‘Which other city?’ you may ask, and you won’t be disappointed to hear that the one and only Salford has its own festival. The most anticipated festival you’ve never heard of has been going since 2004, bringing in the likes of The Suzukis, Cats in Paris and the BBC Philharmonic over the years. A firm underground favourite, the creators call it ‘Salford’s celebration of new music, performance and art’, bringing new and emerging talent to the forefront and giving music lovers the chance to discover the next artist to fall in love with.
To mark the festival’s 15th birthday, 2019’s extravaganza will welcome crowds to Salford’s Regent Trading Estate home for their first Quindecennial party. Joining them on 5th May will be, amongst an unmissable array of others, highly commended by the music press Black Midi, indie-pop favourites The Orielles, nipping over from the Mancunian side of the tracks Ménage à Trois and the returning BBC Philharmonic. With a line-up like this everyone is catered for; bring your parents, siblings, nieces and great uncles for a day out you won’t forget. As if the line-up doesn’t already speak for itself, the venue will be designed by all five art directors from the past five years of the festival, creating a massively unique environment for the equally inimitable action.
Not only will this year’s shindig be the best one yet, there will also be after-parties set up at Salford’s Pint Pot and on all four floors of the new Manchester venue YES for those who want to leave the grandparents behind and party into the night. The exclusive parties will feature sets from So Flute, High Hoops and Kiss Me Again, promising to match the groovy atmosphere you’ll find at the festival.
You may never have heard of Sounds From The Other City festival, but at just £25 per ticket (exclusively via Skiddle) and with Salford being so accessible, why not give it a go? Small festivals are often the most enjoyable ones that showcase the best talent and sample niche artists that you would never have otherwise heard of, and SFTOC will mean spending your Sunday in a richly creative space – much better than sitting at home! This festival just gets better year-on-year and to be part of it is to see history in the making.
Words by Emmeline Banks (@EmmTBanks)
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