Festival in a garden centre with five stages of live music coming to Manchester

A day festival featuring live music across five different stages is coming to a community garden centre in Manchester this summer.

Green Island Festival has revealed the second wave of its 2024 line-up which will take place across June 15th, July 27th and September 7th, at Hulme Community Garden Centre.

The grassroots festival is set to present five stages across the garden centre, NIAMOS and Warwick Street. Guests can expect to hear many musical flavours as Green Island brings global sounds to the forefront. 

Artists by way of Senegal, Brazil, Morocco, the Caribbean will be gracing the stages in addition to many local talents – bands, vocalists, DJs and takeovers by local legends. 

Main Stage

Heading to the Main Stage this June – located in NIAMOS – will be Afriquoi, the five-piece band celebrated for their unique blend of African sounds and live electronics.

It will also play host to sets from Ku’umba, a radical arts collective, binding sounds of funk, blues, afrobeat and hip-hop, 21st century jazz singer Ni Maxine, and Ubunye, the Zulu band bringing pounding rhythms of Africa.

July will see headliners Def MaMa Def take to the Main Stage – two powerful women and rising stars of Senegal’s music scene, fusing contagious rhythms of amapiano, hip-hop and afrobeat.

They will be joined by experimental hip-hop jazz band Jointhedots as well as R&B soul singer Victoria Jane and contemporary jazz artist corto.alto.

September will see singer and multi-instrumentalist David Walters take centre stage, combining influences from his Caribbean heritage with electronic beats and acoustic folk. He’ll be joined by Soul and R&B collective Lovescene and Plant Food with their hard-hitting grooves and energy.

The Bandstand

The Bandstand, a stage built and developed by the Green Island team, now a permanent feature of Hulme Garden Centre, will present a range of takeovers.

The June chapter will be curated by DIY masters and music experimentalists FAT OUT, their line-up includes Fat Clams DJ, Lavender Rodriguez, Queer Icons Karaoke, Meme Gold, Arch Femesis and R.aggs.

Manchester legend Chunky will take the reins in July, bringing a diversity of sounds from amapiano, afro-house, afro-punk, blues-soul to rap to the forefront with Artist Lebo, Chia Kali, DeeD0t, NOT4MANY, Zhay and Troopz taking to the stage.

Rug Dug returns with Ruffy’s Lab in September, bringing on board Tia Cousins, Abigail Ward, Private Joy and a special guest to be announced! Expect, a bit of soul, electronic, afrobeat, RnB, broken-beat, reggae, jazz, synth-pop and post-punk from this mega line-up.

The Marquee Stage

The Marquee Stage will exclusively host the best up-and-coming bands and vocalists. In June, Pedro Fonte & Dada Joaozinho will be bringing a flavour of bossa nova all the way from Brazil.

Alongside them will be Benita & The Groove, neo-soul artist NinaRosa, jazz band Mangorata and flamboyant jazz-punk from Ask My Bull.

July welcomes sultry vocalist Jocelyn Knight backed by the classic soul and R&B band Natural Soul, songstress Hannah Rodriguez, duo Dia Frank, alt-soul indie band Rushbonds and rock-rap band Third Kulture. 

And September will see Jamaica’s Calypso George, indie-pop artist Boo Kickz, Life Aquatic Band bringing their blended 70s pop and 2000s electro-clash sound. Plus, six-piece future soul and fusion band Mikoudi, and newly announced Gnawa bringing the spiritual sounds of Morocco to Manchester.

From 12pm – 2:30pm, the Marquee Stage will host family-friendly activities on each date.

Selector Stage

The brand-new Selector Stage – tucked away in a hidden corner of the festival to be discovered with strictly vinyl only, and an elite audiophile sound system for a proper selector experience – will be taken over by B-MUSIC-MULTI-LINGO-DISCO curated by Andy Vottel, with Stan Chow, Helene Gautier, Sean Demdike and Lee Janda.

July will bring Apricot Ballroom x Cosmic Slop, a collision of two Northern audiophile heroes by way of Sheffield and Leeds respectively. And last but not least, Lena C’s Melodic Junction enlists Cheb Mimo, Santa Leticia and Josh FB for the September festival.

The Forest Stage

The Forest Stage, a hidden gem located down the garden path will present some of the best selectors in the scene. June welcomes Una Lee, Nossa!, Supernature Disco, Dr. Jive and Murder He Wrote. 

July will see Reno Collective, Tim Knight, Yohan, Levi Love, Urbi and Contours.  And in September, there’ll be Rhod Parry, Zuri b2b Spinelli, Jade Li, Atiké and Shimrise.

For hungry and thirsty festivalgoers, a food and drink hub will be created at Warwick Street, which connects the venue and the garden centre.

The area will host local favourites including Midori with their delicious handmade gyoza, kimchi and dips, Tibetan Kitchen serving their fragrant, flavourful curries, stir fries and legendary momos, and plant-based, seasonal goods from Root to Flower.

Afterparties for each date will be hosted at YES, a two-floor takeover of the Pink Room and basement from 11pm till late.

In June, Rinse FM resident Arthi will be delivering a blistering mix of dancehall, baile, funky, dembow and everything in between. Accompanied by a set from Manchester’s very own SHEwillprovide and many more.

July will see Zed Bias commander the Pink Room and a takeover of the basement by Manchester label and party Left Right & Centre, with Korzi, mamba.exe and Nora.

Whilst September will have the ever hypnotic Me Gusta Collective oversee processions.

Cementing itself as an annual staple in Manchester’s grassroots music scene, Green Island is a community gathering with global sounds at the forefront. 

The antithesis to festival giants, Green Island offers unrivalled up close and personal performances, and its charm lies in its relaxed and inclusive atmosphere. 

This year sees the festival double in size as it adds cultural institution NIAMOS to its fabric, creating space for up to 1000 festival-goers. Accessibility still remains at the forefront, with tickets starting from £20.

Tickets for all festival dates and afterparties are on sale, HERE.