News : 4/3/10

SOUNDS FROM THE OTHER CITY 2010 // PLATT FIELDS  PARK // NME RADAR TOUR // LOVE & DISASTER

Ok, so we touched briefly on the fact that festival season is fast approaching last week. And as far as Manchester festivals go, arguably one of the best and most consistent actually lies within neighbouring Salford. Sounds From The Other City (yes, Salford is a separate city), will be 5 years old when Chapel Street is filled with eclectic acts and music-lovers alike. 12-hours of the newest acts around (previous bands of note include The Ting Tings and Marina & The Diamonds), hosted by Manchester promoters such as Lamb & Wolf, WotGodForgot, Mind On Fire, etc. Covering new venues such as Islington Mill and St. Philip’s Church, this year is set to be bigger than ever, with a 3am license being applied for to ensure the party doesn’t stop until it really has to. Wristband tickets enabling full access are available now at £15, and will almost certainly sell out before the event. We’ll do a proper preview when full details start getting announced, but head to the official site for more info. http://www.soundsfromtheothercity.com

Across to the other end of Manchester now, as we enter Fallowfield and, more specifically, Platt Fields Park. One of the region’s largest outdoor event areas, the park will be the site of a two-day mini festival this summer after inital details were revealed this week. Tickets have already gone on sale for June 11th, when Ian Brown will headline the 100th anniversary celebrations of the venue. Support comes from The Whip, Bad Lieutenant, A Certain Ratio and DJ sets from Unkle, Mike Pickering and Peter Hook (whose book you can buy with a complimentary piece of old Hacienda bar for the small fee of £600 – what recession?!). Further details TBA, including announcements of a second day of festivities. http://thewarehouseproject.com/ianbrown

The NME Radar Tour has always been a bit hit and miss in our opinion. The ‘hottest new bands’, maybe. But generally only one each year goes on to hit the heights expected. This year, however, sees two of Manchester’s most talked about acts in recent times. The silent coolness of Hurts, who only performed their first ever gig little over a week ago, and pitch-shifting genre-dodgers Everything Everything go on the road with kooky-but-catchy Darwin Deez. Be at Manchester Academy 3 on the 28th – tickets on sale at 9am Friday! Buy here.

Bright young Manchester label, Love & Disaster, have just announced details of their next release. Following hot on the tail of their Volume 1 compilation, they’ll be putting out a new EP from Airship on limited 10″ vinyl, CD and digital. May 10th is the date for your diaries, but you can catch them live this month on tour with Frightened Rabbit and The Joy Formidable. http://www.loveanddisaster.co.uk/

And speaking of Love & Disaster, they’re responsible for this brand new video for May68’s ‘My Ways’ single out on March 15th via Hit Club.

MAY68 – ‘My Ways’