I wasn’t planning on writing a review of Manchester Punk Festival this year. I wasn’t really planning on writing any kind of review ever again – it takes up a lot of energy and free time that I’d rather use for going outside, reading graphic novels, watching Critical Role or drawing (among other things). But then I attended Manchester Punk Festival 2023 and it was without a doubt the best MPF yet. I felt inspired to write. However, what inspired me was more than just the bands I saw, so I’ve decided to write my review as more of an overall highlights piece that covers more than just the bands… At least, that’s what I set out to do. It’s ended up being a lengthy, rambling love letter of a review all the same.
I hope you enjoy reading this even a fraction of the amount that I enjoyed attending MPF 2023!
It was a wonderfully nostalgic evening with Bangers somehow managing to sound better than ever – maybe the break did them good! Also on the NXI bill were Phantom Bay, a heavier sounding band from Germany; Cosmit, the Specialist Subject supergroup; and Binboy, a trio featuring two members of Shit Present. I was especially happy to get to see Binboy as they were one of my top discoveries from the MPF playlist – and I loved them. As it happened, I didn’t end up seeing them at MPF so was glad to catch them beforehand.
THURSDAY
The only problem with starting your festivities an additional day early is that you’re inevitably tired before the festival has even begun. Thankfully we had a fairly easy journey to Manchester, driving over to Milton Keynes, leaving the car at my parents’ house and then taking the 1 hour and 40 minute train directly to Manchester. We were in no great hurry so it wasn’t a massive issue when our train ended up being over half an hour late – actually, we were pretty pleased to learn we could get a 25% refund. As Kill Lincoln would say, I can’t complain!
When we eventually made it to Manchester we headed to our Airbnb in Chinatown – I wouldn’t recommend, it’s noisy – to dump our stuff before heading out to Freight Island to meet up with some of our London pals. Over the next few hours Colin and I attempted to eat the biggest pizza ever (22”) with a little help from Frosty. Robyn and Brett, our traditional MPF Airbnb buddies, were arriving a little later into Manchester with their flight from Denmark landing at 4.30pm. They made great time however and were able to come over and meet us before heading to the official MPF pre-show at Rebellion. Seeing Colin run across the room to give them both huge hugs is one of the most wonderful and magical things about an event like MPF. We get to see our best friends from South Africa, via Denmark, and it’s instantly like we’ve never been apart. I also gave hugs but didn’t do any running – I was very full of pizza.
Heading over to Rebellion for the pre-show, the MPF vibes really started to sink in and were further reinforced when we entered the venue and received more big hugs from MPF (and pre-show) organiser Tree. Damn, it felt good to be back. The pre-show was a lot of fun with five bands that spanned a variety of different punk sub-genres – Galivantes (gypsy ska punk), Slash Fiction (emo/indie punk), Negative Measures (hardcore), The Overjoyed (melodic punk rock) and Incisions (hardcore). Slash Fiction in particular were a highlight for me. Beforehand, Colin had said that he thought I’d like them and, well, when is he ever wrong! The music on the night was great but mostly it was just really nice to see people from all over the UK and Europe punk scene again. Shout out to Dan and Jess (Vegan Punks), Matt (Ear Nutrition), Charlotte, Brian, Cat and Rich and, of course, all of the NXI crew and Robyn and Brett.
FRIDAY
I’d like to say we woke up on Friday feeling fresh and invigorated ready for MPF to begin proper but, well, we were staying in a not very well insulated Airbnb and, despite it being six floors up, it was very noisy. So, instead, I woke up with a big need for rehydration and coffee. Coffee (and breakfast) was found at Feel Good Club – where several people had brought their doggies in and so we spent a lot of time aww-ing over them – before it was time to head to the Union for wristband collection. Queuing for wristbands came with much smiling, waving and hugs, with everyone just so keen for the weekend ahead. Wristbands secured, Colin and I headed off to Bundobust (yep, more food) with Robyn, Brett, Matt and Charlotte for Indian style tapas. It’s what we did last year after collecting wristbands so I figure that makes it a tradition now. I had some very tasty food along with the most delicious vegan chai tea. Tummies full and energy levels replenished, it was finally time for some music!
