LINE UP

The first wave of acts for Manchester Psych Fest 2024 is here.

Featuring:@baxterdury@horrorsofficial@TemplesOfficial@NewDad @heyjuniore @MdouMoctar
Plus others, with more to be announced.

Tickets on sale now: https://t.co/gvgJ3geAB1 pic.twitter.com/QHNEPsPMb3

— ManchesterPsychFest (@mancpsychfest) November 30, 2023

The festival is scheduled to take place on 31 August 2024 and will once again turn the city centre of Manchester into a sprawling hub of psychedelic and alternative creativity. Iconic music venues such as YES, Canvas, Albert Hall and 02 Ritz will act as temporary stages, effectively allowing the areas immediately surrounding Oxford Street to be turned into temporary festival grounds. Circle Square, if aligning with last year, will act as festival hub and will be the place to go for merch, various band meet and greets and a diverse variety of street food stalls.

Last year’s edition saw American psychedelic rock giants The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Allas-Las perform, along with Sorry, The Murlocs, Ezra Furman and Los Bitchos. There were also several film screenings, including cult psychedelic classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and band films Chunky Shrapnel and Dig!. This year’s film screenings have yet to be announced, as have many more acts and artists.

Watch the music video for “I’m Not Your Dog” by Baxter Dury below:

Baxter Dury, son of legendary The Blockheads lead singer Ian Dury, is set to headline the festival with his wholly unique take on music, consisting of unapologetic, almost spoken word delivery backgrounded by post-disco and indie electronica beats. Also headlining will be Southend based group The Horrors, with a style that consistently merges gothic and psychedelic rock with post-punk and shoegaze.

Watch the music video for “Still Life” by The Horrors below:

The full list of acts that have been confirmed is below:

Baxter Dury, Bonny Doon, Divorce, Ebbb, Fat Dog, Floral Image, Gurriers, Heartworms, Hello Mary, Hotwax, James Holden, Juniore, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Mdou Moctar, Molly Payton, Mui Zyu, NewDad, Temples, The Horrors, Wax Head, White Flowers, Willie J Healey, Wine Lips.

Tickets are on sale now and are available to purchase here.

The event, on Saturday 2nd September, will see Manchester City Centre effectively transformed into a festival ground, with multiple live music venues, scattered up and down, being employed as stages. The Albert Hall, on Peter Street, will act as main stage, while other venues, such as YES, Gorilla, the 02 Ritz, Canvas, Manchester Academy 2 and Deaf Institute, will act as the other, smaller stages.

Headlining Manchester Psych Fest 2023 will be American psychedelic rock legends The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who will be the last band to perform on the night at the Albert Hall. Fans of the psychedelic rock genre will need no introduction to BJM and the great Anton Newcombe who fronts the group, a group who, to this day, continue to be an ever-evolving vehicle for musical experimentation, having released their 20th studio album, The Future Is Your Past, in February this year.

Another main act comes in the form of American singer-songwriter Ezra Furman, who has previously said this will be her last European tour for a while. As such, this will be one of the last chances British fans will get to see Furman live in the flesh for the time being, and will therefore be a show not to be missed. She will be playing at the 02 Ritz and will be the last act at that venue.

Other acts that will feature at this year’s Psych fest include The Kundalini Genie, Allah-Las, The Lovely Eggs and Flamingods, all of whom are psychedelic rock groups. English indie rock band Sorry will be in attendance, as will the predominantly instrumental Cumbia-inspired London group Los Bitchos. Noise punk outfit Benefits will raise pulses in the White Noise room at Canvas, while post-punk bands Deadletter and The Murder Capital will electrify elsewhere.

A rather late addition to the line-up are The Murlocs, an Australian rock band hailing from Melbourne. They will play at the 02 Ritz at 4.30pm. This will not be the only show, however, for Ambrose Kenny-Smith and Cook Craig, frontman and guitarist respectively, as the talented duo are also an integral part of fellow Australian group King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, another group who needs no introduction to the fan of the psychedelic rock genre. The latter group will also be performing in Manchester on the same night, with a headline midnight gig at the Manchester Academy. The show, unfortunately, is not technically part of the festival and separate tickets are required to see the Aussie psych rock heavyweights.

There will also be several film screenings in addition to the multitude of music options, including a UK festival exclusive screening of Chunky Scrapnel, a road movie featuring King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and Dig!, a documentary on the love/hate relationship between American groups The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols.

You can purchase tickets here.

Stages and set times below:

Albert Hall
Sorry – 14.00 – 14.45
The Lovely Eggs – 15.15 – 16.00
Allah-Las – 16.30 – 17.30
Los Bitchos – 18.15 – 19.15
Snail Mail – 20.00 – 21.00
The Brian Jonestown Massacre – 21.45 – 23.15

The 02 Ritz
The Mysterines – 13.00 – 14.00
Jeffrey Lewis – 14.45 – 15.45
The Murlocs – 16.30  – 17.30
Bodega – 18.15 – 19.15
Loose Articles – 20.00 – 20.45
The Murder Capital – 21.30 – 22.45
Ezra Furman – 23.30 – 00.45

Ritz Basement
Atmos Bloom – 14.00 – 14.30
Lei Hope – 15.45 – 16.15
No Windows – 17.30 – 18.00
Cruush – 19.15 – 19.45
The Kundalini Genie – 20.45 – 21.15

Manchester Academy 2
Teke :: Teke – 15.15 – 16.00
The Underground Youth – 16.45 – 17.45
Panic Shack – 18.30 – 19.15
Flamingods – 20.00 – 21.00
Kokoko! – 21.45 – 22.45

Canvas Room 1
Viji – 14.15 – 14.45
Pray For Mojo – 15.30 – 16.15
University – 17.00 – 17.45
Benefits – 18.30 – 19.15
Say She She – 20.00 – 20.45
BDRMM – 21.30 – 22.45
Maruja – 23.30 – 00.15
Stealing Sheep – 01.00 – 02.00