Manchester record label Scruff of the Neck has launched their brand-new music festival in the city centre, Year’s End, as dozens of up-and-coming bands from the North and beyond are set to close out 2023 in style.
Debuting this December, the inaugural Year’s End Festival is 0161’s newest metropolitan music event, promising nearly 50 different artists playing across eight different beloved stages in central Manchester, all within the space of less than 24 hours.
The day-night festival will be taking place along the city’s iconic Oxford Road Corridor, considered not only student central but home to some of our most iconic venues where countless bands and solo acts have made their name and continue to play to this day. Here’s the final lineup for Year’s End 2023.
Credit: Liam MaxwellThe lineup for the first-ever Year’s End Fest.
Playing across the following locations — The Bread Shed, Canvas (two rooms), The Deaf Insitute (also two rooms), Hatch, Thirsty Scholar (indoor and outdoor) and Zombie Shack — each gig will be just a short walking distance from another and boast a capacity of 2,000 guests in total.
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If you’ve ever been to any of these venues, be it the legendary Deaf Institute or the shiny new surround that is Circle Sqaure‘s Canvas bar, restaurant and events space, you’ll know that each of them offers up their own unique charm.
Better still, with a host of Scruff of the Neck bands signed up like BLOXX, Shambolics and All the Young, plenty of local acts such as The Covasettes, UNO MAS and Cassia just to name a few, as well as big names in general like The View, there is going to be some serious talent on display.
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Set up not only by Scruff but with the help of BBC Introducing, Fatsoma; Marshall, 42nd Street and music-fuelled beer brand, Signature Brew, there is a lot of collaboration and celebration of the ‘up-and-coming’ about this exciting new event — that’s what we like to hear.
Credit: Lewis WolstenholmeCredit: Scruff of the Neck
While early bird passes (which cost just £15) have already sold out, there are still plenty of tier one general release tickets available for £20 before tiers two and three drop at a different price point.
It goes without saying that you need to be quick if you don’t want to miss out on Manchester’s newest music festival. Each ticket grants you access to every single venue all day and night long, plus a free wristband that will get you into the afterparty. You can grab yours HERE.
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Year’s End Festival kicks off at 12pm and will run until 11pm on 9 December, followed by the afterparty which will be hosted by none other than Scruff of the Neck themselves, who’ll be on decks until late.
The label’s founder, Mark Lippmann, is tipping the unique music industry and community concept as the perfect way “to end the year with one big blowout and a chance to spend quality time together whilst enjoying our artists before the music industry Christmas break.” We couldn’t agree more.
See you there. In the meantime, there’s plenty of gigs on the schedule for the rest of the month:
Featured Images — Year’s End Festival/Scruff of the Neck
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Respects paid to late frontman of Happy Mondays tribute act as Shaun Ryder joins tributes
Danny Jones
Tributes are being paid to the late Marc James Watmough, frontman of the much-loved Happy Mondays tribute band, Happy Mondaze, who sadly passed away earlier this month.
In terms of tribute acts, you won’t find many as adored as the Happy Mondaze, and with that, the news of Marc James Watmough’s death has hit Manc music fans and avid ‘Madchester’ die-hards, specifically, rather hard.
Watmough was the lead singer who played the role of Shaun Ryder for more than a decade as part of the Mondaze – the number one Happy Mondays tribute band in the world – as well as being involved in other musical projects over the years.
His bandmates shared the following statement below on Tuesday, 8 April.
RIP Marc, great guy and frontman. Loved working with him. Sending love to his friends and family.
Speaking on social media, the real Shaun Ryder himself joined the procession of tributes online, writing simply: “RIP Marc James Watmough of Happy Mondaze. Sending condolences to Marc’s bandmates and loved ones.”
He is said to have died suddenly last week; the cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
Fellow tribute artist Laid (who double as another iconic local band, James) said: “Really sad to hear this. God bless you all. Nothing But Love.”
