Beyond The Music 2026: Manchester Festival Spotlights Grassroots Talent And Industry Game-Changers
“If you’re looking for history, then, yes, we’ve a wealth
But the Manchester way is to make it yourself.”
A recital of Tony Walsh’s ‘This is the Place’ marked the beginning of this year’s Beyond The Music festival. A poem championing Mancunian community, charm and spirit, it celebrates the region’s history of innovation and refusal to play by the rules. From the radical protests of the Suffragettes to the era-defining musicians of Joy Division and the Happy Mondays, Greater Manchester has been cemented as a site of propulsive social change and forward-thinking.
Beyond The Music aligns closely with these values. Describing itself as a ‘co-operative global music conference and festival’, it aims to ‘tackle the most pressing issues from across the creative content industry’, with artists, entrepreneurs, policymakers, industry professionals and politicians gathering for panels and summits by day; by night, a myriad of live performances take place over a number of venues. Held for the first time at Salford Quays’ MediaCity, Beyond the Music 2026 showcased both grassroots and established talent over the 6th - 9th October, whilst inviting cross-sector conversation and collaboration in an increasingly precarious creative landscape.
“The music business, these days, can be almost like data science,” Oli Wilson, Beyond The Music co-founder, told DMY. “What we do here at Beyond The Music is bring everybody around the table, even though we might not see eye-to-eye.” He was speaking at an exclusive premiere of the legendary film, 24 Hour Party People, shown on the opening night of Beyond The Music with the original cast and crew 24 years after its release. A film told through the eyes of Tony Wilson (of Factory Records and Haçienda infamy - and Oli’s father), it celebrates the cutting-edge spirit of ‘Madchester’ that gripped the world for the better part of 20 years - an influence that the festival hopes to continue.
Photo credit: Marieke Macklon
Attendees of this year’s Beyond The Music could attend panels hosting over 100 speakers, including artists such as Imogen Heap, Nina Nesbitt, The Ting Tings, YolanDa Brown OBE, Tom A. Smith and more, as well as join its Creative Industries AI summit, convened by an absent Andy Burnham. This particular summit honed in on five Manchester Principles, a ‘shared, industry-wide action plan’, aimed at bringing together voices from a number of backgrounds to find common resolution on the implementation of AI in creative spaces.
There were some stronger opinions to be heard, such as Ivors Academy Chair Tom Gray’s summit on the need for sovereign creativity in the face of a potential “AI bonfire of cultural appropriation and homogenisation”, which raised important questions on what the future of our music industry could look like without rigorous AI regulation. Additionally, Dr Jo Twist OBE (BPI Chief Executive) gave an address on her strategy to “protect, promote and grow” the British music industry in the face of an ever-shifting cultural climate; whilst the team behind Yungblud’s meteoric rise shared their insights into managing one of the biggest artists on today’s alternative scene.
Beyond The Music also hosted Billboard UK’s first-ever 40 Under 40 Honours List, celebrating the achievements of today’s young pioneers of the music industry, featuring addresses from Mayor of Manchester Bev Craig and esteemed London musician Kojey Radical, who received Billboard UK’s Trailblazer Award. He highlighted the value of integrity to one’s artistry in his acceptance speech, saying: “For someone who spent a lot of his life being told directly and indirectly to pick a lane, there’s something incredibly meaningful about being honoured for refusing to.”
Pictured: Superlative | Credit: Luke Brennan
As evenings approached, conference chairs made way for stages spread across the MediaCity site, Salford University and the nearby Salmon of Knowledge pub. From indie, to electronica, to R&B, to rap, to folk, the lineup celebrated a huge range of diverse talent, giving artists at all points in their career the opportunity to share the same space. “This is my first festival outside of Moss Side,” grinned young Manchester rapper Miracooler. Beyond The Music’s grassroots efforts were very clear.
Highlights included experimental electronic duo, Another Country $$$$, whose euphoric drum beats scream to become part of a film soundtrack. British-Jamaican rapper Superlative’s cheeky demeanor and stage presence had an entire crowd quickly become his best friend. Local artist Nico Harmony’s dreamy mix of reggae, funk and psychedelia was a real delight.
Pictured: SILVERWINGKILLER (L), Lady Ice (R) | Credit: Gracie Hall
One of the best moments was Mancunian rap artist Lady Ice’s performance, whose takeover of the intimate Music Box stage was nothing short of monumental. Effortlessly charismatic, witty and powerful, her sharp flow and audacious attitude had the room roaring, before inviting wannabe MCs in the crowd to join her onstage in spitting bars. The energy was unparalleled.
Meanwhile, The Salmon of Knowledge (aka Jilly’s Rockworld) was packed with pub punters who were treated to a whole host of performances, from the surrealist, tech-rock spoken-word of Salford’s poor effort. to the booty-shaking, radio-wielding alt-pop duo Super Market. Post-punk four-piece and natural comedians Getner were another particular hit, with frontman Quentin Wylie’s explosive dance moves and knack for jumping amongst the audience proving wildly popular.
A short walk away, Manchester-based duo SILVERWINGKILLER headlined the Paradise Factory stage, bringing their otherworldly fusion of multilingual lyricism and thrashing drums to a bouncing crowd. Alt-folk band Georgian showcased their gothic sound with haunting vocals from lead singer Georgia McKiernan and Irish band of brothers The Wran cast a moody spell with their ritualistic folk-punk performance on one of the main stages.
Pictured: JD Cliffe (L), Bawo (R) | Credit: Lucy Craig
Unfortunately, no festival doesn’t have its teething problems in a new location. Both post-punk duo GANS and rock three-piece HotWax had their performances marred by technical issues and were either forced to finish early or cancel their sets entirely, to some palpable disappointment. And whilst the site at Salford Quays is indeed connected in terms of its media relations, the same can’t necessarily be said for its late-night public transport links and its interior layout, meaning some stages had less passing footfall. Perhaps the festival’s previous location in the city centre could have harnessed the power of casual crowds and provided more ample exposure for lesser-known artists, who might not yet have the power to pull their own audience.
The festival concluded on Friday night with a climactic run of hard-hitters - curated by DMY in collaboration with Amazon Music +44 - on the Electric Circus stage: rock-rap artist JD Cliffe had the room leaping to a rework of BodyRockers’ ‘I Like the Way You Move’, followed by London rapper Bawo with his distinctive lo-fi flow, before the hotly anticipated ‘Mayor of Brum’ Kofi Stone closed the festival with his reflective lyricism and musings on the city of Manchester.
Overall, amidst some skewed moments, Beyond The Music 2026 proved itself, again, to be an important opportunity for grassroots artists, cross-sector connection and honest discussion at a time when it feels more crucial than ever. It holds space for those looking to get in, allowing insights into an industry that, to many, can often feel like it's locked with bolted doors. It carries the ethos of Manchester’s attitude to life, music and the future, showing that what the still industry needs is, in Tony Walsh’s words, some ‘northern grit, northern wit and Greater Manchester lyrics.’
Pictured: Kofi Stone | Photo credit: Lucy Craig
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