Oh yeah, and there was also that small matter of Oasis reuniting for five nostalgia-drenched gigs in Manchester’s Heaton Park earlier last month.

Over the course of the summer, it has been estimated that Manchester will have attracted a whopping 1.3 million music tourists, which is being described as a ‘tremendous’ boost for the city’s economy as a whole, especially the hospitality industry.

Concert crowd
Revenue made from Manchester’s ‘big gigs’ this summer is to go towards supporting local grassroots music venues / Credit: Eldhose Kuriyan | Joshua Hanson (via Unsplash)

These huge events are also generating income for the Council too, either by being hosted in the city’s largest parks with commercial arrangements for their use, or through the business rates paid by major venues – and it’s this income that has been earmarked to go towards supporting grassroots music venues throughout the city.

As well as reinvesting part of this revenue into parks and greenspaces, the Council is planning to set aside £245,000 to be made available in financial support for Manchester’s grassroots venues.

While exact details are in the process of being finalised, the intention is that the scheme will be administered by the Music Venue Trust to ensure that the money gets to where it is needed as ‘quickly and effectively’ as possible.

It’s estimated that Manchester will have welcomed 1.3 million music tourists before summer’s out / Credit: Nathan Mullet (via Unsplash)

“Manchester is a big noise in the music world,” commented Councillor Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council, “and this summer, all eyes have been on the city as we’ve hosted some huge concerts and seen unprecedented success in our large venues.

“But while the biggest gigs might dominate the headlines, we know they are only possible because they are part of a wider ecosystem, with grassroots venues providing the launchpads for acts to develop and grow.

“We know that across the country, grassroots venues are struggling. That’s why we want to ensure that our grassroots venues can share some of the benefit from the success of those big events.

“We’re blessed in Manchester with an array of great smaller venues.

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“They are there to be enjoyed and I’d encouraged anyone who values them to get out and support them.”

Featured Image – Rahul Kukreja (via Unsplash)

Audio

Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | July 2025

Danny Jones Danny Jones New Manchester music artists July 2025

Hello again, it’s us: The Manc, or more specifically, our Audio North arm – back to talk about the music coming out of Greater Manchester that we’ve been listening to over the past month.

If you’re new here, it really is as simple as that, and whether they’re revered veterans of the region’s music scene or what we think might be the next up-and-coming thing, as long as it’s from ’round our way, we’ll give it a chance.

Five native artists, three recommended tracks from each and hopefully hours of exciting new listening if you play your cards right.

Headphones and playlists at the ready. Here’s what we had on in July.

Manchester music we’ve been into recently

1. poor effort

We’re kicking things off with an experimental project from Salford-born and Manchester-based musician and writer, Matty Dagger, whose new outing in the spoken word space immediately caught our attention when it came down the grapevine. It’s a bit alternative, a bit punk and very Manc. We love it.

Some might say it’s reminiscent of Yard Act and Sleaford Mods, which would be fair, but more specifically, our first listens gave us Stockport’s very own Hello Cosmos with a sprinkling of Oldham’s Seb Lowe (both previous monthly picks). The lyrical/vocal delivery is charmingly casual and anecdotal.

Dagger’s poor effort couldn’t be anything less than; there seems to be a very considered approach to the more electronic style of spoken word and poetry-driven music. You can complete the discography already, but we’d start with ‘you’re wrong, i’m right (symphony)’, ‘HMRC’, and then ‘City of Hope’.

Cool visual aesthetics going on too.

2. Victoria Jane

Next up is a big knee-jerking turn in genre and overall temperament, as if Dagger has been making us pay microscopic attention to every word and Greater Mancunian reference, this local musician hooked us in with her somewhat quieter but inviting timbre of voice and smooth, almost sleepy melodies at times.

Victoria Jane may have been born in London, having previously collaborated as part of the Vibbar collective, but having moved to 0161 as a kid and falling in love with Man United, she’s always immersed herself in the Northern way. The R’n’B act also presents BBC Radio 1 ‘Future Soul’ show.

Her work really hits all the notes you want, from smooth and soulful singing, to not quite voice cracks but soft, intentional breaks that often feel nigh on agonising – as if she’s into you and welcoming you to slump back the other way. ‘The One’, ‘Voicenote Freestyle’ and ‘On My Own’ are our picks.

3. Phellotape

Number three is, admittedly, another big whiplash when it comes to overall experience, but it’s one of the most unique musical discoveries we’ve made in a hit minute. This musical duo is called Phellotape, conceived by double bassist Alice Phelps and multi-instrumentalist producer Thomas ‘Twem’ Twemlow.

They met while playing in the queer alt-rock outfit, The Irrepressibles, but this project could be branded as anything from alternative and/or experimental to maybe even art pop. All we know is the multi-talented mix of instruments within almost every section, and pulling from numerous styles is pretty staggering.

Rather fittingly, there are only two recorded tracks to their name so far; ‘Rain’ is a quiet, atmospheric song that puts you in mind of London Grammar with a mix of the xx and Massive Attack, while ‘Hungry Ghost’ is quite easily one of the most interesting tunes we’ve heard in the past decade. No exaggeration.

4. 10cc

Fancing something more familiar for number four? Well, as a born and bred Stopfordian myself, every now and again I go back and admire some of the incredible names that recorded at the town’s famous Strawberry Studios – one of which is Stockport‘s very own 10cc. Great name, great band.

The moment I heard my then-teenage brother play ‘Donna’, I was baffled as to why he was playing what I then just dismissed as “old music”, before it quickly got stuck in my head. Is it their best tune? No. Does it still hold a special place in my head and heart? Yes. Do they have other standouts? Absolutely.

For the record, while most people recognise the likes of the controversial ‘Dreadlock Holiday’, I’d argue ‘Good Morning Judge’ is their best track and the first time I listened to it, I thought it was one of the coolest sounding intros ever. Still do. ‘I’m Not In Love’ with them, but they are a core childhood memory.

A hugely undercelebrated of Greater Manchester music history (Credit: AVRO/Dirk Annemans (via Wikimedia Commons)

5. Oasis

Speaking of legends who evoke nothing but feelings of hometown pride, legacy and pure admiration, it’d be the most see-through lie ever to pretend that we haven’t spent most of this last month listening to the almighty Oasis amid their comeback tour.

We had the pleasure of being there at Heaton Park and up on ‘Gallagher Hill’, which now has its own precious place in British music history, and July as a whole still feels akin to a fever dream and similar to what we imagine Glastonbury is like for those nearby when it takes over their entire universe.

July 2025 really was “biblical” and we don’t think we’ll ever get over it, so, last but not least, we’d thought we’d give a special shout-out to some of our favourite tracks that didn’t make the setlist. ‘Don’t Go Away’, ‘Shock of the Lightning’, ‘Round Are Way’. Done.

As The Masterplan proved, everything from the so-called ‘filler’ album tracks to those B-sides is better than most other bands could dream of. As you were x

Oasis are clearly doing something very deliberate for the as-yet-unconfirmed Live ’25 reunion album
We can’t NOT get carried away as long as Live ’25 reunion season goes on, a.k.a. ‘Manchester Music Christmas’.

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Featured Images — University of Salford/Soundcloud/Jamie Soule (supplied)

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