This weekend Sonder Festival took over Manchester’s Northern Quarter with 100 bands, artists and comedians performing across 7 venues and we were there the whole weekend to take it all in.
Our festival began in the basement venue of the Soup Kitchen beneath the hustle and bustle of the restaurant above; a dusty, musty barebones venue with an impressive stage and lighting setup.
Charli White
First on stage was Charli White a singer/songwriter from Macclesfield now based in Manchester, having recently performed at Dot To Dot Festival she is steadily making a name for herself in city. With sombre haunting acoustic melodies over an almost harsh acoustic guitar and a voice that goes through you it was an emotionally wrought set. Her song “Yesterday” was a particular highlight of the performance.
Christina Martin
Up next was Christina Martin all the way from Nova Scotia, Canada; well London as she is currently touring the UK but apparently it was long trip with a 7 hour traffic jam after a 4am shoot for her first TV appearance in London that morning. Christina Martin had a great stage presence and was imminently quotable saying that her songs mostly came from those dark squirrelly places your mind goes to when your left alone too long. Her acoustic pop/rock was music from another country, another life from the remoteness of Canada far removed from the hustle and bustle of the Manchester City Streets.
Kiziah and the Kings
Kiziah and the Kings performed with an attitude that couldn’t help but make you smile and move your feet, there mix of soul, rock, reggae and funky guitar riffs was insatiably entertaining. For the first couple of tracks the handful of us in the room were almost granted a private performance but by the end of the set the crowd had filled up, the levels were down to a T and everyone was dancing the party had well and truly started. It is no wonder they were named as Friday Band of Sonder 2017 and were definitely one of my highlights of the festival. They are due for a return performance soon so keep your eyes peeled they are definitely a band to watch.
Leisure Tank
Next we headed to The Whiskey Jar to catch Leisure Tank, now unfortunately Sonder Festival had problems with The Whiskey Jar with the venue cancelling some of the events, I won’t comment on it here as I don’t know the full details but I’m sure the festival will release a statement for those that are interested. Leisure Tank were a two piece band consisting of a drummer and electric guitar/vocals they came across as a subdued version of The Strokes with a bit of the New York City Indie sound and a dash of PJ Harvey thrown into the mix.
Young Jack
Young Jack were up next performing groovy, funky, rock with elements of psychedelia and a touch of the Chilli Peppers. They are 5 piece and hail from the 2017 capital of culture Hull. Their track of the night was most definitely Mojo.
The Mantells
The Mantells headlined Friday night at The Whiskey Jar with their catchy indie tracks and Beatles esque sound. They handled the crowd well dedicating a song in turn to each member of the crowd, they are the sort of band that would be a lot of fun in a larger venue with a bit more of a crowd and everyone singing along.
