On Friday, I was invited to an evening of music in Oldham.
Dave Sweetmore hosted his 6th night of live up and coming acts from across the Northwest.
With so many music venues closing down, you would be forgiven for assuming there weren’t any left in Oldham. With memories of nights out at The Castle still lingering, it felt as though the music scene in Oldham is on the rise again, and the venue carried a relaxed, welcoming energy throughout the night.
Whittles at Tokyo is great little venue with two performance spaces, that’s well worth the visit.
The event was pretty much sold out. Dave is very passionate about the live music scene. He had this to say:
“This one, our sixth one is arguably the strongest line up yet, and guaranteed to be an ‘I was there night’. These nights are exactly the kind of nights, you discover your new favourite band.”
Opening the event was the marvellous Mark Quinn (aka Bookmark Quinn), who’s a spoken word artist. He delivers his poems in such a beautifully relaxed way, it feels like you’re sitting having a beer sharing anecdotes with a friend.
Ahead of her headline event at Band on the Wall, Naomi Kalu was next up, as she took to the stage with an acoustic guitar. Naomi’s voice is simply beautiful and her delivery was mature and showed experienced despite being so young. It was a privilege to work with her on an event next year. Her confidence and sense of fun during the performance was inspiring.
Kieran Doyle was next onstage. Kieran is a talented musician who writes about social issues and tells stories about Manchester’s good souls. One of these stories, was about Gulliver, AKA Robert Edgar. He became homeless in 1962 and walked the streets of Ancoats, Beswick, Clayton and Tameside until he passed away in 1991.
During this time locals say he would often walk with sufferers of dementia and victims of domestic violence through the night to make sure they returned home safely. In return the families of those victims would leave a light on to tell him they left food and drink out for him.
Shake Rag are a punk, blues band who delivered an incredible performance. Fronted by Richard J. Moses, an engaging frontman with the coolest shoes in the room! Their performance set the stage alight. I was captivated by them. They are the perfect antidote to a long week at work, super engaging and bouncy!
Craig Lee and the Humblebees are a 50’s inspired Rock ‘n’ Roll band. They were a solid live band. Tonight was their second appearance as apart of Dave’s events. They delivered a solid set which ended with a cover of Tiffany’s 19xx hit “I think we’re alone now” which went down very well! Mention honey *
The Dirty Laces were a band I was very familiar with. We had them headline Neck of the Woods Festival back in 2022. This being the first time I’d seen them since then, I was incredibly pleased to savour the moments of joy within their performance. They brought with them a crowd of fans young and old.
Their music has its roots in something you’d recognise from the 60s or 70s with a contemporary twist. I was pleased that one of my favourite tracks by them, “Back of the Line”, is a part of their live set. It’s a blistering epic full of energy. They are a charismatic band you simply must see live.
Red Light Factory were up next. Having worked with Harry Lavin on an event for We Are Manchester, in the past, it was a joy to see him perform with a new band. Red Light Factory are a dark alternative rock/post-punk/new wave band hailing from Manchester. Some may call Red Light Factory a super group.
The band was conceived off the back of a post-covid malaise. In February 2020, Harry Lavin and Ben Warwick had just come back off a hugely successful European Tour with Twisted Wheel; supporting Liam Gallagher. They re-kindled their songwriting partnership under the red studio lights musically channeling the lyrical mystery of Echo & The Bunnymen, the power of Queens Of The Stone Age married together through the minimalist aesthetic of Kraftwerk.
Walking on stage to an introductory track lifted the room and signalled the coming of something very special. The performance was passionate and the band members are highly skilled at working a room.
K-Estate are a Manchester-based synth-disco band known for their house pop and dance orientated music. There were some technical difficulties in terms of monitors and I feel this may have impacted on the performance. It’s a great shame for them, but as we all know, these things are part and parcel of the live music experience.
The band worked really hard together to create something special, however I felt that there was potentially a little something missing in their performance. I wondered if a live drummer would have elevated the set for them. But they are clearly a talented bunch of musicians and I look forward to seeing what’s next for them!
All in all, this was a night of live music and community, attended by all the familiar faces. Dave Sweetmore and team work incredibly hard to create a supportive atmosphere open to all.
Dave had this to say after the event: “Last night was one of our strongest line ups yet, and a packed out venue loved and supported every band. All 8 acts were on top form and it was just a brilliant night all round, from start to finish”.
The future of the Oldham live music scene is definitely safe in his hands.
WORDS BY RUTH MURRAY
PHOTO CREDIT – SIMON LEE
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