Following the sell-out success of the Fair Play all-dayer in April 2022 and 2023, the event is back and bigger than ever, having added the iconic Manchester venue, Band On The Wall amongst the Northern Quarter venues hosting the event. This year’s festival takes place on 6th April and the line-up boasts a broad range of talent from across the globe. One of the organisers Hannah Tinker shares the following:
“With two sell-out festivals under our belt now, we really wanted to make 2024 hit with a bang! We’ve done that by adding our biggest venue yet – the historic Band On The Wall – plus our first international act which comes in the form of Canadian electronic musician and producer Marie Davidson, who is one of our headliners this year! There’s plenty more beyond that too, with over 40 acts, from an array of genres, taking to five venues across Manchester’s Northern Quarter on the 6th of April, part of which is curated by London-based DIY label PRAH Records who carry the baton on from Spinny Nights in 2023 and untitled (recs) in 2022.“
The first wave announcement alone featured an eclectic mix including: iconic electronic music performer, DJ, singer and songwriter Marie Davidson; Gothic-meets-hardcore-meets-hip-hop interdisciplinary artist Denzel Himself, the return of Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard with new material, infectious melodies, explosive dynamic changes and rich harmonies from Ugly; London based Finnish-British artist otta; Cowboyy who were the talk of the town at The Great Escape last May; a ritualistic mash-up of folksong, yelping punk and mesmeric drone from The New Eves; Skydaddy who is one-half of Spang Sisters who is now on his solo adventure and has already supported the likes of Black Country, New Road; BRIT School graduate, cellist, pianist and singer Blossom Caldarone; Players of a visceral, expressive fusion of garage rock and post-punk Imperial Wax; Experimental brother-sister duo of Amelia and Huw Lloyd aka SLAP RASH, who make music that reverberates from the core of the body; Sibling duo Comfort who are aligned with their hometown of Glasgow’s queer/punk scene; Prangers who are an experimental three piece from Rochdale; Crimewave whose music portrays vintage 90s sounds bridging hip-hop, industrial and dance; Electronic audiovisual duo from Birmingham, MATTERS; With enough cowbells to start a small dairy farm, and a sonic vitality enforced by brass, gang vocals and a sense of urgency, Tigers and Flies make music to make friends to; Solo producer/performer Judy Brush who makes tunes of defiant avant-pop, psychedelic, with the odd punk disco thrown in; Shell Company who are a Manchester / Glasgow trio who’s music wraps Rosabella Allen’s confessional poetry in soundscapes which draw from, dreampop, contemporary club music and ambient styles; Lavender Rodriquez who explores afro-futuristic sounds, spinning plates of electronic dance, hyper-pop, alt-pop with an essence of soul and afrobeat muses.
Also, each year the festival hosts an independent record label from elsewhere in the country to curate part of the line-up. This year it’s London-based, independent label PRAH Recordings, who are celebrating their 10th Anniversary in 2024. As part of their curated acts PRAH Recordings are bringing fellow artists from their roster and label friends including:
A sweet combination of acid folk, prog, jazz and ambient music from MF Tomlinson;
Rising North London-based, self-titled dysfunctional rapper and visual artist TaliaBle;
Brother-sister duo Dominic and Fionnuala Kennedy aka uh, whose experimental electronic music represents a restless blurring of pastoral and urban;
Bristol and Stroud-based musicians Josh Day-Jones and Emlyn Bainbridge who are Orbury Common;
Composer, pianist and singer Nicky Harris aka NiCKY who is inspired by the aesthetics of the circus as well as East London’s queer performance scene.
The FAIR PLAY venues are Band On The Wall, SOUP, Gullivers, The Castle Hotel, and The Peer Hat. The latter will feature the late-night wildly successful FAIR PLAY karaoke, hosted by local drag performers.
The festival is supported by local independent brewery, First Chop, whose beer selection will be available to purchase, including the uniquely designed FAIR PLAY beer cans, designed by Adam Griffiths. There is also support from The Rodeo Magazine, who will be DJing throughout the day and operating a one-off pop-up shop of their recent issues and merch.
For more information on Fair Play please check facebook.
For tickets please check here.
