We at Bitter Sweet Symphonies are firm believers that sometimes great things come in small packages, so we wanted to pull together our list of the best small, independent and family-friendly festivals, along with some of the best urban festivals that we think shouldn’t be missed this summer.
Live
LIVE REVIEW: Liu Bei + Dry the River at The Eagle Inn
The night’s host was The Eagle Inn. A pub that is nestled within the back streets of Salford. You’ll find the live room confined to the back quarters of the watering hole, which is where we convened for the night’s festivities. The room is modest in its scale but it holds just enough eagle-eyed patrons, that […]
LIVE REVIEW: Scruff of the Neck Records Pop-Up Festival, Sale
Scruff of the Neck introduced us to their pop-up festival this time last year and what a lovely day it was, for all the low-down on what happened last year head here. This year’s festival proved to be even bigger and even better than last year’s. Scruff of the Neck proved just what you can […]
LIVE REVIEW: Jameson at Gorilla, Manchester – 12th June 2014
Thursday night saw California blues rockers Rival Sons stroll into town bringing along with them their good friend and fellow Cali singer/songwriter, Jameson Burt. Taking up residence in all their finery at one of our newest and most exciting venues, Gorilla. The good weather followed them to Manchester with scorching temperatures and sunny skies all round. It’s […]
Bingley Music Live Festival: August 29th-31st 2014
In heart of Yorkshire, every last weekend in August comes a brilliant family-friendly festival, Bingley Music Live. Known for always bringing the best new bands and local talent to their stages, this year is no exception to that rule. Better yet, it’s their biggest line up ever. Featuring the likes of Gorgon City, Nick Mulvey, Pet Shops […]
LIVE REVIEW: Bipolar Sunshine + Indiana + Kimberly Anne at Manchester Academy 2 – 5th April 2014
Bipolar Sunshine embarked on their biggest headline show to date last night, which saw them make a welcome return home for a headline show at Manchester’s Academy 2, the place was packed and everyone left having felt like they’d had the time of their lives. Having already supported the likes of Rudimental, London Grammar and Phoenix in the last year alone, […]
LIVE REVIEW: FOXES + Leon Else at The Ruby Lounge, Manchester – 8th March 2014
Last night saw Foxes headline Manchester’s Ruby Lounge to a sold out crowd and for a night were virtually every venue across the city was packed out to sold out crowds, it just emphasises how far Foxes has come in the space of 5 months.
LIVE REVIEW: Catfish and the Bottlemen at The Ruby Lounge, Manchester – 1st March 2014
Catfish and the Bottlemen is probably a name that your quite familiar with nowadays, the Llandudno based quartet have been going from strength to strength in the past 12 months. After being signed to Communion Records last year, it meant that their tremendous work ethic was finally paying off. Catfish and the Bottlemen are clearly […]
LIVE REVIEW: Jake Bugg + The Silver Palms at The Ritz, Manchester
Sunday 23rd Febuary saw Jake Bugg roll into town, and what a great weekend he’d had, starting it off with a sold out show at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, and ending this fine weekend at another sold out show at Manchester’s Ritz. To say it’s been a good year for 19 year old, Bugg […]
LIVE REVIEW: Puppet Rebellion EP Launch Gig with The Darlingtons + The Wax Collection + David Liversidge
Last night (Saturday 22nd Feb) saw Gullivers host Manchester’s finest Puppet Rebellion and their EP launch gig along with a whole slew of other excellent bands. The venue was packed to the rafters and I can safely say we all had a blast.
LIVE REVIEW: Young Kato + Propellers + Mirror Signal at The Ruby Lounge, Manchester (12/11/13)
Young Kato’s biggest tour to date stormed into town last night and took over one of Manchester’s finest venues, The Ruby Lounge, and what a night it was. Joined by Suffolk born, Stoke based singer/songwriter, Mirror Signal and Kent five piece, Propellers, the night was full of surprises.
LIVE REVIEW: Saint Raymond + Joel Baker + Rick Kevill + Laamb at Sound Control, Manchester (3/10/13)
Last night saw Saint Raymond return to Manchester, for his very first headline gig, and the final date of his UK tour, so we knew immediately that we were all in for something really special. The night proved to be a full array of acoustic, full band and sing-along moments that just celebrates how good our music […]
Live Review: Swim Deep + Wolf Alice + Circa Waves at The Ritz, Manchester (17/09/13)
The last time I saw Swim Deep was when they supported Spector here in Manchester, in November of last year at the very same venue that they headlined last night. But since then Swim Deep have played numerous headline gigs in Manchester at venues like the Soup Kitchen and The Deaf Institute and with the release […]
LIVE REVIEW: Scruff of the Neck’s Pop-Up Festival 2013
We headed down to Scruff of the Neck’s Pop-Up summer festival and may I say what a great event it was, very well run and managed like any Scruff of the Neck event, but also at the perfect venue, the King’s Ransom pub in Sale. They couldn’t have picked a finer day for it either, […]
Ray-Ban’s Envision Series Tour: Manchester with Spector + Young Kato
Last Tuesday night saw the return of Spector to Manchester’s Deaf Institute. They graced the stage at 9.30pm for an 8 song set, headlining Ray-Ban’s ‘Long Lasting’ event, as part of their Envision Series tour, which is set to take place in cities all over the country in May and June. The Envision Series sets […]