Neighbourhood Festival '18: Top 10 Picks

Just when you thought festival season was over, Manchester joins string of the city festivals hosting Neighbourhood Festival – a day of live music in the city’s best venues and clubs. From it’s iconic venues such as The Deaf Institute, to the brand new YES opened just last week, we picked out top 10 from the day (in no particular order):

Maisie Peters

Ahead of her huge support tour with Tom Walker starting next week, Maisie warmed up with a set at Manchester’s Gorilla. She showcased songs from her upcoming EP ‘Dressed Too Nice For A Jacket’ coming out next month, as well as her older tunes like ‘Places We Were Made,’ which is a fan favourite and brought her to the scene just over a year ago. Maisie shares charming stories behind each of her songs, and whether it’s a personal one or a her friend’s driving instructor’s heartbreak, she still makes a heartfelt piece of it. She was accompanied on stage by a friend playing electric violin and keys behind her as she played her signature acoustic guitar, or on one song, a synth pad too.

Kawala

Personal old time favourites Kawala filled the room exactly like they do every Kawala gig, whatever city they may be in. The band performed with more energy than ever before and delivered one of the most vibrant sets they ever have. The group are able to grab a crowd with a range of styles, all the way from one of their oldest songs ‘Mighty River’ which features a humble guitar strum on it, to their more extravagant songs like ‘Funky’ which sees huge instrumental breaks and sees all five members jamming together and dancing with the crowd. Their new EP ‘D.I.L.Y.D’ (Do It Like You Do) has already accumulated over 6million streams on it – and rightly so!

Millie Turner

Revving up for her first ever headline show to come later this week, Millie Turner performed a solo set at the brand new venue YES’ basement. With just herself on stage and performing with backing track, she was able to really focus on impressing her new crowd with her vocals. Her song ‘She Was A Dancer’ was a popular moment for the night and one many were familiar with, having already accumulated support from the likes of NME. After having had her first ever live show just this summer gone, she’s proven to be an incredibly slick singer. Make sure to hit one of her shows at Paper Dress Vintage as she plays a residency there, second Wednesday of each month.

Whenyoung

Whenyoung are a brand new trio. Frontwoman Aoife Power has proven herself to be a vocal powerhouse. Not contaminating their set with electronic bits and pieces, the band stay pure to their rock influences. Between this, and a slick aesthetic with each member clad in coordinated coverall type suits, Whenyoung clearly have a solid vision of their identity and the type of music they wish to deliver. Though pretty new on the scene, they have already accumulated a group of fans who knew the words to their songs. When performing their latest single ‘Given Up,’ the crowd lost it (in the best way possible). The audience was dancing so hard I could feel the floor moving below my feet. Though initially unnerving, once I realised the floor wouldn’t break, the vibe and energy this brand new brand have created felt special to be a part of.

Apre

A queue formed outside the Deaf Institue as Apre reached capacity for their set on Saturday – not a surprise as the duo have accumulated a huge buzz with their numerous live appearances this summer. The live sound is augmented to cross over in to a full indie band with additional live members behind them, featuring everything from keys to synths, playing some of their more well known songs like ‘Everybody Loves You.’ Apre are a band that have popped up on every line up across the country lately, including support slots with Lany and Fickle Friends coming up this month, and later a full UK tour with Radio 1’s Jack Saunders’ Hopscotch. So you’ll certainly catch them at some point, if you haven’t already.

Wild Front

Wild Front are one of the purest indie bands on the scene right now. Already playing Glastonbury and NME nights in the past year, the band are fully accustomed to live performances. Their ambient, guitar heavy and FX centred sounds go well hand in hand with the focus on songwriting they have, making for all rounded songs. Their new single ‘Make You Feel’ released just under a month ago is a perfect example of this. Make sure to catch them on their tour starting this week!

Lowes

Lowes were only the second band on stage at The Deaf Insitute but still managed to excite the earlybird crowd of the festival. Their vibrant electronic pop stood apart from the electronic music that is flooding the scene right now as Lowes have a huge focus on songwriting and lyrics. Lead singer Evie Plumb showcased clear, pristine vocals, singing with a wide range, making for an eclectic set with a variety of song sounds, and backing harmonies from her band members making for a wholesome, rich sound.

Night Café

Night Café played the immense Albert Hall in Manchester, filling the 2000 cap room for their set – and impressive accomplishment for a festival set across the entire city. Though Neighbourhood is a new music festival, the crowd was filled with fans who were clearly long time fans of Night Café, whether they showed this by singing word for word along or throwing roses on the stage across the barriers. The ‘indie band’ tone they had fit in well in to the festival, and their anthemic tune worked well in the huge venue and really set the tone for the types of venues they will be finding themselves in soon we’re sure.

Her’s

Her’s are quite the dynamic duo. Their stage presence is certainly incomparable to others on the scene. High spirited and out there for a good time, at first glance it just seems like the band are there for a good time. But then as the set progresses, they start to reveal more and more of their musical talents, and ultimately produce a huge sound impressive from just a duo.

Clean Cut Kid

Clean Cut Kid performed towards the end of the long but exciting day of new music at The Bread Shed. They proved worth the wait, as their highly anticipated pop-tastic set was well-received by the crowd. The group released their new single ‘Slow Progress’ just days before the festival, showcasing a heavier rock sound yet not straying from their electronic identity. The group look like they have much more to come following a slight hiatus this year!  

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