Manchester is famous for many things, music, football, culture and rain, so a beach festival in Manchester is maybe not the most obvious of gigs for the city. However, the organisers of Manchester's Beached Festival, have set out to prove it can be done and prove Ian Brown wrong, who once said "Manchester’s got everything except a beach’! 

Set in Manchester’s Castlefield Basin, in the stone amphitheatre hidden under the old stone railway bridges, the organisers created Manchester’s very own beach, including their own Foster's Beach bar, beach games and hula hooping.  But this being Manchester, a Bank Holiday and the Jubilee weekend of course the odds were stacked against the perfect weather and it rained! However with the awning over the amphitheatre and the dance tent there were plenty of places to shelter from the rain. 

I went along to Beached Festival blissfully unaware of some of the immense talent that Manchester has to offer and this year's line-up promoted the best of Manchester's new talent, both singed and unsigned. 

I kicked off my afternoon with the unsigned Manchester band Seeing Hester and their energetic show set a high standard for the festival and got me in the mood for a day of good music. I was expecting to like Kid British and their modern blend of indie, Hip Hop and Ska really got the crowd moving. I came away loving them and wanting to hear more. 

As for The Jessie Rose Trip and The Whip, how I had not heard them before I do not know! Fusing rock guitar rifts with some soul and sultry jazz vocals, The Jessie Rose Trip brought a shot of brightness to the day. The Whip got the crowd bouncing straight away and proved that they're a band with a strong future, especially with their recent supporting duties for New Order. 

Getting The Future Heads to headline the festival was quite a coo and justified the £12 ticket price alone! Playing a full electric set they raised the dial to 11 and had everyone rocking despite the rain making a return visit. 

A special mention must go to the lovely Hula Hooping ladies that had my daughter hula hooping for 4 hours straight and by the end of the night she was putting on quite a show, maybe possibly overshadowing The Future Heads that she was performing along with!

Review Charlie Greenwood