Manchester Punk Festival

While the true meaning of Easter weekend is chocolate, within the UK punk scene this time of year is also about people coming together and descending upon Manchester, ready to take in what is guaranteed to be an amazing line-up of music at Manchester Punk Festival.

This was my first year attending Manchester Punk Festival, and I loved it. Spanning across multiple venues, I can only imagine the level of organisation it must take to put on an event like this. With such a stacked line-up, I knew going in that I wouldn’t be able to catch every band I wanted to cover here. When your biggest dilemma of the weekend is having to choose between too many amazing bands, you know you’re onto a winner.

For me, the weekend kicked off late Friday afternoon, with Fresh at The Union. I’ve loved Fresh for a few years now, but this was my first time seeing them live. I can’t think of a better way to start my weekend. Frontwoman Kathryn bounces around the stage, guitar in hand, somehow never missing a beat as the band tear through fan-favourites like ‘Going to Brighton’ and ‘Get Bent’. Their set was fun and energetic, radiating joy from start to finish.

That joy continued with Johnny Foreigner, who tore through a flawless set of frantic indie-punk fun, with lead vocalist Alexei and bassist Kelly trading vocals back and forth. Sometimes it surprises me to think how long JoFo have been together, but when you see how well they perform together on stage, it all makes sense. They have a strong fanbase, which made for a fun time – lots of singing and dancing all round!

Cheekface were the next band, I honestly had no familiarity with them before tonight. I’d heard so many people in the crowd talk about them though (including multiple people travelling to MPF from Ireland specifically to see Cheekface), that I knew they must be something special. Before they’d finished the first song of their set, I was a fan. ‘Popular 2’, from their most recent album It’s Sorted, was an early highlight for me, and it’s a great song for introducing yourselves to Cheekface.

Headlining The Union tonight was Martha, who pulled an impressive crowd, filling out the room with bodies and voices shouting along with every lyric. Seeing Martha play live is always a great experience, and tonight was no different. As soon as they played their first chord, the crowd erupted into the happiest pit I’ve ever been part of. It was beautiful chaos, and I loved every second.

I started my Saturday with a stop by the poetry stage to check out Saffiyah Khan. Saffiyah became an accidental icon in 2017 when she was photographed having a stand-off with a classic gammon during an EDL protest. The image was shared across the world online, leading to respect, recognition and, thanks to the t-shirt she was wearing, an appearance on The Specials‘ first album in 40 years. Her poetry is short and snappy, delivering sharp (and often funny) observations on society, politics, capitalism. I’m glad I was able to catch her, hopefully we’ll get to hear/see more of her in the future.

The Menstrual Cramps are another band who, despite being a massive fan of, I saw for the first time this weekend. If I had to pick one band from the line-up to sum up the ethos and values of what it means to be “punk”, I’d struggle to find a better example than The Menstrual Cramps. Their lyrics are unashamedly political, each song it’s own call to arms against the many messed-up aspects of society right now. A definite highlight of their set was when they brought up friend and fellow-performer Liv Winter to share vocals on the anthemic Cull The Tories. Recent single Class War also got the crowd going, with vocalist Emilia urging everyone to “go join a union”.

I first saw Honey Joy when they toured with Martha a couple of years ago. Their bouncy, infectious melodies get people dancing in Yes!’s Pink Room and, just like last time, I’m blown away by frontwoman Meg’s vocals. She’s able to sound angry and sweet at the same time, and radiates positivity even when singing about difficult personal subjects.

It’s over to The Bread Shed next for Bolton/Salford band Smoking Gives You Big Tits. They are, by far, one of the most entertaining bands I’ve seen live. Frontwoman Helen has everyone listening intently as she shares hilarious stories between songs, as well as a fantastic vocalist. They open their set with He’s Not Toadfish From Neighbours. My personal highlight was definitely when they played My Favourite Fact About Maggie (referring to everybody’s favourite milk-snatcher, of course), which sees Helen shouting “My favourite fact about Maggie, is that she’s fucking dead!” Oh yeah, and they had a kazoo!

Next up is Sunderland-based BigFatBig, another band I discovered through seeing them open for Martha, and they’ve somehow found a way to have got even better since then. Their catchy, melodic pop-punk has the whole room dancing, and singing along with Robyn’s powerful vocals. Mid-set, the band throw in a cover of Sheryl Crow’s ‘If It Makes You Happy’, with Robyn explaining that they’d learned it for a wedding they were asked to play at recently, and they wanted to get their “money’s worth” out of learning it.

Headlining The Bread Shed tonight was Manchester doom-punks Witch Fever, taking to the stage after already having played a gig in Liverpool a few hours earlier. The packed room erupts in cheers as they go straight into ‘Beauty and Grace’. They played a mix of familiar songs with some new material thrown in, that has left me even more excited for their second album to be released. The fledgling pit in the crowd turned into a full-on circle of chaos and fun as the chorus to Bully Boy kicks in, and I find myself surrounded by smiling faces shouting along as Amy she screams “OFF WITH HIS HEAD”. Between songs, Amy takes a moment to credit the festival organisers, citing them as proof that “you can just not be a dick.” Their set ends with Amy jumping into the crowd to sing 12. I can’t think of a more empowering way to end the night than a communal shout-a-long of “I DESERVE AN APOLOGY!”

Keighley’s Goo graced the stage of The Pink Room on Sunday afternoon, filling the room up effortlessly. ‘Call In Sick’ was a definite highlight, with it’s shout-a-long chorus, as well as their next single ‘You’re In Mono’. I feel lucky to be seeing Goo in such a small room, as there’s no way they won’t be playing bigger venues soon.

Dear Everyone are an acoustic indie-folk trio made up of three veterans of the DIY punk scene – El Morgan (Personal Best), Helen Chambers (Misfortune Cookie), and Kelly Kemp (No Comply). Their harmonies are beautiful, at times filling the room in a way that I could never have predicted possible without a full-scale vocal troupe. This makes it especially impressive when they tell us this is the first tour they’ve done together since before Covid. Throughout their set, they rotate on stage, with each member taking their turn on guitar and lead vocals. They bid us farewell with a traditional sea shanty – let’s hope it doesn’t take as long for them to tour again!

I decided to end my weekend here in The Pink Room, and Perkie’s beautiful, chilled-out folk-punk is perfect. I’ve seen Perkie live before as part of Autonomads, but this was my first time seeing them as a solo artist. Perkie’s solo music is like a soft, warm hug. The majority of the crowd chose to simply sit on the floor together and enjoy the chance to just chill after a weekend of mostly standing. Perkie chatted to the crowd between songs as if we were all old friends. They’re doing a mini-tour in May (no Northern dates this time around, but it is their first tour in five years!), I’d definitely recommend going to see them if you’re able to!

As the weekend drew to a close, I found myself already looking forward to next year. If you’ve been on the fence about attending, go for it!