Salford’s beloved Sounds From the Other City festival (SFTOC) has announced it will return to Chapel street‘s pubs, churches and community corners in 2022, bringing new music, performance and art to Salford once again.
Spreading across a host of exciting indie venues, it will celebrate intimate gigs in small spaces – taking over the likes of Bexley Square, Seven Bro7hers Beerhouse, fivefourstudios, Hot Bed Press, Old Pint Pot, Partisan, Porta, Regent Trading Estate, Saint Philip’s Church and The New Oxford.
Manchester International Festival’s new cultural space, The Factory, will also present a stage of up-and-coming artists as part of the SFTOC ahead of its official opening next year.
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
The festival has released its initial line-up today, welcoming a host of local Greater Manchester talent from across the city to perform following a two-year break.
Names to watch out for on this year’s roster include Manchester’s LayFullStop, Jenna G, OneDa, Katbrownsugar, Mali Hayes, Jazztronica, and LYR (Land Yacht Regatta) – the brainchild of UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and his bandmates Patrick James Pearson and Richard Walters.
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Elsewhere, Chandé and Gracie T, fresh off the back of their iconic 2021 B2B Boiler Room set, will bring a mix of garage, funky and classic Asian bangers to Salford.
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
Joining them on the bill will be much-lauded British electronic music producer Holy Other and Grove, the proudly black and queer Bristol-based producer, vocalist and DJ.
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Many more artists due to appear on the lineup are still to be announced.
This year’s community festival promises to recapture the “true, sweat-drenched, hands-on DIY SFTOC spirit”.
A regular sell-out, despite having taken two years off there’s no doubt that Sounds from the Other City is a genuine DIY success story and has a reputation for championing huge breakout artists at early points in their career.
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Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
In previous years, the festival has housed early performances from a diverse mix of artists including 2017 Mercury Music Prize winner Sampha, Manchester BBC Sound of 2018 nominee IAMDDB, Slowthai, Marina, Alt-J, James Ferraro, Hannah Peel, GoGo Penguin and Black Midi.
SFTOC has been a firm underground favourite with music lovers since 2005, delivering a unique annual event that champions local promoters and celebrates the off-kilter beauty of Salford, the oft-overlooked ‘other city’ to Manchester.
Taking place across the May Bank Holiday, this year the festival will kick off on Sunday 1 May 2022.
Riv Burns, Creative Director for the festival, said: “Coming back from two years without a festival was always going to be daunting.
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
“The support of our extended community from crowdfunders in 2020, through to purchasing tickets in the back end of 2021 with just a date announced, through to sheer enthusiasm from promoters and artists has been overwhelming and humbling.
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“This first wave of artists is so unbelievably exciting and quintessentially SFTOC, I’m really proud and can’t wait to bring this AND MORE to Chapel St and the surrounding area on Sunday 1st May. It really is shaping up to be a vintage year, full of magic, collaboration and new faces. One you don’t want to miss.”
This year’s artists have been selected by Manchester tastemakers Alphaville, Band on the Wall, Beauty Witch, Big People Music, Daytimers, Fat Out, Good Afternoon, Grey Lantern, Heavenly Recordings, Hey! Manchester, Kiss Me Again, Ladies Music Pub, Love Rain, NIAMOS, Now Wave, Partisan Collective, Reform Radio, Strange Days, Sweet Vibrations Radio, The Factory, Tru Luv and VAM.
Image: Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC)
The full Sounds From the Other City (SFTOC) 2022 lineup announcement so far:
Call it a Truce – Chandé (DJ) – Contours – Do you Remember the First Time? (DJ) – For Breakfast – Frazer (DJ) – Freya Beer – Glue 70 – Gracie T (DJ) – Grove – Gut Level (DJ) – Holy Other – Isaiah Hull – Jenna G (DJ) – Juke Joint (DJ) – Katbrownsugar (DJ) – Kid Katharsis – LayFullstop – LYR – Mali Hayes – Mandy, Indiana – Modern Nature – Nayana Iz – Obeka (LIVE) – OneDa – Psychederek – Sarah Bates – The Bug Club – The Rebel – Wesley Gonzalez
A local baby bank is holding a vital fundraiser to stop it from closing for good
Danny Jones
A Greater Manchester baby bank is holding a vital fundraiser in hopes of preventing it from closing for goodimminently.
For anyone unaware, baby banks are crucial organisations run largely by volunteers who help provide supplies to families in local communities, with more than 300 in use across the UK at present.
Through delivering much-needed aid such as clothing, prams, nappies and baby food, right through to direct financial support, they help keep parents and their children in good supply of essentials and much more – hugely important work at any rate, let alone during the winter and a cost of living crisis.
However, the Little Green Sock Project over in Trafford is at risk of permanent closure and was initially given until the new year to raise £200,000.
As seen in this moving video, the baby bank based over in Stretford Mall is in dire need of support and, crucially, the funds for a new premises.
They’ve been deeply moved by how Greater Manchester united in reaching into their pockets and sparing whatever they can to contribute to their fundraising target thus far – and they really are nearly at the finish line, which would mean safety for the genuinely life-saving service.