Much of my day would be spent at Yes, which is also where we were all headed first. Last year, MPF’s almost acoustic sets took place in the basement of Yes which was a pretty small space. This year however, bands would be playing in the appropriately named Pink Room – it was very pink – which was a much more reasonable size. Jason Stirling, formerly of Matilda’s Scoundrels, kicked things off. It was an enjoyable performance but perhaps lacking some lively energy for an act opening the festival. However, next up were Great Cynics playing their last ever show – at least until they have a reunion in seven years time like Bangers – which was a joyfully nostalgic singalong from start to finish. So good to see them one more time.
Having changed up my schedule just the day before, next on my list was the late addition of Animal Byproducts playing at Zombie Shack. I’ve seen them a couple of times before now, but it’s always a good time bopping along to their catchy trumpet pop punk – ‘Please don’t forget that it’s your bin day!’. Heading back to Yes for Flinch, I managed to catch the last few songs of Lazlo Baby. They weren’t a band I knew but their bouncy folky melodies certainly had me wishing I’d checked them out ahead of time. Still, it was great to be able to experience a bit of their live set. Congregating towards the front of the room with the MTAT crew, this was our first time seeing Flinch as a full band. Flinch play sad, quiet songs packed with emotion. It was great how respectful the crowd was of this sort of music, particularly when there were some sort of technical difficulties and we all waited quietly for it to be resolved. Us punks are a polite bunch!
It was then time for Colin and I to part ways – we like watching bands together but we also like going off and doing our own thing and finding out what the other got up to later. I was off to Bread Shed to watch Green Eyed Monster who were over all the way from Japan. I paused briefly outside the venue to say hello to Steve Millar (of Arms & Hearts fame) and Chloe Hawes and hear about their much anticipated (by me anyway) The Gaslight Anthem cover set on Sunday. Entering Bread Shed there was already a decent amount of people in attendance and we didn’t have to wait long for Green Eyed Monster to start playing. What immediately hit me about GEM was not just how talented they were as musicians but just how exuberantly happy they clearly were to be there. To travel across the world and play to people at a festival who just adore you must be something special for sure. All the love was certainly well deserved.
Basking in the wholesome-ness of Green Eyes Monster, I left a little early to head back to Yes (see what I said about spending a lot of time there?) for the next two bands. The first of which was Sniff. Sniff is an artist whose live show really has to be seen in person to fully understand and appreciate it. So, if you weren’t there then I don’t want to spoil too much – because you really should make it a priority to see Sniff live in future. Let’s just say it was a lot of fun and unlike anything else I saw over the weekend!
If you were to ask me before the festival which single artist or band I was most looking forward to seeing or would recommend catching live then my answer would be this next band – Stöj Snak. I’ve seen them the previous two times they played MPF and their albums are some of my favourites of all time, so, yeah, I was excited. While Stöj Snak were setting up I had a lovely chat with Sara Harrington about illustration, design and their trumpet playing on the last Stöj Snak album. I’d never spoken to Sara in person before so it was lovely to share our collective appreciation for the band we were about to watch – Sara actually said they were the reason she’d bought a ticket for MPF. Money well spent if you ask me!
Now, this is supposed to be me keeping things short and sweet for this whole review but I could easily write an essay about Stöj Snak (actually, I did that for their last album). In summary, Stöj Snak were as excellent as ever – even if they were missing their double bass player. There was a kazoo solo (which was actually Sara’s trumpet part on the album), crowd participation in the form of mass tambourine playing and the unplugged, much-loved staple of a Stöj Snak live set, rendition of Ronkedor. I couldn’t have asked for much more – except maybe a few more songs as I think their set got cut short due to overrunning earlier in the day (even though they were the last band on at Yes, but whatever). Although, I have to say that the overall highlight was when the crowd dispersed at the end and I spotted Mike Smith (of Tripsun and general NXI/Be Sharp fame) – who I didn’t know was in the room or that they were planning on watching Stöj Snak. He was in awe of how good Stöj Snak were which made me infinitely more happy than I already was. Is there anything better than sharing your excitement about something with someone else and having them completely understand and agree?
