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You Are Not Alone Festival deliver gutting delay news

Can't catch a break.

Danny Jones - 13th February 2025

You Are Not Alone Festival has reluctantly had to inform Greater Manchester music fans that this year’s comeback event has sadly been delayed.

After debuting back in 2019 and hosting just their second-ever festival after lockdown, You Are Not Alone, or simply YANA Fest, was hoping to get back on track following another hiatus.

Having relocated from Manchester city centre to Stockport for their return festival this spring, where founder Benji Taylor first drummed up the idea and has gone on to build a strong local reputation thanks to the success of Bask, it’s an exciting prospect for the borough’s growing arts and cultural scene.

However, those hoping to go along to the event will have to wait a little longer as Taylor and his team have announced that You Are Not Alone 2025 has been officially delayed.

An update on YANA Fest 😔💛 pic.twitter.com/Rzc6HLG0CU
— You Are Not Alone Festival (@YANAfest) February 12, 2025

Sharing the unfortunate update on social media this week, they explained that having “lost four stages, of fairly big capacities”, they have been left with no choice but to postpone the event until further notice.

This comes after Blackbird Brewhouse and Kitchen, Syndikat, AMP – formerly Remedy Bar and then Dr Feelgood (a sister site of the short-lived Glass Spider, both of which closed) – joined the ever-growing list of Manc hospitality and venue casualties.

Syndikat is currently set to be transformed into a new music-forward space but some uncertainty around the project remains, meaning it could not be guaranteed as a venue.

All told this means that YANA Fest has suddenly found itself without four of its key stages; they go on to reassure that they are continuing to search for replacement spots in the area to stand in their place but, for the time being, the whole thing is on hold.

With a great selection of acts and all in aid of a fantastic cause, with proceeds going directly to mental health charity Mind, we sincerely hope it’s rescheduled sooner rather than later.

Signing off the statement, they continue: “Working hard to get this resolved quickly and to keep the lineup in place, and hopefully you can all do the new date once confirmed. Original tickets will remain valid. Lots of love and thanks for understanding. YANA x”

It’s unclear when exactly we can expect it to get back on track or whether Stockport will remain the home base for the festival given the struggle for suitable local venues but we’ll be keeping our fingers firmly crossed.

For now, anyone needing support during these difficult times, please reach out to services like Mind, Samaritans on 116 123; contact the NHS via the 101 service and in the event of any emergency, please dial 999 immediately.

YANA x

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Featured Images — YANA Fest (supplied)