Salford’s Sounds From The Other City (SFTOC) festival has revealed its full 2022 line-up ahead of the event’s return this spring.
Taking place this year on Sunday 1 May, 2022 at a host of small Salford venues, the underground music festival has built a reputation for bringing huge artists to the city whilst they are still at early points in their careers.
A firm favourite with local music lovers since it launched in 2005, this year’s line-up will continue to champion local promoters and small independent venues.
Image: Supplied
Spreading across a host of exciting indie venues, the 2022 event will continue to celebrate intimate gigs in small spaces – taking over the likes of Bexley Square, Seven Bro7hers Beerhouse, fivefourstudios, Hot Bed Press, Old Pint Pot, YES, Partisan, Porta, Regent Trading Estate, Saint Philip’s Church and The New Oxford.
Newly announced acts include favourites of the late Virgil Abloh, Manchester neo-soul and RnB band Lovescene, Salford-formed trippy, rhythm, drone and psychedelic noise collective GNOD and Edinburgh born singer-songwriter, Hamish Hawk.
Also lighting up SFTOC’s spiritual home of Chapel Street will be fresh female DJ collective Queer Latifah, Amsterdam’s beamy-grinned, indie-pop powerhouse Pip Blom, and RnB / pop artist TYSON.
Image: Supplied
Acts already announced include LayFullstop, LYR (Land Yacht Regatta) DJs from the Daytimers stable, Chandé and Gracie T, celebrated British electronic music producer Holy Other, and the proudly black and queer Bristol-based producer, vocalist and DJ, Grove.
Afterparties are also on the cards, with the long-awaited return of underground electronic night Bohemian Grove confirmed for this year’s event.
New kids on the bloc Piano in the City, meanwhil, will celebrate the Amapiano music coming from South Africa via Manchester, and elsewhere the tour de force of Freak Queer Rave is collaborating with Creatures to celebrate ‘the other’ well into the early hours.
Image: Supplied
Speaking on the upcoming festival, which returns after a two-year hiatus, Riv Burns, Creative Director for Sounds from the Other City, siad: “This year’s festival is really shaping up to have one of the most eclectic, exciting and enticing SFTOC line ups to date, with over 125 acts announced, plus a handful more in the pipeline
“It feels incredibly representative of the times we are living in and I couldn’t be prouder of the vision and talent of this city. We are really excited to be working with a whole array of visual artists who will be creating special happenings and strange goings on to the site throughout the day as well. The audience journey of this year’s festival will truly be like no other.”
Tier 2 tickets for the festival are now on sale, priced at just £32 plus booking fees, and are available until the end of March (subject to demand). The festival is a regular sell-out so those eager to attend are advised to move quickly.
To buy tickets visit soundsfromtheothercity.com.
Full Line-up:
6a6y 6 b2b Adrian Steele (DJ) – Agent J (DJ) – Akemi Fox – Alex – Alex Ross (DJ) – Amelia Wallace – Another; Country $$$$ – Aria Scere (Vogueing Workshop) – Atiké & Obeka – audiobooks – Ayy Den – Bob Cojones – Call it a Truce – Carriage Return – Chandé B2B G33 – Charlotte Newman – China Lilly – Chips with Everything – Contours – Dirty Freud – Dirty K (DJ) – Dogs with Jobs – Do you Remember the First Time? (DJ) – Edane NG – Fatty Acid Cabaret – Fehdah – For Breakfast – Fran Lobo – Francesca – Frazer (DJ) – Freya Beer – glue70 – GNOD – Good Afternoon presents: Return To The Disco Womb – Gracie T B2B Vindya – Grove – Gut Level (DJ) – Hamish Hawk – HighSchool – Holy Other – Isaiah Hull – Jasmine Rowland (DJ) – Jenna G (DJ) – John Myrtle – Juke Joint (DJ) – Julia (Wonderhaus) – July 7 – Katbrownsugar (DJ) – Katy J Pearson (stripped back set) – Kid Katharsis – Kiss Me Again Residents – Ku’umba – La Presidenta (DJ) – Lara Jones – Late night Karaoke hosted by Teegs – Lavender Rodriguez – LayFullstop – Léna C (DJ) – Linnkü (DJ) – Lovescene – Lowell (DJ) – Lurid Ultra Hybrid – LYR – M a t e k o i – M3 Industries – Madi Saskia – Mali Hayes – Mandy, Indiana – Mewn – Mia La Mette – Modern Nature – Motto Estate – Murder He Wrote – Musumba – Natalian (All Hands on Deck DJ Workshop), Natalie and the Monarchy – Nayana Iz – NIVETHA – NoSpace Mcr – Obeka (LIVE) – OneDa – P-Ro Jones (DJ) – Bitez – Pip Blom – Psychederek – Queer Latifah – RSP – Ruby Swallow – Sandy Freckle – Sarah Bates – Sens Sagna and the Kajamor Family – Short Supply – SIBZ – Son of Bingo – Sonny Bliss – Splint – Szajna – Test Card Girl – Thank – The Bug Club – The KTNA – The Rebel – Threads – Trayner – TV Babies – TYSON – Victoria Jane – Wesley Gonzalez – What Do I Tell My Friends? – Yossari Baby – Zeyla – Plus a few more TBA
Selected by:
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 – Me Gusta – NIAMOS – Now Wave – OneFiveEight – Partisan collective – Reform Radio – Regal Disco – Strange Days – Sweet Vibrations Radio – Tales From Other Worlds – The Factory – Tru Luv – VAM
News
The first new tenant of the old Debenhams department store on Market Street has been confirmed
Danny Jones
The first new resident of the Rylands Building on Market Street in central Manchester has been revealed, and it’s a foodie one.
