For the second night of BBC Radio 6 Music Festival’s 2025 edition, English Teacher and Mogwai impressed audiences at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse, continuing the festival in style. Leeds art-rock group English Teacher prove themselves to be a one-of-a-kind live band where they can bring their ambitious work to life on stage flawlessly, all while impressing even the middle-aged demographic of BBC Radio 6 Music. Creating complex songs with unique instrumentation and vocals inspired largely by the post-punk genre, it was no surprise that last year they took home the Mercury Prize.
The band opened their set with the title track of their debut album This Could be Texas, which is, at first, a keys-driven ballad supported by lush vocals that devolves into an ending inspired by the post-punk scene they were surrounded with at the beginning of their career. In this ending there are hints of inspiration from bands like Black Midi and Swans which directly contrast the beginning of the song, demonstrating the massive range of influences the group has.
There was an air of anticipation before the gig – the crowd filled up early for the band that has swiftly become one of the most prominent bands in the scene. Hit track ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’ was next to appear, a song that has made BBC Radio 6 Music’s A-List and has quickly become a fan-favourite. The band flawlessly recreates the studio recording while infusing it with the raw energy of a live performance, delivering a unique track where a powerful rock guitar riff seamlessly evolves into a dreamy, shoegaze-inspired chorus. This chorus is deeply rooted in their previous endeavours as a band before the COVID-19 pandemic, when they began as a dream-pop band simply named Frank. A deeply admirable quality about this truly special band is that they can reinvent themselves whilst still letting their previous influences shape their music, and it’s a reason why they’re receiving so much deserved attention and acclaim.
Covering a Manchester classic in Manchester (but as someone in the crowd pointed out – Salford!) is a very brave thing for any band to do, so performing ‘Transmission’ by Joy Division was not going to be an easy feat. However, the band delivered on all the aspects that make Joy Division such a special band: they bring Peter Hook’s melodic and raw basslines, jagged guitar riffs, all while Lily Fontaine channels her inner Ian Curtis in her stage presence. This, together with the vocal harmonies between Fontaine and special guest Richard Hawley, made for a very special performance that did justice to such a legendary band.
Glaswegian post-rock band Mogwai were the headliners for the second night of BBC Radio 6 Music Festival. They dominated the room by creating atmospheric soundscapes akin to bands such as Sigur Rós and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. They took the stage with ‘God Gets You Back’, beginning with only a synthesiser before building up to an explosive crescendo. The five-piece intricately layered their instruments to deliver a beautiful performance. Mogwai are a band that excel in transporting their audience to somewhere otherworldly; they do this by producing notable amounts of noise, using almost excessive amounts of reverberated guitar.
Where Mogwai lack in stage presence, they make up for in musicality. They delivered a phenomenal wall of sound that evidently blew the audience away. A highlight from the set was the song ‘Ether’, for which the band delivered a beautiful performance supported by the KNDS Fairey Acid brass band from Stockport. The song is a masterclass in building tension; the choice to add a brass band to the mix created a cathartic and grand climax that left the audience speechless.
Both English Teacher and Mogwai’s performances highlighted how BBC Radio 6 Music have always backed the left-of-field, non-mainstream acts and supports artists that display individuality. Ultimately, this is what is needed in a modern-day music industry where it is increasingly more challenging for these bands to break through and sustain a touring schedule.
