A pair of the North West’s biggest and brightest up-and-coming acts, The K’s and The Lottery Winners are teaming up for the return of the Newton Music Festival, celebrating the best new music from around the region.
The loud and much-loved indie rockers have emerged as two of the fastest-rising artists in the genre, not to mention a pair of bands with heaps of personality that have made them firm favourites amongst countless fans as their names have grown.
Starting with our wonderful Wiganers, they have headlined multiple festivals, achieved a number-one album and even supported the likes of Noel Gallagher and Nickelback – and that’s just in the last 12 months or so.
Looking to build on their meteoric rise and keep the momentum going, The K’s have decided to set up a brand-new music festival in their hometown of Netwon-Le-Willows, and have invited our very own lot from Leigh to join them for a very special evening of music.
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Appearing alongside the two North West big hitters will be Manchester’s Meduulla, The Rolling People from Stockport, as well as a local duo of acts, Asian Blonde and Malarkey, who’ll be flying the flag for the North West town that also the legendary Rick Astley.
Newton Music Festival will be The K’s first homecoming event off the back of reaching number three debut in the UK with their smash-hit debut album, I Wonder If The World Knows, which was released earlier this year and proceeded a sell-out album tour.
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After playing to nearly 4,000 at Victoria Warehouse and embarking on a raft of summer festivals, including playing to a 12,000-strong crowd at Glastonbury’s iconic Woodsies stage, the Earlestown-formed four-piece are absolutely flying and now looking to bring some mates along for the ride.
Ryan Breslin, guitarist from The K’s said: “We’re all absolutely buzzing to be playing our hometown for the return of Newton Music Festival. Heading back to the park we grew up on, it’s come full circle. The lineup this year is class and the support we’ve had from our town so far has been unreal, we can’t wait – see you there!”
With mainstage gigs at Reading and Leeds this August and support slots for Liam Gallagher’s highly-anticipated Malta Weekender this coming September, they’ve got plenty on the cards but this just might be the most exciting announcement yet.
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What we’re hoping will be the first of many Newton Music Festival takes place at Mesnes Park on Saturday, 3 August, and if the headliners weren’t exciting enough, you’ll be treated to lots more North West talent on show to boot.
Thom Rylance, lead vocalist with The Lottery Winners said of the event: “Not only are The K’s our good friends, they are one of the most exciting bands out there at the moment, when they asked us to support them as special guests at their hometown festival which is just down the road from us it was an absolute no-brainer”.
Newton Music Festival takes place at Mesnes Park, Newton-Le-Willows on Saturday, August 3rd from 5-10pm and tickets are priced at just £20. You can grab yours HERE and we hope to see you there.
Beloved Manchester club night Funkademia leaves Mint Lounge after 14 years
Danny Jones
One of the best-loved and longest-standing clubbing institutions in Manchester, Funkademia, is relocating once more as it leaves Mint Lounge after 14 years.
Started all the way back in 1995, there isn’t an older weekly club night in the history of this city, but the local weekend event and raver’s rite of passage is about to leave the cult favourite Northern Quarter venue after nearly a decade and a half and set up shop in another new home.
From its infancy at the old Boardwalk on Little Peter Street and popping up in the Mint Lounge back circa 2014, to the continued residency at Exhibition on Fridays, there have been many iterations of Funkademia and now the next chapter beckons from student-central over on Oxford Road.
It’s the start of a new era and it gets started this weekend.
Following in the footsteps of many famous promotions before them, future Funkademia nights will now be hosted by the legendary Deaf Institute.
Celebrating with a launch party on Saturday, 21 September, the iconic event will take over all three floors of the venue; The Music Hall will spin classic funk, disco, and soul beneath the disco ball, while the main bar (a.k.a. The Boombox Room) pumps R’n’B and hip-hop throughout the night.
Then, heading downstairs to the intimate bar and private hire room – regularly used for special events and celebration space – you can expect ‘big boudoir vibes’ and pure grooves spun by an array of special guests every Saturday.
Mint Lounge home held its final blowout at the venue this past spring bank holiday and they bid a fond farewell to the venue in true Funkademia fashion, but we’re glad it’s found such a wonderful new home.
The Deaf Institute is still one of our favourite venues in Manchester and always will be; plus, with almost three decades of dancing history behind them and no sign of slowing down any time soon, the future of Funkademia is in good hands.
