Nicola MacdonaldA new festival will arrive in Manchester’s Northern Quarter this autumn.
Off The Record, organised by From The Field, Louder Than War and Sound City, will feature around 30 bands in six venues.
The new festival, taking place 4 November, will champion new music and feature a programme introducing influential figures in the industry to talented young musicians.
The programme will consist of industry talks and seminars during the day, while young artists will perform in the evenings. The performers, who must be less than 24 months old and with no debut album, will be chosen by more than 30 ‘curators’, who include big names such as Guy Garvey, Tim Burgess, and Huw Stephens.
Andy Smith, director of From The Fields (who also organise Kendal Calling and Bluedot) said: “Each curator will nominate the top three emerging acts that they believe will make the biggest impact on the national stage in the next 18 months. Their combined recommendations will see the most nominated 30 acts programmed to perform. And these will be new acts, acts which have formed within the last 24 months and yet to release an album. We believe that new music is at a creative high and we will prove it with this unique event.
“We’ve taken the unusual step to not release a line-up until the event is nearly upon us. For most emerging artists a captivating live performance comes well before they have the opportunity to step foot in a professional recording studio – we want to capture the thrill of seeing something truly special and new on stage for the first time with no preconceptions.
“The networking element of conferences is very important to me. I hope it will prove a very useful gathering for Manchester and the North’s music industry, whether aspiring or professional.”
