Independent venues across Greater Manchester will host the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival next month, spreading performances beyond a single site and into grassroots spaces.
The event will run from Wednesday 25 March to Saturday 28 March, with the BBC confirming the festival will take place at a range of independent venues across the city region rather than a central location.
The move places smaller live music spaces at the heart of the festival, with shows planned at Band on the Wall and YES, alongside the Eccles Town Hall Ballroom, which joins the line-up for the first time. New partnership events are also planned with local promoters FaT OuT and Homobloc.
Across four days, artists announced include Bloc Party, Courtney Barnett, The Horrors, Jacob Alon, Kelly Lee Owens in a DJ set, Lynks, Mandy Indiana, SILVERWINGKILLER, Sorry, Tiberius b, Wesley Joseph and Yard Act. DJ-led events will include an Indie Forever club night featuring Beth Ditto and Nick Grimshaw, alongside Emily Pilbeam and Nathan Shepherd, Lambrini Girls and Steve Lamacq.
Samantha Moy, Head of BBC Radio 6 Music, said: “Independent grassroots venues are vital to the UK’s music ecosystem and at 6 Music, we’re proud to support what they do.”
Nick Grimshaw will return to the festival, while Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has welcomed the focus on venues that support emerging artists across the region.