Radar Festival is an award-winning, prog-rock festival based out of Manchester, United Kingdom, spanning three nights. Across the Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend for the heavy fans, there’s a treat to be had here no matter where you look – situated in the heart of the northern city, it’s a fixture to be considered across with two comic cons the same weekend. In 2022 it won the award for the best new festival; held at the 02 Victoria Warehouse with an aim of being “champions of forward-thinking guitair-led music.” So if you like your rock and roll loud, loud and shouty – look no further than here, it’s a fantastic treasure trove of delights.
What differentiates Radar Festival
The community of Radar is billed as a wholly welcoming event where inclusivity, diversity and equality shine. Well-being is their top priority, with gender representation being present on stage and behind the scenes, a passionate and friendly festival that, from the stacked lineup, knows its audience and has killer taste no matter where you look. Rising stars Blood Command were playing at 2,000 Trees earlier in July and they remain an appeal of the festival below the headliners, a Norwegian punk rock band from Bergen, formed in 2008; with current members compromising of Sigiurd Haakaas, Yngve Anderson, Nikki Brumen, Benjamin Berge and Snorre Kilvaer. They’re death pop, loud, shouty – there’s a theme here at this festival, and with an album out last year World Domination, they’re more than ready to take their tour to the next stage. As of 2023 it’s their fifth studio album, experienced players in the punk rock festival and dressed all in adidas. Rock they make their own with high-energy shows and attention from Kerrang! And Metal Hammer gives them a positive name to keep an eye out for, and the number one priority artist-wise for me this weekend.
Next up on the undercard spot you have Seething Akira. And when Seething Akira are on the undercard, you know it’s a good lineup. A 6 piece electronic nu-core band from Portsmouth, they have Kit Conrad and Charlie Bowes on Vocals, with Bowes pulling double duties on electronics. Bass – Richard Ellis, Si Williams and John Corney on Guitar and Stu Radcliff takes over the roles of drums – their mission statement is one of anger, despair and defiance – unapologetically heart-felt honesty puncturing through their frenzied shows.
Since 2012 they’ve been staples at Victorious and Bloodstock festivals, and now they’re ready for another year of Radar. Portsmouth’s gig scene saw them take home the crowd for the best band to hail from the city for 2018, and they’ve plenty of albums to show for it – their three albums released to date, Sleepy Skeletor, Dysfunctional Wonderland and Nozomi are all equally boundary-pushing and wholly distinctive in their vision – high-intensity energy bangers designed to shake you to the ground. Their track Metaphors highlights a singular voice of potential yet to come – showing it’s worth it to follow and chase that hope no matter the cost, even if it doesn’t work this time.
Pre and afterparties are spread throughout Rebellion over the weekend bringing the local scenes of night life with free entry for all ticket holders. Fancy dress is encouraged – Sunday is a surprise day for the festival, and the group I’m going with plan on wearing nun costumes. Manchester’s own Forager will debut on Friday July 26, and you’ll see Pintglass a “geeza-core” troupe, perform on the Saturday. Wrapping up the festival will be Venjent’s drum and bass fashion perfect to get you in the mood for the UK’s premier drum and bass festival the following week, Boomtown; further down south.
The festival itself is designed to push musical boundaries at every turn by breaking them down, in the words of their own charter, through the left, right and centre – hailing from its origins in Guildford as a two-day event before making its journey up north from 2019. Dirty Loops, Leprous and Haken headlining in 2022 in a post-COVID era practically called for the festivals’ expansion, hence the switch to the 02 Victoria Warehouse for a headliner act that included Sleep Token.
And it begs the question – can 2023 be topped? You bet it can – a festival that lives for contemporary and progressive music is the best kind of festival around and having been to multiple rock festivals this year, the community is welcoming and friendly. I made friends at Werchter, 2,000 Trees, and Primavera. I’ve made friends at Radar without even going yet – lively discord and WhatsApp communities create a haven for solo punters.
Talent accessibility for fans
Refreshing for most capitalist-driven festivals, Radar does not believe in closed-off golden circle and VIP areas, bands are involved with the crowds and masterclasses given fans a unique access to talent. It’s an accessible festival for everyone that doesn’t break the bank, and not being a camping festival means it’s perfect for locals. The Manchester train ride is a quick two-ish hour journey up from London – and one of the most accessible cities in the North.
Radar Festival’s Headliners
Headlining the three nights are The Midnight, Tesseract and Leprous. The Midnight bring some synth wave to proceedings, hailing from Los Angeles, California, showing the reach of the festival. Tyler Lyel and Tim McEwan front the band – with eight albums under their belt since 2014, including remixed editions and instrumentals.
Their neon aesthetic give them a chilled hangout energy, and they even have a graphic novel coming out in October 2024 inspired by their music, a book about Jason, who is pulled into a cyberpunk gaming world – traveling to the post-apocalyptic world of Neverland in 2085. It’s a story-based aesthetic that’s carried on over to their albums – and the unique synth feel makes it instantly eye-catching. We’ve watched them transform as a band to arena rock chords and poppier hooks, but they’re still energetic and doubly entertaining as an icon – their Bandcamp description heralds their aesthetic as “these are the days that we will return to one day in the future only in moments,” and that fits into the living in the moment structure of the festival that’s present all over.
From Los Angeles to Milton Keynes is not the transition anyone would want to make; but it is when Tesseract are our next headliner. They’ve been mainstays of the prog metal scene since 2003 and pioneered the djent movement in progressive metal, visionaries to their core. They’ve been champions of Ukraine and fighting the good fight – their two-song EP Regrowth, released in 2022 felt that the band could do something good, no matter how small. A current five-piece band headed by Daniel Tompkins has them backing of five albums with a peak in the charts at 62 and 65 for Polaris and Sonder, with Sonder hitting the charts in the UK, Austria, Australia, Germany, Switzerland and the United States. 2012 saw them winning the Progressive Music Award for new blood for One, showing their reputation.
Wrapping up the headliner slot we have Leprous, returning on Sunday to bring the festival to a close. Hailing from Norway their records bring prog metal to the forefront of your attention, their first studio album, Tall Poppy Syndrome, arriving in the peak of 2009. 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 gave birth to multiple albums with The Congregation earning the band the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammys, the Spellemannprisen nomination. Up to album seven the band has a never-say die attitude which saw them stream albums regularly performed live from the comfort of their hometown in Notodden during the pandemic, to the comfort of fans at home.
Look beyond the headliners and you have plenty of names to watch. Dirty Loops and Car Bomb set the stage for Saturday, and both Vola and Ichika Nito are highlights of the Friday. The gender-split is promising and shows a welcome change of attitude from the male dominated festivals of the past – Radar prides itself on accessibility and making this a show for everyone. All the ingredients look set for another banging year.
Radar Festival runs between Friday 26 July and Sunday 28th.
Learn more about the festival at the official website.
You might also like…
2024 Primavera Sound Barcelona – Music Festival Review