Even opposite local gigs at The Magnet and elsewhere, The Music Manual Presented a night of premier music with a curated line-up hard to find elsewhere in the city.

Just after we arrived, the first band we would see was setting up. Some local hopefuls by the name of Wild Fruit Art Collective. They’re a new band, just popping up in May of this year and however way we wanted it to go, they showed. Their sound doesn’t seem to be “their own” yet and quite frankly an overall messy live performance compared to their singles they released back in July, which still sounds convoluted but with a glimmer of hope.

The next act up, Mad Alice made a very quick impression. The band had a bluesy hard rock aspect to them, almost as-if their primary influence was the likes of Led Zeppelin. The overall interesting point of the band would be the striking coolness oozing from bassist/vocalist Caitlin Hare, along with a powerful voice that blended with the sound.

Mad Alice are one of the most striking bands I’ve seen this year, it’s shocking they’re not around more. Overall fantastic performance, and for those who were at the Buyers Club, the Mad Alice cakes were great too.

DUSST appeared next, after speaking to host Lauren (of The Music Manual), she pointed out that their soundcheck was great and that they’re ones to watch. She wasn’t wrong. DUSST brought a tight rock set with a psych twist at times. While they preformed a good set, it wasn’t nearly as attractive as the latter’s offering and the crowd seemed to fade away.

By time headliners,the Stockport act KASHMERE, appeared the crowd has almost dissipated. KASHMERE‘s sound is inspired by ’90s indie with a position of rock n’ roll swagger, shown especially by Joey Newey while they didn’t connect with the crowd until the final number, they showed non-stop effort. The antics of bassist Dave Pennington were increasingly demanding with the crowd that didn’t seem to give.

The best thing about KASHMERE is their sound, however it didn’t impress myself, it could lend itself to helping the band standout with the budding Stockport scene, which it would now seem harder for any Stockport band to seem original against the now-UK Number One band Blossoms.

Overall, the night went off without a visible hitch thanks to the professionalism of The Music Manual and the bands that preformed. Here’s hoping we get more shows from The Music Manual in the future.

Words by Jack Cinnamond, featured photograph via The Music Manual on Twitter.