Next on my agenda was Kill Lincoln at Gorilla which, having witnessed their first ever UK show at the New Cross Inn a week earlier, was guaranteed to be a wild time. In hindsight, ‘wild’ is probably an understatement. The venue hit capacity and everyone inside went crazy for the ska punk band. The band themselves put so much energy into their live performance, not least their hypeman Drew who has some of the best dance moves in ska whether they’re on stage or in (or on top of) the crowd. At NXI, trombone player Ume found their way to standing on the bar at the back of the venue before being crowdsurfed back to the stage. Gorilla is a bit bigger than the New Cross Inn and I had a strong suspicion that Ume would end up at playing trombone at the little upstairs seating and merch area. I was correct and it was spectacular. It’s safe to say that Kill Lincoln’s UK and MPF debut was an overwhelming success. I can’t wait to see them again. In the words of Paul Smith (to Colin) ‘You’re a fucking idiot [for missing them]’ – if you missed them.
My chosen headliner for the evening was Off With Their Heads, a band I’ve seen a handful of times before but not for a long while. I headed over to the Union with Robyn and Brett and managed to find Colin in a busy crowd. It turned out that OWTH, who were playing as a three-piece for their UK dates, had decided to start playing early although they hadn’t started playing Home yet – the album they were supposed to be playing in full. They ended up playing it in a random order and in amongst other songs which was kind of weird for ‘an album show’ but it didn’t really bother me. They’re one of those bands that I know lots of songs by but don’t necessarily know song names or which album they’re from anyway. The whole set was good and I didn’t get bored, despite the length of their set – even a festival headliner shouldn’t play for more than an hour in my opinion! But the standout moment has got to be when I was stood around chatting to Robyn, Brett, Dan, Jess and Colin before vacating the Union afterwards and someone yelled my full name at me across the room. It took me a good few seconds to realise who it was that came running up to me, simply because I just didn’t expect to see them there, but the person shouting my name was my old university pal James Jackson. We worked out that we probably hadn’t seen each other for about seven years – not since the last Bangers show in London in fact. He was attending his first MPF and was having a lovely time so far. Honestly, that was the unexpected highlight of the whole weekend.
We’d decided to end our night with New Cross Inn favourites and regulars Lead Shot Hazard at the Bread Shed after party. It was their first time playing MPF (and, I think, in Manchester) but the crowd soon warmed up to them and they really got the party going with their upbeat ska punk. We had one last sing and dance for the day down the front before calling it a day – but what a day it had been! We left in in high spirits and I have to admit I was not feeling nearly as tired as I would usually after the first day of MPF. What was this new energy? Would it last?
SATURDAY
Our Saturday started with Colin going out to get us hot cross buns for breakfast – what a hero – before heading out to the Sober Social at Sandbar. I enjoyed a much needed coffee – more bars should sell coffee as standard. As someone who no longer drinks alcohol, I am all for encouraging sobriety – or at least beginning the day with some non-alcoholic drinks and/or drinking water in between your beverage of choice. We had some nice chats with folks, mostly about what we were excited for with the day ahead. The subject soon moved onto The Flatliners who were headlining that evening. Jess and Robyn, who are the biggest Flatliners fans I know, were discussing their unofficial ‘Flatliners Fan Club’ with Emilia (who Colin and I met a few weeks ago in Bristol). I couldn’t really join in but do appreciate how passionate they all were about this band they love. We then went for lunch at Hatch, inviting CPRW’s Dan #2 along with us.
After some tasty grub courtesy of Herbivorous at Hatch and further chatting – it turned out Dan #2 (Reading-based) knew of Emilia’s band (Bristol-based) and is going to a gig they’re playing soon, small punk rock world and all that – we headed to Yes. We were starting our day with Chloe Hawes. I’d seen Chloe play solo briefly at a previous MPF (I think I only caught half the set) but was keen to see them play as a full band this time around. It was worth the wait as the full band sound was excellent. It was also great to see all members of the band rocking out and just have a lovely time on stage. I look forward to seeing full band Chloe Hawes again soon.
