Now Wave have been promoting gigs in our city for over a decade, and have grown from a few small gigs in independent venues, to owning their own venue (Yes) as well as organising the brilliant annual Psych Fest. We caught up with Now Wave’s Gareth Butterworth to find out about the inner workings of Manchester Psych Fest, what it takes to be a promoter in our city these days and what exactly they look for when putting on a band….

 

What originally inspired you to start Manchester Psych Fest?

There was two of us so credit goes to James who brought this to me. I asked to get on board and develop it and present ideas before the first one was announced. Unfortunately, James left the music industry many years ago.

 

You started in Manchester and now have events in Edinburgh and Brighton too, how do you see the Psych Fest expanding and are there any other places where you’d like to hold a Psych Fest?

Maybe one day. There’s nothing in the works right now for extra locations but I wouldn’t rule it out for the future.

 

Why do you think the psychedelic music genre remains so timeless?

So many people have different interpretations of what’s ‘psychedelic’ and I feel that’s one of the reasons its become broad and had longevity. There’s a lot of acts who are not ‘psych’ but heavily influenced by psychedelic artists.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s acts on our bills that traditionally you wouldn’t consider as ‘psych’ but we also try and keep it within the same world. It’s this attitude that has helped the festival grow and increase every single year.

 

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at the festival this year and why?

Daiistar. We put a lot of effort into getting them over. Give them a listen! But The Horrors are one of my all time favourite bands, so I have to give them a mention.

 

Apart from the amazingly brilliant line up of bands, there’s also a variety of art stalls, talks and exhibitions taking place over the weekend. Tell us more about that side to the festival and what people can expect from the non-musical element?

We take a lot of pride in this. It gives the event a real festival and community feel. A lot of local artists contribute. Most of it is at our festival hub in circle square – a place to chill from the live music and take in that real outdoor festival vibe. We have yoga, screen printing workshops and this year University of Manchester will be hosting our talks this year. We also host a pop up cinema upstairs at the Lass O’Gowrie pub. It’s important to try and include as many local business in the area on the day.

 

Who are your top three favourite bands/artists of all time and why?

The National, The Horrors, Radiohead. Special mention to Courtney Barnett too. And The Black Angels (yes, we try to book them every year).

 

Apart from the annual Psych Fest, as promoters Now Wave promote loads of gigs across the city, how did you first get into promoting gigs?

I actually did journalism at University and when I left, I started my own music magazine. I started putting gigs on for the magazine issue releases, and it spawned from there. This was 2010.

 

You also own the fantastic venue Yes, why did you decide to open your own venue as well as putting on gigs in other venues?

Wes & Jon are directors here. They would be best to answer. But at Now Wave we always try and match the venue that fits best with the artist. YES ticks a lot of boxes for our acts that are coming through. As well as your own shows, you need a good balance of external promoters to produce a successful programme.

 

What do you look out for in a band when considering whether or not to book them for one of your gigs, either as a main headliner or as a support band (although we know some headliners pick their own supports, but if you were in charge of picking them what do you go for?)

We have to like it and it has to be good or show potential. Now Wave has a broad programme but we say no to a lot of stuff. I think saying no is a good a quality as cherry picking the bands you like/see potential.

 

What makes Manchester such a great place for bands to play and for bands living here honing their craft?

I haven’t done a study on this, but I reckon it hosts the most live artists vs. population in the country. That must mean something…

London has more bands playing but London has a lot more people. Maybe you guys can find out?

 

Manchester Psych Fest takes places across various venues on Sat 31st August 2024. The current line up is as follows:

 

BC CAMPLIGHT, ALTIN GÜN

BAXTER DURY, THE HORRORS, PIGS x7

BILLIE MARTEN, HALINA RICE, GOAT GIRL, TEMPLES (PLAYING SUN STRUCTURES), NEWDAD, MARIKA HACKMAN, JUNIORE, GEORDIE GREEP (BLACK MIDI), LA LUZ, SLIFT, WILLIE J HEALEY, MARY LATTIMORE, JAMES HOLDEN, MDOU MOCTAR,

FAT DOG, ORACLE SISTERS, GIRL RAY, CHICANO BATMAN, A. SAVAGE, LIME GARDEN, JOHN FRANCIS FLYNN, LAMBRINI GIRLS, LAETITIA SADIER SOURCE ENSEMBLE (STEREOLAB), THE WYTCHES

PRIMA QUEEN, PASTEL, DIVORCE, WINE LIPS, DAS KOOLIES, THUS LOVE,

BONNY DOON, HEARTWORMS, HOTWAX, O., HALO MAUD, MELTS, DAIISTAR,

LES BIG BYRD, GIRL AND GIRL, NIK COLK VOID, WHITE FLOWERS, MOLLY PAYTON, HOLLY MACVE, THE NEW EVES, CLOTH, WHITELANDS, COSMORAT, GURRIERS,

HELLO MARY, BLACK DOLDRUMS, MUI ZYU, MAN/WOMAN/CHAINSAW,

VOKA GENTLE, HUMOUR, PLANTOID, LUTALO, EBBB, THE BLACK DELTA MOVEMENT,

CRUSH OF SOULS, WAX HEAD, TTSSFU, HOT FACE, CHEMTRAILS, FLORAL IMAGE, REVIVAL SEASON, BIKINI BODY, DUVET,  THE RED STAINS, UMARELLS, GEORGIAN, SLAP RASH, MIDNIGHT RODEO

SATURDAY 31ST AUGUST 2024

VARIOUS VENUES

70+ LIVE ACTS / DJs / ART / FILMS / WORKSHOPS / TALKS / FOOD

+ INNERSTRINGS VISUALS

*14+ // LINE-UP SUBJECT TO CHANGE

ALBERT HALL, O2 RITZ, PROJECTS SKATEPARK, MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ UNION, GORILLA, YES, DEAF INSTITUTE, THE BREAD SHED //

For more info: manchesterpsychfest.com