Music event production company M35 Live went on to add: “Rest In Peace Marc. Gutted to hear this sad news. Remember when I first met Marc with his band New Antics many years ago pre-Mondaze. He was a star. We hit it off straight away – I booked his band New Antics and we became pals.
“Always a pleasure to work with, both with New Antics and later with Happy Mondaze. I recall clearly the day he phoned me, telling me he was putting together a Happy Mondays tribute group and he’d love me to be involved, management or whatever. I didn’t – had too much on at the time but wished him luck…
rip to marc james watmough,, lead singer of the happy mondays tribute band “happy mondaze” absolutely lovely chap. let me and my dad on the guestlist multiple times and was so so lovely💔 proper heartbroken to find out this news
— ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚anais˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ (@autofiction__) April 9, 2025
“He was fired up for it – he hadn’t even got the band together at this stage, but he said he was already working on taking it on tour all over the UK and beyond. Well, Marc – you did it ‘r kid – smashed it. There was never any doubt. God bless you pal.” They shared an even lengthier tribute on their own page.
Several other tribute bands have paid tribute to the talented vocalist and charismatic performer, serving as yet more proof that this particular corner of the music world is a close-knit community that means a lot to those who make a living from it and the thousands who watch them every year.
Our thoughts go out to all of his friends and family during this difficult time.
There’s a FREE jazz festival coming to Manchester this summer
Thomas Melia
Manchester is about to get blessed by the music gods this summer as our annual free jazz festival is making its way to the city centre very soon.
Whether it’s the rich and creamy vocals of Raye that feel like a warm embrace or the lively and energetic horns of Ezra Collective that get you on your feet instantly, jazz is beloved among us Brits.
Jazz aficionados and music lovers alike are welcome to rejoice in the resounding rhythms of this special genre for free as Manchester Jazz Festival returns for an equally special anniversary.
This iconic festival, commonly abbreviated to MJF, has been blasting out triumphant horns, piano riffs, vocal scats and more for a whopping 30 years, and they’re inviting everyone to party with them.
Manchester Jazz Festival is returning to the city centre this May.This year, Manchester Jazz Festival are celebrating their milestone 30th birthday.Credit: Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Manchester Jazz Festival is taking over First Street with tonnes of family friendly activities, food and drink vendors and, of course, lots of live music.
So much live music that they don’t just have one stage; in fact, this summertime festival will be spread across three different stages with a sweet selection of over 20 different bands too.
This year sees the event running across three dates next month, all aimed at featuring the very best homegrown contemporary jazz artists, with a showcase for rising stars on the final day.
We got to see the likes of Nubiyan Twist, adopted Manc favourites Conor & The GreensKeepers, Mercury Prize-nominated Corto Alto and tonnes more last time around.
The first batch of activities that will be taking place on 16 May include crafting with the geniuses from Plant, an ‘interactive Alice in Wonderland show’ and even a free yoga session.
Of course, there will be plenty more announcements and updates to follow, but this is already set to be a vibrant and exciting three-day party dedicated to keeping everything groovy.
In order to keep Manchester Jazz Festival ‘jazzin up your summer since ’96‘, they rely on donations to make the event accessible for all, support northern artists and keep running incredible creative projects.
That’s why, to celebrate this festival’s milestone birthday, a ‘£30 for 30’ campaign has been set up to raise money for the charity, which you can contribute to as you like.
Manchester Jazz Festival is returning for 2025 throughout First Street and further out into Manchester city centre from 16-18 May; best of all, as mentioned, the large majority of shows are completely free with no prior booking required.
However, if you’d like to keep attending events such as this, once again, you can pledge a donation to their ‘£30 for 30’ campaign, and it really does make a big difference.
You can check out the full lineup and events programme HERE.
MJF 2025 is set to be packed with all the usual groovy tunes and fun activities.Smiles all round, especially when you’re watching live entertainment at this impressive festival.Credit: Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Danny Jones -
6th November 2023 
