Festival Review: Outbreak 2023
The yearly Manchester meet up for the fans of hardcore, punk and a wide variety of alternative.
In-betweens took place over the weekend at the new home of Mayfield Depot, situated right in the heart of city centre.
After having the privilege of speaking to Joey earlier in the day, KOYO were the first set I came to see after properly getting into the festival.
Despite their early start, the crowd were definitely up for their first ever show in Manchester and it resulted in a fast paced power through a great setlist and are one to look out for for the future, with their debut album being released later this year.
Venturing into the second stage for the first time, the setting could not be better for a the sets that were about to take place, starting for me with Demonstration of Power and rounded off by Rough Justice, hailing from Glasgow and Sheffield respectively.
Both sets sounded incredible and the stage being at the end of a tunnel really helped with that as the acoustics were spot on for hardcore and it led to two truly incredible performances.
In between the aforementioned artists, I was bouncing back over to the main stage as it was time for No Pressure, a supergroup of sorts fronted by The Story So Far's Parker Cannon.
The set brought some variety to the days lineup but still felt at home. They received a great response you could see the band themselves were having a great time too with beaming smiles across their faces.
The smaller discography of the band almost helped keep fans singing along as they played relentlessly through their set.
Next to take to the stage was High Vis, a high demand set as the main stage was filled with time to spare before the band took to the stage. They played an enthralling, raw and emotional set which really was a highlight for me. Opening with a cover of Oasis' classic 'Morning Glory' which produced probably the biggest sing along moment of the weekend before diving headfirst into the expected. There is really a lot to be said for the mix of genres that have been taken inspiration from for their sound, from britpop to hardcore and a wide range in between and it is clearly working as they go from strength to strength which has been nothing short of deserved.
The set up for Friday was a co-headline slot for Converge and Bane, with the last to take to the stage before this being Defeater.
For anyone that has not dabbled into the discography of Defeater, they are a concept band of which all of their albums continue to tell the story of a working class family who have fallen on hard times post WW2. With that in mind you may then also wonder how this would translate into a festival slot? The crowd was more than warmed up by this point and they performed a great set. Whilst the story may be lost in the moment, the musicianship and pounding tracks more than make up for it.
Friday's headliners came about in what felt like no time at all with Converge kicking off the beginning of the end for the first night.
The hardcore legends played through a set picked from a range of their huge back catalogue of tracks, featuring songs waining all the way back to their 2001 release Jane Doe through to 2017's The Dusk In Us.
It was a wild ride through the bands history and was a crowd pleaser throughout.
With Converge over, it was time for Bane in what really was a real exclusive set. Having not played a show in the UK since 2015, it was really great to have them on the bill and they were absolutely up for it after a long 8 years away.
Another legendary set with tracks dated all the way back to the 90's, the day was a real testament of where hardcore has come from and the position it is in now. This sentiment was also ushered by the band themselves, the genre really is in a truly incredible spot at the moment which all involved have worked so hard to build towards.
Saturday rolled around, and Scowl were worth arriving earlier for. The inner circle was already packed and there was a good attendance for what was a high octane and great sounding show. Scowl sounded super tight and put on a performance to remember.
Soul Glo really blew me away with their performance, musically they sounded incredible, powering through breakdown to breakdown with the crowd absolutely losing it consistently throughout, featuring for what I saw, the first 'Do not invade the stage, get on and get off' sign of the weekend. The band ooze coolness and confidence as they dance, spin their guitars and at one point, lying down on stage behind the crowd that had built up on there. I would absolutely urge you to see them given the opportunity.
There was a tough act to follow for Jesus Piece, but this didn't affect them at all.
Their unrelenting sound with their mix of unrelenting hardcore beatdowns and call and response vocals is a really unique take on the genre and makes them really stand out from the rest.
The final lead up to todays headliner consisted of Machine Girl and Code Orange.
The former was up first with a distinct electronic hardcore sound that, like Jesus Piece before them, really push the genres boundaries further. The tracks at times sounded more like what the venue is more accustomed to hosting with the annual warehouse project taking place, but this always looped back round to a reminder of what event you were attending.
Code Orange then began to put on a show with a varied setlist taking a trip through their history. Playing songs from their early days up as Code Orange Kids and its hardcore philosophy, up to their newest album that features takes on a variety of influences, from metal core to industrial metal. I was a pure showcase of the bands ability.
On what seemed to be the best selling day of the weekend, Death Grips took to the stage fashionably late. With a stylish bright orange screen which left them as silhouettes flying around the stage, it was the stand out set of the weekend visually. Fit into their first UK shows since 2019, they brought the crowd and put on one hell of a show for them! The performance had to briefly be stopped, but the security very quickly made sure everyone was okay and allowed the set to continue.
A huge shoutout to the security deserves to be mentioned, their handling of the crowds over the entire weekend was great and did not go unnoticed.
Loathe kicked off the Sunday for me with a great showcase of their signature sound, the mix of hard hitting and heavy verses into softer, dramatic choruses. The Liverpool outfit never disappoint when called upon and this set was no exception to this.
Having one of the highest turnouts of anyone, including headliners, Trapped Under Ice were an absolute crowd favourite and helped by being their first UK show since 2017 and their first Outbreak since 2016. They had definitely been missed.
The inner circle was completely rammed with fans squeezing into the pits. Their set did not disappoint as they were pushed on by the energy from the crowd from the beginning till the end. The set featured a surprise appearance by Graham Sayle of High Vis to perform 'Street Lights'.
Turnover took the stage next and produced a wonderfully chilled out set of their now iconic shoegaze sound. The band, still grateful that the hardcore fan base has followed them into their new direction. It was a nice variation for the day allowed all to collect their breath and have a nice sway.
It was also a perfect transition into the night next artist, Earl Sweatshirt.
Earl took to the stage and their was a clear sense of adoration for him. The barrierless aspect of the venue was only used a couple of times during the whole set as most were prepared to stand and take it in.
One of the few stage runners were called out by Earl for a less than impressive cartwheel however, which did get a great response.
Rounding out Sunday and the weekend as a whole, Denzel Curry had the whole of Outbreak in attendance. After the more chilled out tempo of Earl Sweatshirt, Denzel very quickly brought back the energy and had the crowd bouncing.
Lil Ugly Mane was brought out for Twistin' which was a great addition to the set.
Playing a mix of classics and a couple of new tracks thrown in for good measure, it was a great end to a great Outbreak weekend. The interaction between Denzel and his DJ was great to see throughout as it was clear to all they were having fun with it, bouncing off the energy the crowd was throwing back to them in abundance.
Moving to Mayfield for the first time, there was undoubtably concerns for long time attendees but overall, I feel it really has found a home there until the time comes to increase the capacity once again. This isn't to say of course that there is not any teething problems which will hopefully be fixed for next year, but there is nothing that really stands out as being too much to resolve.
The decision to go all out on vegan food across the site was a great idea as it meant there was options for a lot more than other festivals of a similar stature offer. The merch stand had a big enough space to fully showcase what was on offer and hopefully drive further sales for artists in a scene that is largely funded via merchandise sales.
If you've been on the fence about Outbreak before, it is genuinely one of the best festivals the UK has to offer currently with a great and varied lineup, it is absolutely worth biting the bullet a grabbing a ticket for next year!
Words by Thomas Maclachlan
Photography by Jess Robinson
