Set to take over the Northern Quarter with emerging bands and foodie discounts, all hail the return of A Carefully Planned Festival.

Any festival which has a line-up spanning genres from math-rock, hard-core punk and doom metal to folk, ambient, pop and back again does undoubtedly have to be a very carefully planned affair. Now one of the UK’s largest truly-independent music festivals, A Carefully Planned Festival (ACPF), returns to Manchester’s Northern Quarter in what promises to be an independent music-fuelled weekend extravaganza.

Established in 2008 by Matthew Boycott-Garnett, ACPF has staunchly maintained its independent roots, proudly remaining not-for-profit and keeping the festival’s focus on its performers, attendees and their collective passion for independent music at the heart of its mission. Despite having doubled in size since it first launched, these ethics remain unaltered as the festival launches its fifth edition over the weekend of 17 and 18 October.

Over 150 acts playing across nine of Manchester’s best-loved music venue

This year’s line-up is nigh overwhelming, with 150 acts playing across nine of Manchester’s best-loved music venues – including Night & Day, Soup Kitchen and The Castle Hotel – all for the ridiculously reasonable price of £17.50 for a weekend ticket or £12.50 per day. With no extra booking fees and exclusive offers at numerous Northern Quarter food-outlets for wrist-band holders, it’s hard to find a reason not to attend.

ACPF’s previous line-ups have included bands like Alt-J, Peace and Everything Everything, all of whom have since made-it-big. This year’s highlights include garage punks Best Friends, grungy popster singer-songwriter Hannah Lou Clark and local favourites Walton Hesse, making this the perfect festival to discover your new favourite band (before everyone else does).