From the Bee Gees to Joy Division to Oasis, Manchester’s music scene is well-known for its star-studded heritage and worldwide influence. However, with the new challenges of the modern world, it’s become clear that from the grassroots up the music industry is outdated and now no longer fit for purpose. As a response to this, the revolutionary Beyond the Music festival was created and took over the rhythm-charged lanes of Manchester’s city centre and Northern Quarter over a weekend in mid-October.
A change-making conference ran alongside the festival, featuring musical legends like Clint Boon and Rita Ora, as well as industry professionals, convening to discuss what can be done to create a new dawn for musical culture across the UK and worldwide. The festival showcased some of the best new and undiscovered artists of all genres from all over the world. Over the weekend, the city was enthralled by so many new exciting acts and performers across so many of Manchester’s most iconic venues.
We began the festival on Thursday evening, making our way up Oldham Street towards Night and Day Café. Arriving just after the beginning of the set of London-based songwriter Blossom Caldarone. The intimate piano and string-led performance introduced our weekend.
A quick walk up the road to Gullivers followed to see Bristol band Saloon Dion, whose fun, punky surf rock, great stage presence and infectious energy had the crowd bouncing. Brixton-based trio Alien Chicks were next back at Night and Day, who emanated a sound larger than their three members. It was an exhilarating set of musical mayhem, with a mix of more gentle verses, bouncing riffs and a fair bit of cowbell.
After bidding farewell to Night and Day, we made our way to Aatma. This venue is tucked away in a mysterious alley, accessible only by a set of charming red-painted stairs. It was at this hidden gem that we had the pleasure of witnessing the mesmerizing performance of cruush, a talented four-piece band from Manchester. The wave of shoegaze, distorted guitars and reverb-heavy vocals hit us as we entered, and seemed to float around the attic venue as they played out their set.
Concluding the evening in The Peer Hat, one of the most vibrant venues in the northern quarter, The Faux Faux captivated. The solo project of Faith Vern of Manchester band PINS, post-punk guitar riffs and bouncy basslines, coupled with the use of harmonising from glamourous backing singers, captivated the room as the first night of the festival drew to its conclusion.
Friday saw additional conferences and panels, with even Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham sharing his thoughts on how Britain can continue to have a world-class live music scene. It’s evident that certain adjustments are necessary to keep pace with the rise of new generations of performers and Burnham proposed a solution: the music industry should ‘rip it all up and start again’. Beyond the Music is a well-overdue call for action for the music industry.
Our experience of the second day of music began back at Aatma to see the hypnotic ambience of Junodream. Despite technical difficulties, the band were able to deliver a very impressive set, featuring a few exciting unreleased tracks. We then braved the Northern autumn-coming-on-winter weather to Band on the Wall, a former cinema space along Swan Street, nestled between the Northern Quarter and New Cross districts.
It was here that we saw East London indie rock risers Human Interest, whose sticky basslines and sharp-edged guitars ricocheted around while they performed songs such as popular hit ‘Cool Cats’ amongst other new or unreleased songs.
Splint were next, who were a deep dive into knotty, hard and heavy-layered soundscapes that created a captivating rolling atmosphere, especially with their performance of their song ‘Awaiting Hills’.
One of the best things about a city-based festival such as this is not only the new music to discover, but also how it’s a great advert for so many independent venues that are all within walking distance from the centre. Grassroots venues have struggled significantly in the face of the cost of living crisis and widespread music streaming, and Beyond the Music champions so many exciting new places to not only experience music, but also just hang out.
After dinner (the Northern Quarter’s other greatest asset), we went back to the Band on the Wall bar to see fellow south-coasters Cowboyy, a four-piece band that delivered loud, fun and energetic art-punk with some guitar solos thrown in too. One of their songs, ‘Tennis’, was particularly reminiscent of early black midi, to our excitement.
Friday ended at the Dot to Dot stage at Band on the Wall, seeing their surprise special guest announcement of Porij; danceable, electrifying, positive and high-energy, the band provided an expansive take across many genres including pop, R&B, Jazz and funk.
Saturday was the final day of the music, and we began back in the low ceiling and fairy-light-lit basement of Peer Hat to see Viji, an Austrian-Brazilian, London-based artist who delivered a cool set based around her anticipated album release. The set was full of edgy, layered guitars and dominating vocals, and her music was an interesting combination of styles that seemed very well suited for where it was being performed.
We then went to see Moreish Idols, a psych-pop band formed in Cornwall but also based in London. They delivered an innovative set of sharp rhythmic shuffles with plenty of saxophone. With a strong variety of acid-jazz, gelled with lyrics about everyday life, they were an exciting and fresh band to see at the end of our weekend.
Beyond the Music offered many exciting after-parties hosted by various labels and magazines in some of the different venues, and even a rave at the Northern Quarter car park on Saturday night. It’s a shame we couldn’t go, but that’s the familiar reality of going to a festival where there are so many things happening at once.
Beyond the Music overall was a great success, an exciting debut of what we hope is a long-standing event in the heart of Manchester. The festival flowed very smoothly and the music was fantastically curated for the city in which it took place. In terms of the conference side, Beyond the Music has already begun to make tangible progress.
Since the event, we have seen the beginnings of working groups to tackle the issues facing small independent venues and the creation of a music industry export office to help support artists, managers and promoters. We have also seen more emphasis on the need for action to help with the debilitating state of visa issues for music workers following Brexit, and the mental health crisis for people in the music industry beginning to be properly attended to.
It seems that at Beyond the Music, everyone wins, and Manchester is once again a city where we are beginning to see some important social changes in the music industry. Thanks for a great weekend Beyond the Music and goodbye for now. We’ll see you next year!