Co-promoter Jamie Scahill said of the relocation: “We’re thrilled to be bringing Funkademia to The Deaf Institute, a venue we’ve all spent many late nights at and have long admired. After an incredible run at The Mint Lounge, it felt like the right time to move to a new home where we can continue to evolve and deliver the unforgettable nights that our crowd has come to love.
“There’s nowhere else quite like The Deaf Institute, and it’s the perfect place for us to start this new chapter. We can’t wait to see both familiar and new faces on all three dancefloors.”
As for the new home itself, General Manager Curtis Willson went on to add: “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Funkademia to The Deaf Institute. This is a legendary night that has been a cornerstone of Manchester’s nightlife for nearly 30 years, and we’re honoured to be a part of its next phase.
“Our venue is all about celebrating music and creating memorable experiences, and we know that Funkademia will bring exactly that every Saturday night. It’s going to be something special, and we can’t wait for the party to start this September.”
Tickets for Funkademia’s opening night at Deaf and all subsequent dates are available now at just £5 via Skiddle, with 100 early-bird tickets for all September dates still priced for only £3. You can grab yours HERE.
Doors open from 7pm every week, with DJs playing “all killer, no filler, to keep the dancefloor movin’ until 4am” – and believe us, they always stay true to their word.
Blossoms announce massive Manchester residency with five shows at five different venues
Danny Jones
Stockport’s finest Blossoms puzzled everyone when they decided to skip out on any shows in Greater Manchester on their recent tour announcement – turns out they were just waiting to announce not one but FIVE massive gigs right here in the city centre.
With the fifth studio album Gary out this week, their utterly incredible gig in front of 30,000 at Wythenshawe Park still very fresh in our minds, not to mention talk of them supporting Oasis on their reunion trail also in the air, the high-flying indie five-piece are… well, doing just that.
That being said, we did double-take when Blossoms announced their brand-new UK tour last month and we couldn’t spot a single SK or even 0161-based date; safe to say we were very relieved when we realised they were just teasing us ahead of a historic Manchester residency.
August’s outdoor all-dayer might have been the biggest single show of their career so far, but revisiting some of the most iconic Manc stages they’ve played before in less than a week is something special.
Yes, while their popularity might mean they’re not able to squeeze their hordes of adoring fans into the likes of Night and Day Cafe any more, Blossoms’ will not only be playing multiple Manchester gigs, they’ll be retracing their steps and going back to the much-loved venues that put them on the map.
We’ve seen them at The Plaza and Edgeley Park on their home turf, Castlefield Bowl here in town and even at festivals such as Kendal Calling, Leeds, Glasto and more – seeing a bunch of blokes from around our way in the big leagues warms our heart – but the band and the fans never forget those early gigs.
That being said, the local lads will be playing Manchester Academy, the O2 Ritz, Albert Hall, Victoria Warehouse and O2 Apollo over the course of just five nights. Some feat – only the ones bound for greatness get to line up those kinds of billings.
With some of the support acts already announced, including Leigh’s very own The Lottery Winners, you can find the full list of additional shows down below:
Tuesday, 19 Nov 2024 — Manchester Academy 1 – Special guests TBA
Wednesday, 20 Nov 2024 — Manchester O2 Ritz – Plus special guests Neon Waltz
Thursday, 21 Nov 2024 — Manchester Albert Hall – Special guests TBA
Friday, 22 Nov 2024 — Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse – Plus special guests The Ks
Saturday, 23 Nov 2024 — Manchester O2 Apollo – Plus special guests Lottery Winners
Speaking on the five residency gigs, Blossoms said: “We wanted to do something special with the Manchester shows for this run of gigs. We played each one of these venues on our way up, so it’s great after our Wythenshawe Park show to go and do these venues and remember where everything started for us. It’s a love letter of shows to the city! We can’t wait x.”
Tickets for Blossoms’ Manchester shows will be released just hours after Gary is finally dropped, with general sale going live at 9:30am this Friday, 20 September.
It won’t surprise any of you to learn that tickets for the other dates on the rest of their UK tour this October and November are almost sold out, so if you’re looking to see them anywhere else other in the country you best be quick about it.
You can grab yours HERE and we’ll see you at one of the five venues we hopefully get tickets for – at least we all get five chances!
Danny Jones -
28th July 2024 
