Fairplay festival is in its 4th year and is hosted at various venues across the Northern Quarter in Manchester. Most of the venues are smaller grassroots bars with the biggest being Band on the Wall.
shortstraw. are a 2 piece punk rap group from Coventry. They are the first band on today at Band On The Wall and a great introduction to the festival. The lead singer paced up and down the stage whilst the drummer remained firmly in the middle providing the backing to the down to earth lyrics. Sounds like early Kae Tempest in Sound of Rum
5 piece shoegazey dream pop band from Manchester with only two released tracks Closer with a 60s Psych groove and You're not here a slower more melodic tune. One of the highlights of the festival!
Donna is a solo artist who plays soulful jazzy tape loops, creating harmonies with herself using a laptop and loop pedals. A calming moment in-between bands.
Leather.head are post emo, screamy vocals, sax and trumpet. All the brass and all the slow build ups you can cram into a 30 minute set.
somewhere in between moving industrial equipment around a warehouse and some bleepy bloops is an experimental noise band called Prangers. Feat. Dan from Crywank on a drum kit with a megaphone and buzz saw blade attachment, supplemented by gas cylinders, tape loops and synth. This was the last band I saw for the day and made for a great end of the festival.