The longlisted nominations for the Nordoff and Robbins Northern Music Awards’ Festival of the Year have been announced – and it’s up to The Manc’s audience to complete the list.
A panel of esteemed judges have picked out 19 festivals that stood out from the crowd, whether it’s for their line-ups, their charitable missions, their commitment to the environment or their value for money.
But the 20th slot remains open, and the Northern Music Awards is asking The Manc audience to nominate their favourite festival ahead of the awards themselves in November.
The form to submit your favourite festival for consideration is at the bottom of this article.
The Manc has been announced as the sponsor for the Festival of the Year category, and we’re delighted to help champion this brilliant format of live music.
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There’s nothing like the joy of a festival, whether it’s a small family-friendly affair or a star-studded line-up with parties running into the early hours.
Festivals already selected – and the 20th nominee still to be chosen – all demonstrate incredible creative direction, atmosphere, reputation and brand.
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Those already on the list include festivals around Greater Manchester like Highest Point, Bluedot, and Parklife, huge events near Leeds including Leeds Festival and Long Division Wakefield, and Sheffield favourites like Tramlines and Get Together.
Parklife festival. Credit: The Manc Group
The Northern Music Awards themselves will be the first of its kind to celebrate the northern music scene, and will take place at Aviva Studios (formerly known as Factory International) on Thursday 30 November.
After the inaugural event, the awards will be hosted in a different northern city every year and will continue to recognise the breadth of musical talent across the north of England.
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The Northern Music Awards have been created by music charity Nordoff and Robbins, with money raised from tickets going back to help fund the opening of a new dedicated music therapy centre, based in Salford.
Awards categories range from Newcomer of the Year to Artist of the Year, Band of the Year, DJ of the Year, Maverick in Music, and the Northern Music Award.
A special Music and Culture for Wellbeing award will showcase outstanding and innovative creative arts provision in the North, that uses music and culture to support and connect with people that face health, wellbeing and socio-economic challenges.
We here at The Manc will be proud sponsors of the Festival of the Year category.
Kristen MacGregor-Houlston, head of brand partnerships at The Manc, said: “We at The Manc are incredibly excited and proud to be sponsoring the favourite festival award at the Northern Music Awards.
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“It is a fantastic opportunity to really champion the awesome festivals we have across the North of England. We have always been proud supporters of Northern music talent and events and we are thrilled that Nordoff and Robbins are bringing these awards to Manchester in November.”
The festivals already nominated for Festival of the Year at the Northern Music Awards
Beatherder Lancashire
Bluedot Cheshire
Confessional Blackburn
Creamfields North
Deer Shed Yorkshire
Get Together Sheffield
Highest Point Lancaster
Kendal Calling Cumbria
Leeds Festival
Lindisfarne Festival Northumberland
Long Division Wakefield
Lytham Festival
Manchester Pride
Moovin Stockport
Neighborhood Warrington
Parklife Manchester
Sounds from the Other City Salford
Sound City Liverpool
TramLines Sheffield
Cast your vote here:
Featured image: Lucas Sinclair
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The Strokes at Co-op Live, Manchester – actually very hard to explain
Daisy Jackson
Manchester has waited a long, long time for this – The Strokes back on stage in our city.
I’ve been a fan of the band for as long as I can remember, but have never managed to catch them live, partly because they’ve left it TWENTY YEARS between shows here.
But back they are, with an enormous gig at the Co-op Live on their Reality Awaits tour.
The Strokes are known as one of the most solid indie bands of the 2000s, going triple platinum with their debut album Is This It and releasing massive anthems like Last Nite, Reptilia, and Someday.
They’re also known as a bit of an unpredictable live act – some will say they’re one of the best on the circuit, others will say they’re disappointing, and it really can depend on the night.
What they’re not known for is their audience interaction, so when frontman Julian Casablancas tries to have a bit of a chat with the audience, we all sort of stare blankly back at him. He’s speaking to us? What do we do?
“Wow, tough crowd,” he says, which is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone describe a Manchester audience as tough.
Then he turns back to drummer Fabrizio Moretti and says: “This is f*cking hideous, let’s play some songs.”
The setlist seems to get a shake-up every couple of shows, which is a nice surprise for us – and apparently also Julian, who regularly pops over to ask his bandmates what’s up next.
It doesn’t really matter that he’s not done his homework, because the second that drum kicks in, along with the impeccable guitar work of Schiltz, Fraiture and Hammond Jr., he snaps into action.
It’s impressive that their songs still have such singalong quality when Casablancas enunciates like a man with a dislocated jaw. For certain songs he’s so incoherent that if you weren’t a fan you’d walk in this room and wonder what the f*ck was going on.
But then, that’s sort of why us The Strokes fans love them so much. There’s a calamitous beauty to the work they put out and it’s so fun to belt out some words, even if they’re not the right ones.
I was hoping that seeing it live would sell that divisive new album, Reality Awaits, to me, but it didn’t. It’s too autotuney, too languid, and too often the victim of everyone’s toilet breaks.
Their earlier tracks still land best in a live setting, especially Reptilia, an absolute juggernaut in their back catalogue.
Rollercoaster set and tricky crowd interactions aside, we all had a great time – I’m just not sure I could say the same about Julian Casablancas.
Sam Fender describes his own ticket prices as ‘b*llocks’ and demands change for fans
Daisy Jackson
Sam Fender has kicked off about ticket prices for his own tour, ahead of his huge stadium summer next year.
The Geordie star announced his Proper Massive stadium tour last week, which will visit some of the UK’s biggest venues including The O2 in London, Etihad Stadium in Manchester, and St James’ Park in his home city of Newcastle.
But after ticket prices for the tour were announced, Sam Fender surprised us all by joining in with a moan about how expensive they were.
He described the ticketing strategy for his tour as ‘b*llocks’ and said he was ‘not happy’ with ticket prices.
And proving just how much sway an artist can have on ticket prices, Sam Fender then demanded that things be redone.
Sam first appeared in the comments on Gavin Davis’ Instagram account, which frequently shares tour leaks and ticket prices.
There, he wrote: “I’m not happy with these prices, they’re getting changed. It got inflated well more than I’d had in mind, it should only be inflated in relation to the cost of putting the show on.
“The standing will not be split as well, I had no idea about it. I have no idea how this was normalised in gigs.
“It’s bollocks and it won’t be happening on this tour.”
Then later, on his own Instagram stories, Sam Fender posted: “I’ve managed to get Front Standing tickets removed from the UK stadium tour. Whoever buys a standing ticket gets as much chance as anyone to be at the front.
“No more £120 standing tickets either.
“Costs are astronomical compared to two years ago, I can’t control the venue and ticketing fees, that’s a sad reality of today’s industry.
“This is gonna be the biggest and best show we’ve ever put on. Can’t wait to see everyone on the road next summer!”
The ticket prices for the Proper Massive tour are now confirmed by Sam Fender himself as being £85 for GA standing, and £55/£75/£95 for seats.
Daisy Jackson -
25th July 2023 