Fundamentally operated as a non-profit and volunteer-led charity, they naturally don’t have the means to just take over a new space on their own and with the current site set to be demolished very soon, a minimum of £200k is needed to find and fund a new location.
Having amassed over 90% of the amount needed, they’ve already bought themselves extra time, they just need one last push from us.
Urging people to donate what they can and share their fundraiser where possible, as well as welcoming corporate sponsorships should other local businesses wish to back them or get stuck through volunteering days, time is of the essence.
The Little Green Sock Project was only started back in 2022 and has already supported over 1,300 children, redistributing more than £240,000 worth of essential items like clothing, cots, prams, and stair gates to local families, as well as saving 20 tonnes of items from landfills.
It’s no exaggeration to say that they’ve changed and saved lives, both parents and children, and with the often difficult festive period approaching, their work is needed now more than ever.
There are just under a dozen baby banks in all of Greater Manchester, many of which are facing similar pressures. (Credit: Supplied)
Speaking on their efforts and the fundraiser, founder Catherine D’Albertanson said: “We believe that essentials needed for the health and wellbeing of children should not only be for those that can afford them. Our work ensures that no child in our community goes without essentials, but without new premises, we will have no choice but to close.”
Moreover, Little Green Sock Project is the only baby bank in the Trafford area and of the families it serves, 58% are single-parent households already struggling with the cost of raising children, while 29% are fleeing domestic abuse, often leaving their belongings behind to protect their family.
With their circular economy model, they also help reduce waste whilst providing “a trusted link between the families that have items to give, to those that need them the most”, with D’Albertanson adding, “If we lose this charity, we lose a vital safety net for many in our community.”
A service user commented: “It was a truly terrifying time when I was pregnant with my first child. I found myself completely alone, with a baby on the way, wondering how I could possibly provide for my son.
“Then I found Little Green Sock Project, and everything changed. Everything was carefully chosen, colour-coordinated, and presented in such a thoughtful way. It felt so special—like someone truly cared about me and my baby. That feeling is indescribable, especially for someone in my position.
“There are so many people like me with stories like this. It breaks my heart to think that the Little Green Sock Project might have to close its doors. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without your help, and I hope with all my heart that the community comes together to keep this lifeline alive.”
Manchester parents need this much-loved baby bank – let’s not let it fall away on our watch. (Credit: Andy Bate at Royal Foundation)
Every pound donated goes towards helping find the Little Green Sock Project a new home, but people can help contribute in other ways, once again, by spreading the word or getting their hands dirty in person.
Greater Manchester never fails to amaze when it rallies behind causes like this, and we’re sure you won’t let us down this time either. Let’s keep the lights on the lifelines for local families intact.
You can donate now, or to find out other ways to do your bit, click HERE.
Featured Images — Little Green Sock Project/Andy Bate – Royal Foundation (supplied)
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Government to begin giving millions of UK workers ‘significant’ pay rises from this week
Emily Sergeant
The Government is to begin giving more than three million workers across the UK a ‘significant pay boost’ from this week.
Announced as part of last year’s Budget, and in a bid to ‘put thousands of pounds back in the pockets of working people every year’, the Government confirmed back at the beginning of February that a new National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour, and a new National Minimum Wage of £10 per hour would take effect from April onwards.
Ministers said the 6.7% increase to the National Living Wage – which is now worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker – is a ‘significant step’ towards delivering the manifesto commitment to deliver a ‘genuine’ living wage.
Today, millions of working people will get a pay rise as the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increase.
New rates:
🔹 from £11.44 to £12.21 if you’re 21 and over 🔹 from £8.60 to £10.00 if you’re 18-20 🔹 from £6.40 to £7.55 if you’re under 18 or an apprentice
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) April 1, 2025
On top of this, the National Minimum Wage for 18-20-year-olds is also set to go up by a record increase of £1.40 an hour, which means full-time younger workers eligible for the rate will see their pay boosted by £2,500 a year.
The minimum wage pay boot has also been called the first step towards removing the ‘unfair’ age-bands that see a 21-year-old getting paid more than a 20-year-old for doing the same job.
According to the Government, this is also the first time the National Living Wage has taken into account the cost of living and inflation.
Three million UK workers will be getting a ‘significant’ pay rise from this week / Credit: Pexels
“In the last Parliament, living standards were the worst on record and sky-high inflation was crushing working people’s finances,” commented Chancellor Rachel Reeves, explaining why the pay boosts are being introduced.
“Making work pay is good for workers, will strengthen businesses’ workforces, and will grow our economy for years to come.
“It’s a key milestone on my number one mission to get more money in people’s pockets as we deliver our Plan for Change.”
Not only that, but the minimum hourly wage for an apprentice is also set to be boosted later this year too, with an 18-year-old apprentice seeing their minimum hourly pay increase by 18% to £7.55 an hour.
As a result of these particular changes, a further four million workers also could benefit from the positive spill-over impacts of the rate increases.
Georgina Pellant -
8th February 2022 
