Top Picks
Guides
What’s on
Where to go
See all

Manchester Psych Fest 2025

Johnny James, Managing Editor
Image supplied by Manchester Psych Fest.

Manchester Psych Fest at Albert Hall, City Centre 30 August 2025 Tickets from £44.80 — Book now

Manchester Psych Fest, the UK’s leading psychedelic music and arts festival, returns for its 12th edition this summer, hosting 70+ live acts on stages across the city.

Headlining the huge all-dayer are Swedish hypnotists GOAT, who blend psychedelic rock with funk and a heavy tribal influence. Just underneath on the bill is Nadine Shah, bringing a blend of post-punk and dark pop, plus Warmduscher, purveyors of sleezy punk funk that proudly resides in la-la-land.

More psychedelia comes in the form of Gong, one of the most boundary-pushing rock bands of the seventies, and – representing the more contemporary side of the genre –  Holland’s Yin Yin. For your indie fix, see The Bug Club, Horse Jumper of Love and Yellow Days, with post punk from Deadletter and Do Nothing.

As is often the case with Psych Fest, lots of our highlights come lower down on the bill. Famous’ gig in YES basement was one of our favourites of 2024, and Manchester’s much-hyped Westside Cowboy are onto something really exciting, having just signed to Nice Swan off the back of one single. Bristol disco power duo Getdown Services will probably bring the funnest set of the festival, and Pins playing their 2015 album Wild Nights will be a moment.

That’s just a taste, though. There’s well over a hundred more acts playing across Manchester Academy, Albert Hall, The Ritz, Gorilla, YES, The Deaf Institute, The Bread Shed and Projekts Skate Park. Do make sure you get down to that last one in particular. It’s a unique spot to catch live music.

A visual element complements the music again this year, with in-demand artist Innerstrings (Overmono, Working Men’s Club, James Holden) providing exclusive Psych Fest video installations that will “take you beyond”. There’ll also be DJs, workshops, art, films, talks and the customary food and drink traders.

There are more acts and festival activities to be revealed over the coming months. We’ll have the latest highlights here, but for the full line-up, head to Psych Fest’s website via the button below.

Manchester Psych Fest at Albert Hall, City Centre 30 August 2025 Tickets from £44.80 Book now

Featured in

Festival-goers at Green Island
Festivals

Here’s our guide to the best summer festivals with experiences taking place in a field or on the streets near you.

Where to go near Manchester Psych Fest 2025

NQ64 Manchester Peter St
Manchester
NQ64 Manchester Peter St

NQ64 Peter Street is the latest venue from the team behind the original (and excellent) NQ bar, offering up video games, high-quality drinks and a great, friendly atmosphere.

City Centre
Restaurant
Sakana

Right next to Manchester’s Albert Hall, Sakana is a casual Japanese restaurant downstairs, with a fancier Pan Asian on the first floor.

Rudy's Neapolitan Pizza
Manchester
Restaurant
Rudy’s Neapolitan Pizza

Rudy’s Neapolitan Pizza serve up pizza which has received worldwide acclaim and now have six branches across the UK including this on Peter Street.

The French - One of Manchester's finest restaurants - Creative Tourist
City Centre
Restaurant
Adam Reid
at The French

The French is one of Manchester’s most highly regarded restaurants. Head chef Adam Reid has a real grasp on what makes Manchester tick. A less fussy, more relaxed, and, at times, gloriously silly restaurant.

Manchester
Hotel
Forty-Seven

Forty-Seven is a luxury boutique hotel on Peter Street in Manchester city centre, above the high-end Indian restaurant Asha’s.

Manchester
Restaurant
Asha’s

Asha’s serves modern north-west Indian cuisine in luxurious surroundings.

See all places

What's on: Music

Rock and Goal
Until
ActivityManchester
Rock and Goal Tour

Join Joe Feeley a Mancunian through and through, who guides you into Manchester’s two pillars of cultural excellence with his Rock and Goal tour.

from £9.99
A black woman sat down looking to the left.
Until
MusicLeeds
Sound Out Leeds 2024/25

Leeds International Concert Season is on a mission to push boundaries, expand horizons, and ask the question: ‘What haven’t we heard?’ as it presents its city-spanning Sound Out Leeds series.

from £10.00
Two dancers and orchestra on stage
Until
DanceManchester
Dance:Music at the RNCM

Through a treasure trove of concerts, the RNCM’s initiative Dance:Music explores the symbiotic relationship between music and dance.

from £0.00

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.

Okechukwu Nzelu
Literature Events in the North

If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.

A woman sits in a car with hands holding the steering wheel.
Cinema in the North

Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

See all guides