October in Manchester – logic says that its hardly the right time and place for a music festival spanning the city centre’s many iconic venues, but Neighbourhood Festival has over the past decade built up a reputation as a fantastic event for catching upcoming acts as they try to make their mark in the world of music. After a year off in 2025 its return was one I’d been eagerly awaiting since the early drafts of the line up were released.
With the Mancunian weather in uncharacteristically favourable mood for the time of year, there was time for a pre-festival detour to visit the city centre mural set up for ongoing series of The Celebrity Traitors, which somehow led to an encounter with the show’s iconic previous contestant Diane as she shot some publicity work for the current celebrity edition. If this was an omen that an action packed day was instore it was one that was warmly welcomed.
With wrist band secured and a Tesco meal deal wolfed down the Deaf Institute was my first stop off for a half past twelve show featuring folk singer Gracie Friel. Whilst nepobaby allegations will mark anyone these days with a famous relative (Gracie’s mother being actor Anna) listening to her tender singing on stage whilst appearing bottom of the bill showed a talent clearly working her way up based purely on her ability. Most touching was when her grandfather joined her on stage to finish off what was a beautifully warm hearted opening to the day.
From the Deaf Institute it was up to The Abbey (via an unexpected meeting with the Ipswich Town football team as they departed their hotel to face Manchester City), the sort of isolated pub which doesn’t obviously have a music stage even when you find yourself stood at the bar looking for one. But it was there that Kate Couriel (normally found performing with Seb Lowe) took to the stage for one of her first solo performances. Whilst her Marina and the Diamonds meets Pulp feminist rage pop impressed, there was a slight feel that even within half an hour’s set there needed to be more variety in her output.
After a quick dash and a worryingly long queue streaking into the academy it was time for ‘afternoon headliners’ Keo. Fresh from the release of their debut album there’s a fever of anticipation in the young crowd who have already taken the band to their heart. Whilst the parallels both muscially and aesthetically to Wunderhorse are easy to draw the adrenaline charged performance hit hard and makes you wonder why they didn’t get asked to close off the entire day.
With a bit of a gap in my schedule with no major stand out attractions I decided to take a punt with a couple of hours at Yes’ Pink room. The first of these sadly proved to be the only minor disappointment of the day – I never enjoy writing negative reviews, especially when a performer comes across as a genuinely lovely person, but Mel Raeburn‘s lounge pop just didn’t have the necessary bite or edge to it to captivate.
As with any festival the contrast between successive acts can sometimes be startling and so it proved as Tooth followed her on stage. Raw, anthemic, dangerous, the band lived up to compere Chris Hawkins’ billing as being one of the most exciting bands in the country. It was raucous, the singer never contemplated taking off his parks and the normally chilled Pink Room exploded into mini moshpits. Definitely an act to keep an eye on for the future.
After a quick detour to a well known fast food outlet for some much needed nourishment it was on to Gorilla – a venue that always feels buried deep underground but involves climbing stairs up from street level. Heidi Curtis established herself as the first artist to kick off their show by removing a plectrum from their bra, before launching into a thrilling performance that can be best described as Fleetwood Mac if the vamp dial was turned up to eleven.
Staying put next up was hotly tipped Girl in the Year Above, thirty minutes that took me from being a curious attendee to indoctorinated follower. It wasn’t just the wall of sound that they built up that surpassed what their handful of recorded songs had failed to capture but the sheer glee and utter charisma of singer Jennifer Ball that made everyone present in the packed venue stand up and for thirty minutes be transported to a new and happier place.
Fifteen minutes to cross the road and get from the Gorilla and into the Ritz may not sound like the most challenging of cross overs, but I hadn’t reckoned on the demand for The Guest List being so high that the venue’s capacity would be exceeded by the time I could join the queue. By the time the one in one out policy got me in the band were down to their final few songs which whilst not enough to produce a review of did at least receive a rapturous reward from the crowd.
And after all that there was still time for one more show. Strangely the Ritz felt slightly less packed for headliners Florence Road, the one act of the day who I had seen live before. Coming across more confident and self assured than when I’d previously seen them in May the downside to their show is that whilst their initial burst of indie pop classics shimmered triumphantly through the venue the newer material came across as more generic and lacking in general sparkle.
And so fourteen thousand steps later Neighbourhood Festival 2026 came to an end. A highly successful day of discovering new acts, visiting favourite venues, and feeling quite smug with the high hit rate I managed of acts that I was delighted to have made the decision to go and see. When £55 these days barely buys half a ticket to some big acts to get a day’s worth of promising and upcoming acts felt like one of the bargains of the live music scene. Fingers crossed 2027 sees the festival back with an equally excellent line up and that the sleek organisation that made the day such a success continues.
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