Rockfreaks.net

author MAK date 12/03/24

Dubbed "Punk Christmas", but evidently on Easter weekend each year, Manchester Punk Festival is almost upon us and we’re chomping at the bit to see what they have in store for us in 2024.

This year seems like a bit of an MPF greatest hits kind of lineup, with plenty of recognisable names, and lots of old favourites that have played the festival before. Names that have put on memorable sets in the past, with anticipation to do exactly the same again. Though of course with each year there are some new faces on the bill to get excited about

Heading up the long-awaited 8th edition of the festival are Hot Water Music, A Wilhelm Scream, Pissed Jeans, Tsunami Bomb, King Prawn, Martha, Random Hand, Scream, The Barstool Preachers, Grade 2, Johnny Foreigner, Witch Fever, Popes of Chillitown, Cheekface, and The Planet Smashers as just some names to grab the attention of the DIY punk scene.

Manchester Punk Festival is a volunteer-run, multi-day, metropolitan-style DIY punk rock festival held in Manchester City Centre, brought to you by TNSrecords, Anarchistic Undertones and Moving North. Having officially formed in 2015, the multi-venue festival has since become an essential date in punk fans’ calendars.

Plenty of emerging artists and fans of the DIY punk scene continuously rave about this ever-growing event.

"Manchester Punk Festival is the musical highlight of my year. It lifts my spirits so much to see so many like-minded people gathering to open their minds to new music and new friends. It gets better every year and I'm proud to be part of it." - Sam Russo

"MPF is a rare thing; a multi-venue festival that manages to be independent, affordable, and encompasses every single conceivable subgenre of punk into a weekend-long celebration of both the unifying spirit of punk rock and the amazing city of Manchester." - James Hull / Apologies, I Have None

"Being that it was a multi-venue festival in the city with a bar under a train track, I knew this would be amazing. I was not disappointed in the least." - Steve Rawles / Belvedere

"Simply the best, better than all the rest. Better than anyone, anyone I ever met." - Press Club

You can find the Clashfinder link with all set times and updates here

”The running order for all stages is subject to change. Please check the running times posted at each stage on the day for the actual slot times. However, we will try to stick to the published times and tell people through Twitter and Facebook of any changes.

Each stage has a set capacity. Once this is reached we will not be able to let anyone else in. This is particularly important for the more popular bands on the line-up. Please make sure you arrive early to the stage to ensure you get access.” - Manchester Punk Festival organisers.

While there are tonnes of great artists among the 120 bands booked to play at this year's Manchester Punk Festival, you can only catch so many. In a past preview we have mentioned plenty of the names on this year’s lineup before, such as A Wilhelm Scream, Riskee and The Ridicule, Pizzatramp. At the risk of repeating ourselves we won’t go into detail again., but these are acts we are most excited about ones that we still recommend as "Must See".

