And here we are: it’s officially time for the final round-up of Manchester bands and artists for 2024 and what a year it’s been for tunage.
We started this feature back in January and each month we’ve given you five different acts, be they big, small, unsigned or unsung, new on the scene or veterans that deserve more attention.
Fast forward to December and now we’re ready for our last batch of suggestions for new music from around Greater Manchester that you may or may not have heard yet.
The question is, are you ready? Let’s give it one last spin around the turntables.
New Manchester music you should check out to start the new year
1. Morgan Seatree
Speaking of turntables, it seems only fitting to start with a Manchester-based DJ Morgan Seatree, whose tunes have already queued up at a fair few tunes ready for our New Year’s Eve playlist. Born and bred in 0161, not only has he smashed the likes of The Warehouse Project but his sound is already going global.
His inspirations include Kerri Chandler, Paul Woolford, Disclosure, Larry Heard and more, and his catchy brand of mixes has already attracted attention from other big names in the electronic scene, including Patrick Topping, Folamour, Jamie Jones and more.
Music made for nothing but dancing and good times, his ear for easily recognisable hooks and infectious beats means you’ll only be hearing more of his as time goes on. Our picks to start with include ‘Hit It!’, ‘Good Life’ and his ‘Say My Name’ remix. He’s also responsible for this iconic clip from a Fallowfield flat:
The kind of vibes we're after this #NewYearsEve. 🙌😅
Next up to bat are the truly brilliant Dirty Laces who have been going for a few years now but we still think are criminally underrated on the Manc music scene. Not only do they blend a great mix of American rock and roll influences with 90s and 2000s UK roots, but their latest work looks to be a real evolution.
There have always been proto-punk elements to their sound and wonderful guitar solos, as well as what we would liken to Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, Shed Seven, and even hints of Velvet Revolver on tracks like ‘These Days’ – imagine ‘Slither’ mixed with She Builds Quick Machines’.
However, it feels like we’re starting to hear them pulling in a slightly new direction and trying new things; there’s no better example of this than their recent singles, ‘Quiet Space’ and ‘If I Go’, which we’ve had on repeat for a few weeks now. ‘Seeker’, ‘Midnight Mile’ and ‘Old Friend’ are where we’d start though.
Third on our list is the immense throwback that is a young man called Elliot James Reay: the 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Bury but with a sound harkening back to the end of America’s ‘Golden Age’, where pop rolled into rock and vice versa.
Taking inspiration from the likes of Elvis Presley and deep obsessions with Roy Orbison, not only in terms of the music but look and overall style, this up-and-coming solo artist feels like he was born in the wrong era but will happily keep the fight alive with the help of vintage jackets, slicked-back hair and a guitar.
He’s only got a small handful of tunes so far, so it won’t feel too overwhelming to get through his discography either but you can also enjoy a selection of his old world covers including tracks by Orbison, Elvis, Paul Anka and more.
A Manchester artist with a straight out of the American South.
4. Florentenes
Number four of December 2024 is Florentenes from Bolton – well, Westhoughton to be more specific; are they named after the old tea room and bakery in the centre? We couldn’t possibly say, all we know is they’re very a talented group of young lads helping put the town’s music scene on the map.
Their debut EP 14:17 dropped back in November and there’s already a very clear stylistic idea in their heads even at such a young age. Melancholy nonchalant vocals that burst into shrieks and rip-roaring guitars are reminiscent of The Stokes, The Hives, Palaye Royale and even Frank Carter at times, but there are also early Arctic Monkeys drumming as well pacey Surf Curse-esque guitar riffs. There is a lot of different stuff going on, basically.
Again, they’ve only five tunes to get through just yet so this would be a great time to latch onto them before they inevitably start gaining more momentum next year. You don’t write build-ups, breakouts and literal screams like the one lead vocalist Will Smith (not that one) delivers in ‘Glue’ and not go anywhere. Watch this space.
And our last pick of the year goes to local lads Bayboards who are another local outfit that we’re getting very excited about going in 2025, for a couple of reasons. Let us explain…
Maybe it’s just how we process music or some weird serendipity, but we happened to discover these guys not long after hearing the news of Sundara Karma calling it a day and, fortunately for anyone who has been a fan of them, you’ll get a lot of that vibe from this quartet and plenty more range too.
You’ll get notes of Circa Waves and Vistas, as well as plenty of other contemporary British indie bands, not to mention some more shoegazey moments at least in those distorted guitar tones. We’re excited to see where they go next and if it’s anything like ‘Push Against The Blue’, ‘Moving to America’ or ‘Fire and Air’ we’ll be there every step of the way.
One of the most exciting new artists coming out of Manchester at the minute.
And for the last time this year, that really is all she wrote.
We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed coming along with us on the voyage of discovery and have genuinely cottoned on to new bands and artists from Greater Manchester that you’d never heard of before and perhaps familiarised yourself with a kind of music you never thought you’d enjoy up until now.
It goes without saying that this sort of stuff – discovering and championing local, up-and-coming bands – is the lifeblood of Audio North and genuinely keeps us going all year round.
You best believe we’ll be back with more in 2025 (so long as you’ll have us) and until then, we urge you to go back through previous months and above all else, happy listening!
Featured Images — Em Cole (supplied)/Bayboards (via Facebook)/Press Shot (Facebook)
Audio
Revenue from Manchester’s ‘big gigs’ to go towards supporting local grassroots music venues
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.
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.
It's been a BIG summer of music in Manchester.
We've got pioneering plans to use money raised by some of the biggest gigs to support our grassroots venues – a vital ingredient of the city's amazing music scene: https://t.co/8ekQN7AmGBpic.twitter.com/MpVWpeHqbk
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 31, 2025
“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.
“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
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.
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
Danny Jones -
31st December 2024 
