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.

Welch stated, “I’m so sorry to say that after an X ray it seems I was dancing on a broken foot last night. It is not in my nature to postpone a show, and certainly not a UK tour, but I’m in pain and as dancers know, dancing on an injury is not a good idea. And have been told not to perform to avoid further damage.”

Her remaining shows were postponed to fans’ disappointment, but on Saturday she kicked (well… not quite) off the tour again at the same venue the injury occurred. She will continue the UK/Ireland tour in Nottingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Bournemouth and finish in Dublin, after which she will tour Australia and New Zealand. She returns to the UK in August for Boardmasters Festival.

Dance Fever is a vulnerable and fantastical album reminiscent of Welch’s earlier work. She took inspiration for the name and concept from the idea of ‘choreomania’, a social phenomenon that involved groups gathering to dance manically, thought to bring relief from shared stress and trauma – something that seems to strike a chord in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. She began to collaborate with producer mogul Jack Antonoff (known to mingle with other high-flyers in pop, namely Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and Taylor Swift) in February 2020, just before the pandemic broke out.

Joining her on the tour is Willie J Healey, a singer-songwriter from Oxford. He is set to release his third studio album, Bunny, in March of this year. In his own words, it is going to be a departure from his previous work, and will take inspiration from “funk, Philadelphia soul and R&B”. The lead single, “Dreams”, was released at the end of last year, and last week Healey dropped ‘Thank You’ featuring indie legend Jamie T.

Although tickets officially sold out for all dates, there are fan-to-fan resale tickets still available for the last dates of the UK tour available here.

Remaining UK Tour Dates:

31/1/23 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
01/02 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
03/02 – AO Arena – Manchester
04/02 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
06/02 – International Centre – Bournemouth
08/02 – 3Arena – Dublin