Set to be the maiden opening inside the old Debenhams department store, which closed after more than three decades back in 2021, Rylands’ debut won’t be for another year or so, but it will soon welcome Mancs with an increasingly popular food hall operator making its way up north.
Simply called Market Place, the ever-growing brand is fast becoming a well-established name, with four venues in the capital already and a fifth coming soon.
Rylands will be their first location outside of London, and with 1,300 sqm of space at their disposal, Market Place Manchester is set to make a significant splash on the high street.
A look at Market Place Peckham.A rough idea of what the Manchester branch could look like.
Developers managed to green-light plans for the Grade II-listed building last November, sharing the first details and glimpses of their vision for the instantly recognisable city centre spot, including a whole new rooftop terrace.
Currently earmarked for a late 2026 launch, the former department store (previously Paulden’s) consisted of seven floors but is now set for a four-storey extension that promises to be a massive and varied retail, leisure and business destination that makes the most of the expansive structure.
Not to be confused with the famous John Rylands Library – a much older, more gothic, historic and hallowed hall over on Deansgate – this task of ‘revitalising a Manchester icon’, to quote property firm AM ALPHA, is a huge undertaking.
In charge of the redevelopment since 2023, the group have been outlining a pretty complete overhaul, with plans to convert the upper floors into premium office space, and the creation of a retail arcade at ground level, on which Market Place Manchester will sit.
This particular Manc corner was a bustling food, drink and shopping complex for the longest time, but has been derelict and covered up by boards for what feels like forever, with urban explorers even roaming the large, abandoned building.
Credit: Supplied
Now, though, the new long-term 15-year lease agreement will see the latest food hall kick off a new era for Rylands, delivering socially focused venues and the range of flavourful, vibrant choices of scran that Market Place have become known for.
With sites in St Paul’s, Vauxhall, Peckham, Harrow and soon Baker Street – as well as their eventual Manchester outpost, of course – the chain is getting bigger and better, meaning its arrival in the North West is an exciting one.
AM ALPHA manager Paul Hodgkiss said in an official statement: “Manchester is a city with a vibrant cultural scene – the perfect environment for forward-thinking concepts like Market Place Food Hall…
“The early commitment to Rylands is no coincidence: it reflects the strength of our strategic and forward-looking approach to development. We are not just creating high-quality space – we are setting new standards for urban mixed-use concepts. Interest from further prospective tenants is strong.”
It was only last week that Greater Manchester’s latest market hall, Campfield Studios, said hello to the general public and with House of Social also opening this summer, among several other similar projects, soon you won’t be able to move for more social hospitality scenes like this:
Manchester crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.
From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.
The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.
This summer is all set to be a sensational celebration of sound, as not only is an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, taking over the city from this week, but this year’s annual Manchester Day will be music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers / Credit: Manchester City Council | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)
Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park this month.
So it’s no surprise that Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers, especially as the IFPI Global Music Report has revealed that the UK has the third largest music market globally – with the music industry’s contribution to the UK economy being £6.7 billion on average.
Taking this recent report into consideration, the experts over at SeatPick have collated data to uncover the best UK cities for music lovers, analysing factors such as the number of concerts, homegrown talents, music businesses, and the total number of music venues, to reveal each city’s overall music score out of 10.
Coming in at second place with a music scene score of 8.97/10 is Manchester.
2025 is all set to be a sensational summer of sound in our city / Credit: Supplied
“Manchester remains one of the UK’s most iconic music cities and with 1,204 concerts between 2025-2026, 116 live music venues, and 380 homegrown acts, the city’s live music offering is as strong as ever,” SeatPick said of its findings.
“2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for Manchester, with Oasis reuniting for the first time in over a decade, with a massive comeback show at Heaton Park – the very spot where they played their last hometown gig in 2009.”
While Manchester may have missed out on the UK’s top spot, with that title going to London, in the global rankings, our city has claimed an impressive sixth place, beating out New York’s influential music scene.
Liverpool and Leeds are two of the other northern cities in the UK’s top 10, taking fifth and sixth place respectively.
“Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city’s cultural, economic, and social vibrancy,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick.
“A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape, as well as attracting creative talent.”
Georgina Pellant -
14th March 2022 
