One of Manchester’s newest and most exciting festivals, Beyond The Music, is set to return for its second instalment later this year and the first raft of artists has just been announced.
BTM is a multi-venue live music festival and fundamentally global music conference that spotlights new up-and-coming artists, grassroots gig spaces, as well as key voices in the industry, with an at changing the face of the modern music landscape.
Having first launched in 2023, much of their flagship Manc music festival and conference still felt somewhat like a work in progress, but with the inaugural weekend now under the bag and plenty of time and experience to build upon, year two is looking promising already.
Announcing Aviva Studios as the main hub for this year’s festival, along with a number of beloved Northern Quarter venues this week, you can find the first wave of artists set to play Beyond The Music 2024 down below:
Credit: Supplied
Taking place from 9-12 October, they have already confirmed 70 artists and 20 different stage partners (BBC Introducing, Clash and Unity Radio just to name a few) who will serve as ‘tastemakers’ alongside the multiple venues helping put on what is, without doubt, one of the UK’s most diverse live showcases.
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Set to platform over 200 artists when the full lineup is confirmed, this is one of the best ways for any budding musical talent based in and around Greater Manchester to try and find a platform, with plenty of out-of-towners sure to join too.
On the conference side of things, under the title, ‘Is It Time For The Music Industry’s Great Rest?’, the groundbreaking look at the inner workings of the music industry will centre around Aviva Studios as already mentioned, with new-look summits and talks programme available to all attendees.
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The hope is not just to make this an even bigger and better music festival than last year but to create a unique and global music forum to find solutions to the most pressing issues within the sector. They already made a decent start on it in 2023.
Commenting on its return, festival partners Clash said of the event, “There is hope and we felt it in Manchester… the beginning of something incredibly special”, and Hunger Magazine added, “It could be the spark that sets the scene alight. Manchester is already a centre of creativity, but the extra push could see it become the centre of the musical universe” – as if it wasn’t already.
To sweeten the deal even more, there’ll be a whole host of afterparties following the horde of gigs being held over the weekend and if you sign up for pre-sale, not only do you get a discount on your entry fee but you’ll also be entered into a prize draw, with drinks vouchers and upgrades up for grabs.
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Pre-sale for Beyond The Music 2024 is already live and tickets are now more affordable than ever before, with a standard Delegate Pass (including full festival access) priced at £170, a one-day festival ticket costing only £20 and a full weekend pass to enjoy all three days of music setting you back just £45.
Oasis release trailer for Don’t Look Back In Anger documentary – watch it here
Daisy Jackson
A new trailer for the upcoming Oasis documentary, ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’, has been released today.
The highly anticipated documentary follows the iconic Manchester rock band as they reunited for a series of epic comeback gigs last summer.
The Gallagher brothers broke up the band 15 years prior to the Live ’25 shows, then returned in spectacular fashion for gigs including five sold-out nights at Heaton Park in Manchester.
The band were followed throughout their triumphant comeback tour by film crews, for the documentary film ‘Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger’.
Fans will see never-before-seen snippets of rehearsal, backstage, and onstage, as well as the first joint interview with Liam and Noel in more than 20 years.
It will also explores the profound impact that the reunion had on fans, and chart the global phenomenon that was Oasis Live ’25.
One of the people behind the new documentary is Steven Knight, of Peaky Blinders fame.
Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger will be released in the UK on Wednesday 9 September and you can book tickets HERE.
Watch the full trailer for Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger below:
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Danny Jones -
14th June 2024 
