Sounds of the City is finally back at its Castlefield Bowl home with bigger lineups than ever before.
The inner-city music concert series is taking over the open-air venue for six special gigs starting in just under three weeks-time.
Since 2013, Sounds of the City has been bringing the UK’s most acclaimed artists right here to Manchester, making it somewhat of an institution here in the city.
Over the years, they’ve treated us to one-off gigs from the likes of Arcade Fire, The Kooks, James, New Order, Rag’N’Bone Man and Catfish And The Bottlemen.
Yet this year’s comeback is set to be the biggest series to date. Huge names like Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, The Streets and Hacienda Classical will each headline a night.
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But Irish powerhouse Dermot Kennedy is responsible for opening the show on 21 September. The fast-rising international star has already racked up more than 1 billion streams. Not to mention a Brit Award nomination for Best International Male.
The singer rocketed to fame following the release of his debut album ‘Without Fear’ in 2019 which sat at #1 in the Irish charts for an astonishing year and a half.
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The following day on Wednesday 22 September, the insanely successful Kaiser Chiefs will be heading up their own concert at the Bowl.
With 21 years in the business, the band are still riding the peak of success with their seventh album ‘Duck’ hitting wide critical acclaim in 2019.
The band will be supported by none other than Razorlight and Manchester’s own PINS.
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Wrapping up the 2021 edition on Sunday 26 September will be the Grammy, BRIT Award and Mercury Music Prize nominated Snow Patrol.
Another band with decades of experience, Snow Patrol have accumulated more than 17 billion album sales, five UK Platinum Albums and more than a billion global streams over the years.
They’ll have support from singer Lucy Blue, plus Wigan band The Lathums who have recently become the most talked about Manchester band. They’re pipped to become strong contenders for the city’s next big indie outfit.
Their headline tour at O2 Victoria Warehouse sold out within a matter of days. Meanwhile the announcement of their debut album ‘How Beautiful Life Can Be’ has been met with much anticipation.
Dates for Sounds of the City 2022 have already been set, too. This time, taking place earlier in the year across multiple dates in early summer.
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Foals, Crowded House and Lewis Capaldi are already confirmed to headline their own shows between 29 June and 6 July 2022.
So with lineups of this calibre, now is your time to book! Click here for tickets.
Featured image: SOTC at Castlefield Bowl by Sam Neill
Audio
Sarah Harding breast cancer study has helped save over 80 women
Thomas Melia
A life-saving study set in memory of Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding has seen her lasting legacy extend far beyond music, as now women across the country are getting cancer tests more frequentlythanks to the research.
Funded by The Christie, The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal began its first phase of the BCAN-RAY (Breast Cancer Risk Assessment in Younger Women) back in May 2023.
Led by Dr Sacha Howell, who was Harding’s consultant, the work explores risk factors and creates personalised early screening options for women as young as 30.
This is extremely important as currently women are only invited for routine breast screenings every three years from 50 onwards. Awareness and being proactive are just as important as research.
Sarah Harding, who passed away in 2021, has a dedicated mural in her hometown of Stockport.Credit: The Manc Group
The studies set up in Sarah‘s legacy are vital now more than ever as breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women aged 35-50 years in the UK.
These more frequent and routine checks from a younger age will be vital, especially since an estimated 10,000 women a year are diagnosed under 50.
The BCAN-RAY study has recruited 500 women aged between 30 and 39 years old, who have had their risk assessment appointments.
Out of this number – 404 patients have been given their risks – 316 as ‘average risk’ and 88 were found as ‘increased risk’.
88 were found as ‘increased risk’ with 58 of these receiving telephone calls to discuss further implications and discuss strategies to reduce this such as diet, exercise and medication.
So far 18 women have had their first mammogram, with no recalls or cancer identified. Following this, each woman is offered regular screening every year until their NHS breast screening starts at age 50.
Dr Sacha Howell commented, “We’re really confident that we have a system that is working, from the results so far, which is great news, these findings mean that we may be able to offer personalised ways to predict and prevent breast cancer more widely in the population in future”.
Girls Aloud featured a glorious tribute to Sarah Harding each night of the show.The lovely Sarah Harding singing to Manchester one last time.Credit: Audio North
In 2022, The Christie art and relaxation room received a wonderful makeover from proceeds raised at the Primrose Ball organised by Girls Aloud.
Within this room, visitors can find a lovely framed picture of Sarah Harding with the quote, “The darkest nights produce the brightest stars” and with all the work accomplished so far, we couldn’t agree more.
If you would like to show your support and help fund this life-changing research set up in Sarah’s legacy, you can donate HERE.
Music TV show Spill The Sound has announced a brand new series
Thomas Melia
Manchester-based music TV show, Spill The Sound, is back with its latest series filmed at The Yard, featuring plenty of exciting indie and alternative music faces.
Hosted by Louise Schofield and, Spill The Sound evokes the good old days of music TV shows incorporating styles from Popworld, Snub TV and Granada TV’s ‘So It Goes’.
The series itself is produced by Laura Graham of StreamGM, Greater Manchester’s multi-award streaming and media platform, who create and broadcast the show.
As an official partner with Audio North, this brand aims to spotlight creative voices across Greater Manchester and helped launch an industry careers podcast just last month.
Throughout March, the latest season of Spill The Sound (STS) will be bringing three episodes centred around some independent artists with very unique styles.
Listeners will be able to hear the likes of Andrew Cushin, The Guest List, Dirty Blonde and Megan Wyn, all of which have achieved incredible things while on the rise.
Another big get for the show is Andrew Cushin, who’s been mentored by none other than Noel Gallagher and already appeared on the bill as a supporting act for the likes of Paul Weller, Louis Tomlinson and many more.
Alt-rock duo Dirty Blonde are also featuring in this latest series and it’s no surprise either as they’ve already seen a buzz in the UK airwaves with praise from BBC Radio 1 and Radio X.
The latter of the newest lineup isn’t one to ignore either as Megan Wyn has been hailed as the ‘woman to watch’ by Clash Magazine and is set to support Alanis Morissette.
The Guest List playing hook-a-duck throughout their interview.Credit: Spill The Sound (supplied)
Every episode has been filmed at local music venue, The Yard Manchester, which provides the perfect space for these lighthearted interviews and spectacular pared-down performances.
This music platform has hosted and promoted lots of local talent including Antony Szmierek, Red Rum Club, The K’s, Hi Sienna and Seb Lowe, just to name a few.
The latest series of Spill The Sound kicks off with Andrew Cushin on Wednesday, 19 March with the remaining two episodes released in three-day instalments.
You can give it a watch when each episode goes live exclusively on StreamGM HERE or via the STS YouTube channel down below:
Hannah Starkie -
1st September 2021 