I stuck around Yes by myself (but you’re never alone at MPF!) for a couple more bands, opting to see some smaller acts that were either new to me or I hadn’t seen for a long while – rather than going to see Pkew Pkew Pkew, who I’d be seeing at New Cross after MPF anyway. The first of these bands was Murder Club, a four-piece from Wales. I didn’t really know them at all besides the three tracks I’d listened to when sorting out my schedule but I really enjoyed their set of sweet poppy songs and they had some amazing harmonies. After Murder Club was The Lab Rats, a band I have seen once before (at MPF in fact) but not for quite a few years so I was keen to see them again. Unfortunately the power on stage seemed to cut out half way through their first song but everyone waited patiently for it to be fixed and when the folk punk duo did get going properly it was great. Vocalist Molly has an amazing voice and it was so good to hear some new, at least to me, songs as well as a few from their 2018 release Utopia. Hopefully they’ll have another album or EP out somewhere down the line.
Leaving Yes behind, I headed over to Zombie Shack where I found Colin, Charlotte and Bee all waiting to watch some noisy Cornish grungey punk in the form of Swansong. Their music was not really something that I’d listen to much at home but it was captivating to watch live – such ferocious energy. I was also feeling quite pleased with the fact that I’d managed to start my day with four bands featuring non-men members that all sounded completely different. Kudos to MPF for making such an effort with diversity on their line-up, both in terms of genre and gender.
It was then time to head for the Union and a double whammy of Prew favourites – NXI regular faves of the last few years and band I’m friends with, Call Me Malcolm, and the band that helped me get into UK DIY punk rock in the first place, Bangers. Spirits were very high and they weren’t about to come down any time soon. Both bands sounded absolutely awesome on the big stage. I know some people have issues with the Union as a venue, saying it’s soulless but it must be amazing for a punk band to play on such a big stage and to so many people. I thought the sound was great too – although what do I know! Call Me Malcolm had the crowd singing and dancing throughout the duration of their set, along with the biggest ‘wall of cuddles’ they’ve ever had. (There’s a great clip of that here.) Then it was time for Bangers! CMM were great and all but Bangers were the real highlight of my day. I positioned my self right and the front and proceeded to bop and sing along to every song they played. Obviously I had experienced the Bangers reunion at NXI a few days earlier but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of seeing them another time. Once again they seemed to play better than ever and it was just so wonderful to see how much it meant to them to be playing together again and just how appreciative they were of everyone who came to watch. I can’t remember the wording exactly but Roo said something along the lines of ‘the only thing I ever wanted was to be in a punk band and play music’. I love you, Bangers. Thank you for everything.
While most of our pals hung around to watch Onsind and The Flatliners, Colin and I headed off to Gorilla for some [more] ska. First up was the band of the weekend that Colin was most excited to see, Joey Terrifying. The angry Scottish ska punks, fronted by Make That A Take legend Derrick, were reforming especially for MPF. The room wasn’t especially full, I think most folks – myself included really – probably didn’t know who they were but it was so enjoyable watching the Scottish contingent of MPF, the TNS crew and Colin going crazy for Joey Terrifying. Derrick is an amazing front person and such a hardworking person in the DIY punk scene that it was great to just see him let loose. As you can imagine, I didn’t know any of the songs the band played but it was great to watch – including the stage invasion at the end. This felt like a really special MPF moment for sure. Then we had Lightyear. They did what Lightyear does best – the unexpected. It was chaos, it was fun, it was Lightyear. At one point, New Cross’s Frosty ended up on stage after crowdsurfing. It was a joy to see his drunken confusion as he found himself singing and dancing as if he was a member of the band. Chas, vocalist of Lightyear, also made a comment about how he’d seen Kill Lincoln and didn’t want to be shown up by them so he proceeded to go into the crowd and climb up to the seating/merch area like Ume had done the day before. It perhaps wasn’t as majestic as Kill Lincoln – Chas wasn’t playing a trombone throughout – but it was certainly entertaining to see. A special mention has to go to Catbite who were watching all the nonsense from the side of the room at the insistence of Paul Smith (Be Sharp Promotions and All Corners Artists Booking). I hope they enjoyed it!
