Swinton Sounds

Ushering in summer in Salford, Swinton Sounds is back for its second edition, bringing a FREE weekend of pop-up music, performance and family fun to venues across Swinton.

From the BBC Philharmonic to From The Other, there’s a host of cultural creators involved in Swinton Sounds, each throwing their own ingredients into the melting pot, which is to spill across Victoria Park, Swinton Square, two local pubs and – new for the 2024 festival – the historic Grand Palais.

The Untold Orchestra kick things off on Friday night at the Palais, an iconic ballroom dating back more than 100 years. Hidden in plain site, it’s a stunning space that first opened as the Plaza Picture House, before becoming home to the Wishing Well disco in the 70s and 80s. Aptly, the six-piece Untold Orchestra will perform dance songs from across the eras, from disco to funk and soul. Squint and you’ll be transported to a looser, headier decade, in which Earth, Wind & Fire was a band and not a headline about the impending climate apocalypse.

There’s more live music the following day, with a pop-up stage on Swinton Square. Here you’ll also find family-friendly activities including an exclusive live premiere performance of the BBC Philharmonic’s latest CBeebies Musical Story, The Enormous Turnip, alongside a disco craft workshop, and more creative fun from local community arts organisation Arts Let Loose. Artist Lowri Evans, meanwhile, will invite people to time travel through key moments in Swinton Square’s history, rooting the festival to the vibrant history of its location.

Later in the day, the action moves to two local pubs: House of Hops and The Wobbly Stool. This is where the team behind Sounds From The Other City take the reins, hosting acts including Gideon Conn and Séamus Óg.

Jason Lawton / From the Other

On Sunday 2 June, the party continues at Victoria Park, a lush green space that made for a really lovely festival vibe last year. The jewel in this park’s crown is its Grade II listed Victorian bandstand, where the SFTOC team pick up where they left off the night before. They’re hosting some great emerging bands including Big Society, Good Grief, and Meduulla, as well as DJs like Me Gusta.

There are plenty of activities to get involved in, too. Salford Mad Pride and the Lowry Show Selectors present a Citizens Assembly on Climate Change, an interactive work co-created by acclaimed theatre maker Andy Smith. For something literally more hands-on, Clay Life Mcr will be running clay-working sessions, and for kids, Walk the Plank’s giant magpie ‘Collector’ puppet will be roaming around, looking to make some new pals.

With a pop-up bar from House of Hops and street food by Dim Sum Su (genuinely great), you’ll be happily fed and watered while all this is going on, and who knows, the sun might do it’s bit, too. It owes us one from last year.