Festival Review: Neighbourhood Festival 2022
Neighbourhood Festival 2022 offered an incredible showcase of live music, including the best loved bands of the indie music scene – and the bands which are about to be.
On the morning of Saturday 1st October, we caught the Magic Bus through Manchester bright and early to head to Wristband Collection. With a packed schedule of bands we wanted to see - we were keen to get to our first set.
We started our day of live music by heading to Manchester’s newest live entertainment venue, Canvas, to catch bedroom pop artist MANTA. Queues of eager music fans already lined Oxford Road, and the venue was at capacity in no time. MANTA soon entered the stage, donned in a Vodafone gilet with his hood up. Expressing his excitement about performing his first festival in Manchester, he proceeded to perform an energetic selection of tracks. Beginning with ‘Change Your Mind’, the crowd jumped and clapped along to its irresistible melodies. MANTA also spent time telling his audience anecdotes about the inspirations behind his song writing – introducing his song ‘Poly’ by describing his flatmates relationship with a polyamorous girl. Before performing fan favourite ‘Dream World’, MANTA showed appreciation to his fans for their continued support. This sweet atmosphere then turned to chaos during the final track, where MANTA demanded ‘limbs everywhere!’ and descended into the audience.
Next on the agenda was a recommendation from a friend - The Dinner Party at The Pink Room in YES. As soon as the gloriously Gothic five-piece took to the stage, I knew that The Dinner Party was right up my street. Singer Abigaille, guitarists Emily and Lizzie, keyboardist Aurora and bassist Georgia were dressed in a perfect combination of black lace, fishnets, and satin – an aesthetic ethos that guides their sound. Beginning with ‘Burn Alive’, I found myself entranced in Abigaille’s vocal talent and performative expressions. Playing a selection of tracks including ‘Nothing Matters’, the sound of the The Dinner Party is captured in their haunting harmonies and euphoric crescendos. My personal favourite performance was the upbeat and punchy ‘Godzilla’, as Abigaille sang ‘I will take what is mine!’. The Dinner Party had their audience in awe, and I cannot wait to see them again.
Sundara Karma have been rather quiet since the release of their most recent EP ‘Oblivion!’, so I was very excited to be reacquainted with my favourite band. Bursting onto the stage with ‘Kill Me’, the indie quartet then proceeded to treat their audience with fan favourites from their debut record ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect’. The boisterous guitars of ‘Loveblood’ then filled the O2 Ritz, before the nostalgic lyricism of ‘A Young Understanding’. The whole audience had their hands in the air for ‘Flame’ as frontman Oscar Pollock sang ‘Hold my flame and set alight / Hold my fire screaming inside’. The brilliant thing about Sundara Karma is that no two songs sound the same - the weird and wonderful lyrics of ‘Greenhands’ was followed shortly by the electronic dance track, ‘Higher States’. Ending on the euphoric ‘Explore’, it is clear that Sundara Karma have still got it.
We decided to stay in the O2 Ritz to catch Alfie Templeman. This artist was 16 when I last watched him live, and it is undoubted that his performance has grown both in audience and in confidence. Beginning with the bright and melodic ‘Candyfloss’, the adoring crowd jumped and moshed from the second Templeman and his band arrived onstage. He treated the crowd to hits from his recent album ‘Mellow Moon’, including ‘Broken’, as well as a combination of fan favourites. The room was bouncing for the uplifting beats of ‘Everybody’s Gonna Love Somebody’, as the crowd sang with him ‘Everybody's gonna love somebody / But if it ain't you then I love nobody’. After singing praise to his band, the room erupted into mosh pits galore when Templeman ended his set with ‘Happiness in Liquid Form’. Alfie Templeman is destined for big stages.
Knowing that Baby Queen fans had been queuing since 11am, we rushed over to Manchester Academy 2. After her involvement in the soundtrack of Netflix hit ‘Heartstopper’, Baby Queen AKA Arabella Latham has shot to fame. Her fans screamed as she burst onto the stage and began the performance of ‘Internet Religion’ with its relevant and hard-hitting lyricism. Donned in a pink bandana and sunglasses, Baby Queen oozed confidence as she transitioned into arena-sized anthem ‘Nobody Really Cares’. Dreamy pop hit ‘Colours of You’ saw a quieter audience, with fans gracing each other’s shoulders and holding up pride flags in a celebration of inclusivity. This atmosphere was quickly shattered as Baby Queen shouted words of advice to her audience ‘When in doubt, get f****d!’ before moving on to her newest track ‘Lazy’. Finishing on the irresistible ‘Want Me’, Baby Queen gets better and better with every performance.
For our final set of Neighbourhood Festival, we travelled back to the O2 Ritz to catch the last few songs of art rock band Everything Everything. We arrived just as the band began ‘Night of the Long Knives’, a track that captured the room with frontman Jonathan Higg’s piercing vocals before transcending into their classic rap-like verse. The band proceeded to perform new tracks ‘Cut Up!’ and ‘Bad Friday’, during which the crowd erupted in dance. What makes Everything Everything special is the repetitive chants that are consistent throughout their music – a prime example being the eccentric end to ‘Spring / Summer / Winter / Dread’ in ‘You are a thief and a murderer too / Stole the face that you wear from a craven baboon’. The crowd never failed to chant along with the band, who returned to the stage after the encore with ‘Distant Past’ and the ever euphoric ‘No Reptiles’.
Neighbourhood Festival is a staple event in the Manchester music scene. If you want to catch the biggest bands on the indie scene, alongside discovering new and upcoming artists - this is the festival for you.
Words by Jess Foster
Photography by Kate Derbyshire