After Saturday’s headliners it was time to head to Rebellion for the annual Grafteoke set, the band Pure Graft providing full band karaoke for MPF attendees – which is always a highlight of the MPF weekend. When we got to Rebellion we found that a sizeable queue had already formed so we did what British folk do best and joined in. It soon became apparent that the venue would be late letting us in (and therefore making the whole after party run later than planned) due to the metal band that had been playing a gig beforehand being really slow to pack up their gear and load out. We did at least get the queue entertainment of watching the band and crew load up their trailer – they had A LOT of stuff. They didn’t seem pleased that we were crowding around and watching them but it sounds as if they weren’t very cooperative with the Rebellion and MPF staff, so screw them. When we eventually made it into Rebellion, it was still a little while until Grafteoke got going as, understandably, they had to wait for everyone to get inside. I must admit that all this waiting around really ruined by mood and I wasn’t exactly pumped when Grafteoke did get going. However, I did very much enjoy our pal Chloe getting up on stage to sing Boss Of Me by They Might Be Giants aka. the Malcolm in the Middle theme song. I don’t specifically recall what other songs people did – maybe Colin can elaborate further in his review – but everyone seemed to be having a great time.
The after party was completed with cover sets – AFI by In Evil Hour and Reel Big Fish by Call Me Malcolm. Regardless of whether I was especially into either band’s songs, there’s no denying that both bands put on great performances. CMM in particularly played the Reel Big Fish songs arguably better than the original band. We didn’t end up getting back to the Airbnb until almost 3am and so I was well ready to call it a night by then!
SUNDAY
Trying to sleep in as long as possible, we eventually got up for the final day of MPF. Our plan was to go to Sandbar for the Shout Louder podcast and also to have pizza for lunch while we were there. Colin and Brett decided to go and quickly check out the merch/records at the Union while Robyn and I got a table and ordered drinks and pizza. Sadly Sandbar was all out of ingredients from a busy day beforehand and so there was no pizza but they kindly told us we could bring other food in. So, it worked out alright as Colin and Brett were able to get us cake from Teatime Collective, who were set up at the Union all weekend, that we tucked into during the podcast. Not pizza but not a bad start to the day by any means.
Sarah’s podcast guests were Andy and Kaz of TNSRecords/MPF and the interview was a lot of fun. As well as tales of organising MPF and highlights of past festivals, the podcast featured an exciting game of band name Pictionary and the, I presume, first ever human pyramid to be formed during a podcast. Kaz was at the top of a pyramid and Andy spit beer into Kaz’s mouth – which is apparently something they do. Yep, I don’t know either. It was funny though. It will be interesting to see how the chaos translate to audio only!
It was a tricky pick for me as to which band I should start my day with – Alldeepends or Cheerbleederz. But ultimately I decided that I should go with the band I hadn’t seen before – which was weirdly the London-based one and not the one from Scotland. This meant Robyn and I were off to the Union to see Cheerbleederz. The room was already busy and full of folks bopping and singing along when we made our way into the crowd. The band looked to be having just as much, if not more, fun on stage than the audience was. What a joyous way to start the day. After Robyn bought some merch from Catbite (telling them she was the person who did their interview in the MPF programme) and Cheerbleederz, we were off to Yes. Up next there was Jess Silk who was one of the artists I’d found on the MPF playlist and knew I had to check out live. Dan #2 was already at Yes and decided to stick around with us, which I believe they considered to be a good decision as they really enjoyed Jess Silk’s political songs. I did too. With just their acoustic guitar and incredible voice, Jess Silk put on a killer performance. Would recommend.
Much Sunday was spent dotting about between venues quite a bit more than I’d done the previous two days. But that’s not really as tiring as you’d think, I think it’s better to keep your legs and feet moving throughout the day and going to different venues can help with that. Next on our agenda was Gorilla for Cherym. I LOVE Cherym. The Irish trio have such a brilliant stage presence and are so fun to watch play live. Obviously they sounded great too! We ducked out a little bit early to allow us time to get back to the Union for Catbite. As it turned out we had plenty of time and could even position ourselves on the barrier. Having seen Catbite myself at the New Cross Inn the week before I knew to some extent what I was in for but that didn’t stop my enjoyment one bit. This is a band meant for big, big things and it felt so special to see them at MPF. They were clearly having the absolute best time themselves, too – it’s been nice reading all their social media posts during and after the festival. Catbite love MPF and we love Catbite. As you can imagine, there was lots of dancing and smiling…
…And then it was time for Goodbye Blue Monday, everyone’s favourite certified misery punks. It was time to bring the mood down but, also, I love them so I was okay with that. It might have started a little oddly if you didn’t know Goodbye Blue Monday as they came on stage to bagpipes playing (much like the start to their new album) but they soon won over the crowd with their fast paced gruff pop punk. I know speaking to Graham and Sean earlier in the weekend that they felt it was a mistake to have them on the biggest stage but there’s no denying that they absolutely smashed their set. They’d also mentioned beforehand that they would be playing (or attempting to play) Hara-Kiri which is a 16 minute long song about suicide. Damn, they pulled it off. It was incredible. It made me appreciate the song and the album as a whole even more than I already did. If you missed this then you’re a silly idiot. Also, well done me for not bursting into tears – it was close.
