You can't move in Salford at the moment without passing a flyer or a poster for the fifth Salford Music Festival which runs between 25th and 28th September in 18 venues across the city. It's huge, it's 99% free and chances are it's in a pub around the corner from where you live.
The monster Festival grows every year as no band is refused a playing spot and the numbers wanting to go and see them ever expands. Ed Blaney, co-founder, takes a deep breath and goes into machine gun verbals...
"180 bands, from 28 different cities and towns across the UK, 18 venues, The Fall headlining, which is fantastic... the only band connected with Salford that actually give a shit about new music and play it for that reason, and they're not doing it for the money, as usual... Mark E Smith is a legend and he supports what the Festival is about and he has done since 2010.
"We've got everything, all styles, we've put everything in this year" he continues "We've got four venues in Monton, which I think of as the Salford Champs-Elysees...we've got the Eagle on the edge of Manchester, The Crescent, the Hope, Wangies...It helps new businesses, we're putting stuff on in venues where there's nothing on normally...The people seem to be down with it more than ever this year..."
A quick flick through the bands and artists playing reveals some familiar Salford names like Trojan Horse, Mark Daynes, Death To The Strange, The Jane and Mike Band but there's probably dozens more waiting to be discovered.
"Salford gets ignored and has still got that taboo with Manchester, but there's some fantastic noises coming out of Salford and there's more bands from here than ever before" says Ed.
There are also fave bands from further afield like the Giro Babies and the Paul Hegley Band who readers might have read about in the Salford Star. But the whole point of the Festival is to turn up at a boozer and check out new talent. Because the Salford Music Festival is all about the music...
"We're not commercial, it's run by three of us predominantly plus a team of helpers" Ed explains "We've got Salford University plugging it and Salford College supplying us with engineers. Funding is a joke even though we're five years old now and bring pure money into the economy. It's hard work and if it wasn't for my kids telling me to do it, I wouldn't have done it this year; they've inspired me.
"We just want people to come to the Festival, get in their local pub and have a top time" he says "It's almost all free, except for The Fall which funds the whole festival really and it's going to be great."
The Salford Music Festival is always great. Check out the listings, find a name that might turn you on, turn up and sample grass roots Salford tuned up...
See www.salfordmusicfestival.co.uk for full listings and venues.
The Fall have added an extra gig at Lower Kersal Social Club a 3pm matinee on Sunday 28th September tickets £22 - click here for details
There's also a Salford Music Festival VIP Dance Party on Saturday 27th September at Pacifica Cantonese on Church Rd Eccles from 8pm tickets £5.50 click here for details
See also previous Salford Star article on Hanky Parky playing at The Weaste Pub 27th September - click here
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