Manchester’s best and biggest multi-venue music festival is back this Saturday 1st October, with a boasting line-up, including headliners The Lathums, The Snuts, Everything Everything and Sundara Karma.
But alongside the biggest names, the festival is home to a host of rising artists and some of the most influential newcomers of the music industry right now – keep reading to see the ones to watch on Saturday, you’re not going to want to miss them…
Heidi Curtis
The North Shields singer-songwriter is captivating audiences with her incredible voice and electric performances. Having performed at some legendary venues, including Finsbury Park whilst supporting Sam Fender and is now currently supporting The Snuts on their UK tour.
Having previously supported Sophie and the Giants, breakout artist Heidi Curtis has high ambitions of one day performing her own headline tour.
Watch Heidi perform on Saturday at The Deaf Institute 13:00
Venbee
Venbee gained huge success when her song ‘Low Down’ featuring Dan Fable recently went viral on TikTok. Her song that has now been used in over 170 thousand TikTok videos and has over 18.5 million Spotify streams is an infectious drum and bass tune with storytelling melodies. It was awarded record of the week by BBC Music Introducing in Kent.
Her second single ‘Messy in Heaven’, released earlier this month, is quickly becoming the next viral TikTok song, following in ‘Low Down’s’ footsteps.
Catch Venbee playing YES (The Basement) at 20:30 this Saturday.
Hannah Grae
Cardiff based singer-songwriter Hannah Grae rose to Tik Tok fame after she posted a video of her singing a reinterpreted version of Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’. Following the attention from this, she later released the track calling it ‘2021 Barbie Girl’. Hannah’s interpretation of the song explores the injustice women still face in this modern world, her TikTok video of this has over 6.2 million views and has 1.2 million Spotify streams. Her most recent release ‘Propaganda’ follows a more pop-punk style and yet her ability to explore mature themes in her lyrics are still evident. Hannah is set to release a mini album in early 2023 named Hell Is A Teenage Girl.
Watch Hannah Grae at YES (The Basement) this Saturday at 12:30
The Dinner Party
The Dinner Party consists of Abigaille (singer), Rhys (drummer) Emily (guitarist), Lizzie (guitarist), Aurora (keyboardist) and Georgia (bassist). The band from East London are guided by Romantic poets and Gothic Novelists creating haunting melodies, explosive choruses, and lyrics that embrace tragedy and triumph in equal measure. At their shows, the band lead audiences through the soaring crescendos and pin-drop silences , gaining new fans with every performance.
Watch The Dinner Party at Yes (The Pink Room) from 14:00
CVC
CVC are a six-piece collective from South Wales, named after their small home town Church Village Collective which the band hope to bring international renown to in the future. Their influences range from Snoop Dogg to Super Furry Animals to Red Hot Chilli Peppers, their unique blend of genres creates their wildly distinctive sound. Their latest release in July 2022 was their EP Real to Real which features their hit single ‘Docking The Pay’.
Catch CVC at Zombie Shack this Saturday 15:00.
Nieve Ella
‘Girlfriend’ and ‘Blu Shirt Boy’ singer Nieve Ella has been making her mark on the indie-pop scene since she began sharing her music on TikTok in 2019.
Having played her first headline gig at Green Door Store in Brighton earlier this year, Nieve is now heading north to play Manchester’s Zombie Shack at Neighbourhood Festival. Nieve uses TikTok as a way to connect to her fans and promote her music which has helped her gain a total of a 2.3 million likes on her videos.
Watch Nieve Ella perform this Saturday at The Zombie Shack, 14:00.
Lizzie Esau
Geordie singer-songwriter Lizzie Esau will be performing her enchanting new single ‘Bleak Sublime’ this Saturday. Influenced by artists such as Beabadoobee, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and fellow Geordie Sam Fender, Lizzie’s music is in a lane of its own. Her unique alt-pop sound and elegant vocals are the reason for her soaring success. Lizzie was awarded BBC Introducing’s Radio 1 Track of the Week which led her to play BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. Her music is also popular on Tik Tok with her reaching over 700 thousand views for her ‘Bitter Weather’ video. We can’t wait to watch Lizzie at Neighbourhood Festival this weekend.
Catch her perform at Revolution Oxford Road, 14:30.
Nell Mescal
Nell Mescal is a 19-year old Irish Singer-songwriter who launched her career during lockdown. Her first release ‘Missing You’ achieved great success with it later appearing on a Christmas ad campaign for Brown Thomas. Her influences include Phoebe Bridgers, Frank Ocean and Paul Simon whom she frequently covers songs from on her Instagram page. Her angelic voice is accompanied by her sophisticated lyric-writing creating enchanting music like her recent release ‘Graduating’.
Watch Nell perform this Saturday at The Deaf Institute, 16:00.