Heading back to Gorilla for almost all of the rest of the night, it was time for some indie punk in the form of Me Rex and Shit Present. Both bands were excellent – I could probably say that about any band playing MPF at this point, but hey. I’m forever in awe of how talented a bunch of musicians Me Rex are, with all three members of the band singing while also playing multiple instruments. I like Me Rex on recording but I love seeing them live. They’re definitely one of those bands that has to be seen in the flesh to be fully appreciated. Dan #2 may have a shed a tear or two whilst singing along to every word. Shit Present kept the singalongs coming, playing tracks from their previous two EPs alongside new singles off of their forthcoming debut album. Shit Present are one of few bands that have played MPF two years running. Last year I was hyped for new music from them but this year even more so, as it’s almost within reach. In fact, it literally was within reach as Iona said that people could buy the album, ahead of its release next month, exclusively at MPF. Unfortunately I had already pre-ordered the album but Robyn made sure to buy a copy. This year is going to be big for Shit Present and I can’t wait to see them again.
I admit that I didn’t know much about the Sunday night headliner that we’d opted to see, Bad Nerves. But I was there based on enjoying at least one of the songs on the MPF playlist and not being fussed about seeing the other headliners. They didn’t quite seem like a typical MPF band but had a lot of energy and put on a good show nonetheless. There were certainly some folk down the front loving every second of it anyway. I’m pretty sure that Bad Nerves weren’t from Manchester but the singer definitely had Manchester vibes with their sunglasses on for the first part of the set! I feel like this could be the next big ‘popular’ punk band like Idles or Fontaines DC.
Then it was time for the ultimate end to the festival – if you’re me and your favourite band of all time is The Gaslight Anthem. However, to avoid being stuck outside Rebellion in a queue for ages like the previous night, we hung around Gorilla for a bit longer with Colin talking ska and the Scottish music scene with Kev (Paper Rifles) – I piped in occasionally but it was just nice to sit back and listen to two people who are so passionate about music talk. That’s truly one of the biggest highlights of MPF – just being around like-minded people and having a catch up.
Chloe Hawes and their band playing as The Gaslight Anthem was everything that I’d hoped for, times ten. They honestly did a better job than the real Gaslight Anthem has in recent years and it seemed like it went really well with everyone in Rebellion. They played all the hits along with my favourite song, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, which may or may not have been as a result of me suggesting it on Twitter months ago. I had the most wonderful of times at the front singing along to every word and couldn’t have asked for a better end to my MPF 2023. After doing the rounds and saying goodbye, I finished my weekend on a huge high. Leaving then meant we missed out on seeing Speed Dinosaurs play Sublime covers (I don’t know any of their songs) and Hell’s Ditch play New Found Glory covers (I don’t think I like any of their songs) but I was more than happy with my MPF ending with TGA.
Over the following days there was much talk amongst the punk community and within my friendship groups that this was somehow the best MPF ever and I most certainly agree. For one thing, personally, I didn’t feel nearly as tired throughout the weekend (even though I technically did not get much sleep at all) and my feet held out pretty well too – no blisters! I took a spare pair of shoes and alternated between the days which was clearly a genius idea. I also drank a lot of water throughout the weekend – I basically asked for one tap water with whatever drink I was buying. More importantly: Every band I saw was really, really good. The venues and staff were all top notch. The organisation was flawless. And most of all, every person I met was lovely and just generally having the best time themselves.
I’m still in awe of how amazing Manchester Punk Festival is and cannot thank the festival organisers and volunteers enough for delivering the best weekend of the year, year after year. I’m already counting down the days until the next one!
Get your tickets for MPF 2024 now!
This review was written by Emma Prew.
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