Sounds From The Other City

Salford’s Sounds From The Other City returns for a bumper anniversary edition this Early May Bank Holiday, ringing in 20 years by programming over 100 acts across 15 stages around Chapel Street and The Crescent.

Since its first outing in 2005, SFTOC has become a firm underground favourite, offering a DIY antidote to bloated, corporate festivals with copy-and-paste line-ups. None of that. SFTOC is a different beast. Made for music lovers by music lovers, the festival champions the region’s independent scene, and places well-earned trust in its most exciting exponents to co-curate the line-up. From promoters and record labels to club nights and magazines, a carefully chosen selection of heads-in-the-know are tasked with booking the artists that most excite them.

Including Now Wave, Hey! Manchester, The Beauty Witch, Strange Days and Grey Lantern, the region’s best promotors are all at it this year, alongside new and emerging selectors such as Crop Radio, $eamu$ Presents, Rare Mags and FLUFF. But what have they booked?

There’s some great stuff happening at Salford University’s brutalist Maxwell Hall. Programmed by Fat Out x Heavenly Recordings, Bristol-based disruptor GROVE takes to the decks and mic with Toya Delazy and TaliaBle – a triple threat of incendiary energy. In the same venue we’ll be watching feminist punks Big Joanie and the freewheeling garage-pop of Newcastle’s Du Blonde, an artist whose proud outsiderness is a perfect match for The Other City.

Just around the corner at Salford Museum & Art Gallery, you’ll find the alt-pop of German-Australian producer Hachiku, while Peel Hall will be filled with the woozy, wonky compositions of Danish violist Astrid Sonne.

Two great local bands descend on Islington Mill’s event space: indie-avant-pop group The Orielles and party punk queens Loose Articles, alongside electronic producer and WH Lung member Tom Sharkett. Up the road at The Old Pint Pot, check out Dublin’s electro-punk trio YARD, who are carving out a niche in the Irish music scene and now way beyond.

The historic Bexley Square sees the return of SEEN, following their blistering day-party at SFTOC 2024. This year they host a back-to-back set from two of Manchester’s best: Chunky B2B Samrai. Finally at St Philips Church – a beautiful venue and longstanding festival favourite – highlights include the kuduro-flavoured grooves of London-based bassist Marla Kether.

There are a fair few names on the line-up you’ll probably recognise, but part of the fun of SFTOC is discovering acts who are still flying under the radar – but who won’t be for long. Mercury Prize winner Sampha gave an early-days performance at SFTOC before ascending to the point that he can now sell out multiple dates at Aviva Studios. Who’s to say there aren’t acts with similarly explosive futures playing this year, in tiny spaces like The Old Fire Station Café or The New Oxford?

This milestone edition of SFTOC highlights the ongoing importance of organisations like From The Other, the team behind SFTOC, Fat Out and a range of special projects and residencies. As the grassroots music sector faces increasing challenges, festivals like this offer a vital launchpad for emerging talent, with benefits for the wider UK music scene as well as local communities.

Mark Carlin, SFTOC Founder and Co-Director of From The Other, says:

“Like many of life’s great things, Sounds From The Other City started with no grand vision and no real idea how to do it. To reach this 20 year milestone and still remain as a truly independent, community-led platform proves that, with the right support, grassroots music can thrive even in tough times.”