Music in the North
Johnny James, Managing EditorShape-shifting bands, scorched-earth techno, and off-grid festivals. Our latest music picks catch the live scene at its most urgent, inventive and alive.
There’s intensity at The White Hotel, where four of the scene’s most uncompromising figures, including Dax J and Helena Hauff, bring a night of industrial techno, electro and high-voltage circuitry. There’s resistance in Birkenhead, where Pussy Riot’s Riot Days takes the afternoon slot at Future Yard’s fiercely curated summer fest.
At Brudenell, Vessels, once a post-rock band, return as a full-blown live techno machine – while Deerhoof, 20 albums in, remain joyfully defiant, still changing up the formula with every move.
In Trafford, NightGarden transforms a secret forest into a temporary utopia of sound, art and inclusivity. Meanwhile, Manchester Classical brings big ideas, communal energy and yes, Jonny Greenwood, to The Bridgewater Hall – a weekend that welcomes purists and first-timers alike.
Each of these events, in its own way, pushes live music to be its best: more fearless, more inclusive, more collaborative – more alive.
