Manchester’s Premier Punk Festival Returns To Celebrate It’s First Decade!
FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Manchester Punk Festival 2025, 18th-20th April
Manchester Punk Festival is hitting it’s 10th anniversary this year. Beginning in 2015, the original festival was set over 2 days and featured ‘only’ 40 bands across stages at the no-longer-there Sound Control, The Thirsty Scholar and The Ducie Bridge. The line up included many (at the time) up and coming bands including Boston Manor, Muncie Girls, The Restarts, Roughneck Riot and Wonk Unit, as well as UK punk legends Vanilla Pod. In the intervening years, the festival has gradually expanded and 2025 will see a whopping 140 bands across 7 venues (The Bread Shed, Gorilla, Rebellion, Sandbar, The Union, Yes and Zombie Shack) over 3 days this Easter.
As ever, the festival organisers have assembled an eclectic roster of bands across all the sub-genres that exist under the punk umbrella, ensuring that all who attend are catered for with their particular tastes but also that everyone will be able to catch their favourite bands alongside discovering something new!
Keeping things relatively local will be the Manchester based Bruise Control with their brand of indie punk rock, Liverpool pop punk band Mark Murphy And The Meds and DIY punk darlings The Sewer Cats, who are following up a great 2024 and the release of their sophomore album, ‘Obnoxious’. Representing other areas of the UK will be the likes of Dundee’s Alldeepends, the harmonious ska punk of Call Me Malcolm, King’s Lynn ska punks Faintest Idea, alternative punk band Gen And The Degenerates, Midlands based Grail Guard and their brutal brand of topical hardcore punk, DIY punk rock supergroup Knife Club, cross-genre political ska punk rockers Millie Manders And The Shutup, South Wales punks Pizzatramp, Roughneck Riot with their folk punk style, Wonk Unit keyboardist Xray Vez showcasing her solo material and the continued domination of the UK punk scene with The Chisel, with many bands promoting new albums from over the past 12 months!
Italy oi band Los Fastidios will be bringing in a bit of European flavour and Brazilian band Abraskadabra will be providing some South American ska punk. Also from across the pond will be Canada skate punks Belvedere, pop punk band Broadway Calls and Boston’s Smoke Or Fire and their brand of melodic hardcore.
Of course, the line up wouldn’t be complete without some seriously big hitters and MPF 25 has plenty on offer! Original line up band Vanilla Pod are back and celebrating 30 years as a band, Orange County’s hardcore legends Death By Stereo return, melodic hardcore band Dillinger Four play Manchester for the first time EVER, Strung Out will be playing their 2004 album ‘Exile In Oblivion’ in full to celebrate it’s 21st birthday and modern punk rock legends The Menzingers will be headlining the whole thing!
This is just the tip of the iceberg on a truly epic line up! My best advice would be to grab a ticket, head along to Manchester at Easter and enjoy a few days of unadulterated punk rock, beers and good times!
Manchester Punk Festival will take place April 18th, 19th and 20th across Manchester venues and tickets are on sale now – https://www.manchesterpunkfestival.co.uk/tickets
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