Bobby Funk at MPF 2022 - Photo by Jimbob Taylor

• Bobby Funk(15:00 – 15:30 at The Union) - Bobby Funk combines elements of melodic punk, skate punk, and hardcore in a way that doesn't take themselves too seriously, throwing similarities to Wonk Unit with a bit more urgency. With songs about being a cat, poking fun at Brexit, and calling Johnny Depp a wanker, this will be one of the most fun sets of the weekend. We reviewed their 2020 album "Longing For The Bonging". With new material on the horizon, we’re incredibly excited to see them open up the main stage this year!
• Coral Springs (16:10 - 16:40 at Gorilla) - Coral Springs is a band from the west coast of the Netherlands. The band is defined by a love for pop punk and skatepunk in the vein of bands like State Champs, Rise Against, and New Found Glory. Coral Springs seamlessly alternates fast upbeat punk rock songs with infectious powerpop and tinges of emo.
• Jet8 (17:00 – 17:30 at Gorilla) - Described as "skacore from Prague". They unleashed an aggressive, horn-filled barrage of hardcore that attacked the ears while blending in the tenacity of skatepunk and the catchiness of pop-punk. Read our review of their album "Chasing The High".
• Spaced (17:50 – 18:30 at The Bread Shed) -Buffalo, NY-based band Spaced, true to their name, blend hardcore with otherworldly sounds to craft an explosive and hallucinogenic landscape. Spaced takes its influence from bands like The Rival Mob, Suicidal Tendencies, Gorilla Biscuits, and so many others—but adding textures and sounds that you might hear from bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, and Swans.
• Hans Gruber & The Die Hards (18:50 – 19:30 at Gorilla) -Diverse Skacore from Texas, where in any given moment, you could hear elements punk, hardcore, ska, crack rocksteady, thrash, and heavy metal along with pieces of Gospel and cumbia/Latin influences.
• Nosebleed (19:50 – 20:40 at The Bread Shed) - A firm MPF favourite, less punk, best known for flaunting their regular fuzzy garage rock/rock & roll vibes and dressed to the nines in their iconic suits The Leeds trio announced that at the end of the year, they are taking an extended break. So Manchester is one chance to catch one of the most exciting bands on the bill do what they do best. each time we come away with jaws on the floor at the sheer charisma this band has and their ability to command a crowd and have a whole room dancing.
• Tsunami Bomb (21:00 - 22:00 at Gorilla) - Tsunami Bomb is one of those names we all heard on the Warped Tour compilation albums, a poppy skate punk sound that hooked most of us in during our early days of discovering punk music in the early 00s. For many of us, this will be a pure nostalgia trip.
• Barstool Preachers (21:00 - 22:00 at The Bread Shed) - The Bar Stool Preachers deliver chirpy two-tone ska and punk rock blend with messages of love stories balanced out messages of a political nature. Fronted by TJ McFaull, one of the most charismatic lead vocalists in the DIY punk scene, expect a high-energy live performance that will make you want to dance around and sing your heart out.
• Haest (22:15 – 22:45 at Zombie Shack) - In only a handful of years together, Haest has been one of the hardest working bands in the DIY scene, releasing four EPs and two full-length albums, quickly earning themselves support slots to the likes of Clowns, The Dwarves, The Adolescents and Skindred. Along the way, the four-piece have created a sound that is distinctively them, which mixes the likes of doom and sludge to punk and hardcore.
• Ikhras (23:00 - 23:30 at The Bread Shed) - Ikhras is a new band from Brighton and London. Expect raging hardcore punk as a soundtrack to destroy colonialism. The lyrics are sung in Arabic and English, taking you on a journey of resistance against illegal occupation, religious control, and Western fragility, and serve as an attack on ignorance rooted in liberal thinking.
• Corrupt Vision (23:50 - 00:20 at The Bread Shed) - Corrupt Vision plays thrashing, in-your-face hardcore with some ska breakdowns that can draw comparisons to the crack rocksteady model, but with a heavier, and faster outcome.

• Rash Decision (14:50 – 15:20 at The Union) - Cornwall-based quartet, Rash Decision who blends the angst of hardcore with the spark of skate punk and the ferocity of thrash metal. Unapologetically Rash Decision provides an animal in musical form. Overall the riffs grab you by the throat, and you either want to headbang or cause a riot
• The Menstrual Cramps (15:40 – 16:20 at The Union) - The Menstrual Cramps are the Nazi kicking, guitar swinging, feminist singing riot girls of this generation. Dousing punk-rock with a tank full of petrol and setting it on fire, this explosive DIY outfit is key in the era of musicians giving everyone a fresh dose of feminist-punk heritage with relevance to its social backdrop.
• The Planet Smashers (16:40 – 17:20 at The Union) - 90’s Era third-wave ska at it’s finest. Canadian outfit The Planet Smashers, deliver everything from the uplifting skank-worthy hooks to the catchy as hell chorus lines and pulsing brass melodies, drawing strong comparisons to the likes of Mustard Plug and Buck-O-Nine.
• Tripsun (17:40 – 18:20 at The Union) - Triple Sundae have built a reputation for providing highly melodic, mid-tempo punk rock with incredibly emotional vocals, catchy riffs with lots of melodies, harmony, and excellent songwriting. The band’s heartfelt lyrics and non-cliche pop punk sensibilities pack a charm that hooks you in. A bump up to The Union stage this year matches the impressive trajectory Tripsun has been on over the last year. One to keep an eye on.
• Chewie (18:40 – 19:20 at The Union) - Over the years Chewie has evolved their sound, from something like gritty ska-punk with "Get Rich or Try Dyin'" in 2009 to the more anthemic folk elements on "Marrowbone Lane". Their most recent album Inarticulate pushes Chewie further along the line to deliver a fast-paced brand of punk with a tasteful blend of pop tendencies.
• Catbite (19:50 – 20:40 at Gorilla) - One of the leading names in the new-tone movement, Catbite is a neo-two tone ska band from Philadelphia. Influenced by the jolting energy of traditional acts like Specials, along with the Selector's edged lyrics and the captivating bubbly nature of 90s third-wave acts like No Doubt and Save Ferris. After an impressive first UK tour in 2023, including a belter of a set at last year's MPF, it wasn't surprising to see Catbite invited back and pushed further up the bill.
• Popes of Chillitown (21:00 - 22:00 at Gorilla) - Classing themselves as ska/dub/punk, Popes Of Chilli have built a reputation of providing one of the most enjoyable, high energy sets in the UK ska-punk scene. In recent years, performing the The Union at MPF 2022 and Headlining Level Up Festival later that year, each set was pure pandemonium. Following the impressive response from the release of their album "Take a Picture", it is little surprise that Popes have been given a headline slot this year. Gorilla is about to become a sweaty mess.

