Psych Fest, Manchester – What Happened?

Psych Fest sprawled across venues all over Manchester city centre this year, and even sticking to a route of five, Yes, the Apollo, the Ritz, Gorilla and the Deaf Institute, meant missing loads happening elsewhere. Rain came down hard early in the afternoon, cleared up just in time, and the whole thing ended up feeling like a proper full stop on festival season. Started the day at Yes, having a look round the merch stand for Angine de Poitrine before anything had even kicked off. Worth doing early, as it turned out, because by the time they came on at the Apollo the queue outside was mental. Venue was rammed to capacity well before doors, and there's no doubt people missed out who hadn't got down early enough. Shame for them, because this was the highlight of the day, no question. The band were on fire. Over at the Ritz next for Bleech 9.3, and this was easily the smallest crowd I've seen them play to, too many other things clashing at the same time, unfortunately. Didn't matter one bit to the band though. Still gave it absolutely everything, still sounded incredible. Some bands just don't know how to phone it in, and this is clearly one of them.Stayed at the Ritz for Bdrmm, first time catching them live, and this one meant a bit more than most. Went to school with the singer, so watching him up there in front of a crowd that was fully dancing and locked in was a proper moment. Everyone in that room was completely with them, and you can tell the band felt that when they ended up in a group hug on stage at the close. Then it was across to Gorilla for Gans, where the energy just went up a level the second they walked out. Had to fight through the crowd to get anywhere near the front, but well worth it, would've been properly gutted to miss this one. Finished the day at the Deaf Institute for Thistle, a smaller, more intimate way to wrap things up after a day spent legging it between venues. If there's one gripe, it's the layout, trying to hit multiple venues across a festival this spread out means missing things, and there's not much to be done about that beyond good trainers and a fast pace. But the city itself was buzzing all day, rain and all, and as a way to close out festival season, you couldn't really ask for much more. WORDS AND PHOTO CREDIT TO LAUREN BASFORD EARLY BIRD TICKETS FOR NEXT YEAR IS AVAILABLE HERE ALL THE LATEST TRENDING RGM NEWS HERE