• Spoilers (14:00 – 14:30 at The Union) - With catchy vocal melodies mixed with riffs that are just as at home now as they would be in the early Snuff period, all played with a relentless energy that rivals China Drum and Gorilla Biscuits in a fist fight with Osker. Spoilers are the type of act that will let you believe they are a pop punk band then without notice slap you in the face with some melodic hardcore.
• Till I’m Bones (15:40 – 16:20 at The Union) - Till I’m Bones are swiftly building a name for themselves within the punk scene for their angst-ridden, moody ska punk. Blending, punchy riffs, pulsing horns, and vocals sang through gritted teeth, there is a venom behind Till I’m Bones. It’s not quite skacore, and even though songs contain catchy choruses, they pack more punch than your typical third wave.
• Dakka Skanks (16:40 - 17:20 at The Union) - Dakka Skanks are a band seriously committed to bringing hard reggae, ska, dub and punk rhythms together in a fresh style. From hard steppers to traditional ska, furious punk, and sprinklings of soul, Dakka Skanks come with the style and always bring the dance.
• Incisions (18:50 - 19:30 at Gorilla) - Incisions are gritty and pissed off at the world, placing themselves somewhere in the realms of hardcore punk and youth crew hardcore, never quite being one or the other. Expect an onslaught of aggressive and raw-sounding, thrashy punk tracks, filled to the brim with crunchy riff work and incredibly thick basslines throughout.
• We reviewed their latest album “Bliss” here.
• SKiNNY MiLK (19:30 - 20:00 at The Zombie Shack) - SKiNNY MiLK unleash music driven by bass and drums, full of devious bass lines, wonderfully fuzzy distortion, and with an array of FX pedals and some knockout drumming. SKiNNY MiLK creates cathartic tunes that effortlessly reach the volume of much larger guitar bands.
• King Prawn (19:40 - 20:30 at The Union) - One of the most exciting live bands in the UK ska scene, King Prawn blend elements of punk, hardcore, metal, ska, dub, reggae, and hip hop into their music which they dub "wildstyle". Combing elements of old-school reggae, dub, and ska and fusing it with influences such as The Dead Kennedys, Public Enemy, Rage Against the Machine, and Bob Marley.
• Random Hand (20:50 - 22:00 at Gorilla) - One of the key names in UK ska punk in recent years, blending the heaviness of hard-rock with the bouncy vibes of ska. In 2022 Random Hand delivered possibly one of the weekend’s most memorable sets, headlining Gorilla in a pure frenzy. With a newer, harder-hitting album now on the cards, is it possible for the tenacity to be heightened? Check out our review of their most recent album here.

Random Hand playing to a packed out crowd at MPF 2022 - Photo by Jimbob Taylor

To warm yourself up for the weekend ahead, MPF has put together a pre-show to get us all in the mood, featuring third wave ska favourites Call Me Malcolm who have just released a belter of an album "Echoes and Ghosts", DIY Party punk supergroup Knife Club, riotgrrl punk outfit Pussyliquor, skate punks Reason To Leave, and Tokyo Honey Trap. The event page can be found here and tickets here

Shout Louder will be hosting a Sober Social on Saturday at Manchester Punk Festival, from midday to 1 pm at Sandbar. If you're trying to stay off the sauce, festivals can be a bit intimidating, but they don't need to be. This is an easy-going get-together, and a chance to meet some like-minded folk. It’s open to anyone: you can come along if you’re a drinker, you’re hardcore straight-edge, or you just prefer Pepsi.

On top of booking 120+ bands, 6 afterparties, and 7 stages, the MPF team has also teamed up with several local businesses to get you a discount when you show your festival wristband. Below is where you can find them.

The main base is still at The Union, as it has been since 2019, which remains the biggest stage over the weekend. Head here to collect your wristbands, pick up merch, visit the record store, and watch some awesome bands. This will be the third year in a row with no venue adjustments, with the likes of YES, Zombie Shack, The Bread Shed, and Gorilla all great secondary stages throughout each day with Rebellion playing home to the warm-up show and the after parties each night. Each venue is within decent walking distance from each other. Sandbar will also play home to the comedy and podcast stages for anyone who wants a break from music