大象传媒

Today on 大象传媒 Radio 6 Music, the UK鈥檚 biggest digital-only radio station with 2.7 million listeners (Rajar Q3, 2024), Nemone (sitting in for Lauren Laverne) announced the line-up and venues for the 6 Music Festival 2025. The event is the station鈥檚 flagship annual music festival, which takes place in Greater Manchester from Wednesday 26th 鈥� Saturday 29th March.

This year鈥檚 festival features headline performances at O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester from: Ezra Collective, with a special bespoke performance that celebrates the importance of youth clubs across the country; Mogwai, featuring a unique collaboration with KNDS Fairey Acid Brass; and Kae Tempest, with the global premiere of new material.

Also taking to the stage are Fat Dog, English Teacher and Perfume Genius, with 6 Music鈥檚 Jamz Supernova, Tom Ravenscroft and SHERELLE all DJing at the venue.

Other events and club nights include a 大象传媒 Introducing night, New Music Fix Live, Indie Forever, Rave Forever in partnership with The Warehouse Project, and Morning After Mix Live.

Listeners will hear live music, highlights and interviews across the four days from 6 Music presenters including Nick Grimshaw, the new Breakfast Show host from Monday 24th February (weekdays 7-10am) and Lauren Laverne, who begins her new mid-morning show (weekdays 10am-1pm) on the same day.

A 6 Music Festival Channel will launch on 大象传媒 iPlayer on Monday 17th March with classic festival performances from previous years. From Saturday 29th March, the channel will see the station鈥檚 presenters bring viewers back-to-back performance highlights and live sets from this year鈥檚 event.

Ezra Collective say: 鈥�2016 was the first time we ever got played on the station. Gilles Peterson gave us that precious moment. Since then it鈥檚 been a deep love for 6 Music, so to be in Manchester headlining their festival is a deep honour. See you on the dance floor.鈥�

Fat Dog say: "Woof, woof 6 Music. Yet again proving your impeccable taste by inviting us to play your festival. We can鈥檛 wait. Going beast mode for this one."

Mogwai say: 鈥淲e are immensely excited to return to the 6 Music Festival and Manchester this year. 6 Music have always been champions of independent music and ourselves and it鈥檚 an honour to be part of this year鈥檚 celebration.鈥�

English Teacher say: "The band wouldn鈥檛 be what it is without 6 Music and without Manchester. This is going to be a very special celebration.鈥�

Kae Tempest says: 鈥淚鈥檝e got a new album and I can鈥檛 wait for people to hear it. 大象传媒 Radio 6 Music have been such a crucial supporter of my music, I can鈥檛 wait for listeners to hear this new direction and for me to be able to say thank you to them for giving me so much over the years.鈥�

Perfume Genius says: "I鈥檓 so excited to bring these new songs to the UK and especially the 6 Music Fest. Thank you for all your support over the years!"

Nick Grimshaw says: 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited for my first 6 Music Festival. I can鈥檛 wait to be back home in Manchester to take the new show up there for a few days in March and bring you the most brilliant of line ups.鈥�

Lauren Laverne says: 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to be back in plenty of time for our biggest moment of the year 鈥� the 6 Music Festival. The artists always put together something special just for us and the listeners, which is such a privilege. I鈥檓 looking forward to another trip to Greater Manchester with my new show to see what they have in store!鈥�

Samantha Moy, Head of 大象传媒 Radio 6 Music says: 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to bring listeners back to back performances and DJ sets from such a range of local, national and international artists. It鈥檚 a joy to host a live experience that reflects the breadth of music we play around the clock on our station and to celebrate the region that it鈥檚 rooted in.鈥�

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have the 大象传媒 Radio 6 Music Festival back in Greater Manchester. Our music scene has always been strong, but right now, there鈥檚 an incredible amount of new talent coming through, alongside a thriving independent scene.

"Upcoming and alternative artists need more chances to be heard, and that鈥檚 why platforms like this festival matter. 大象传媒 Radio 6 Music has long championed new and alternative artists, and it鈥檚 great to see more opportunities for emerging musicians to reach new audiences."

Tickets to each event are sold separately and will be available from at 10am on Thursday 6th February.

Line up in full

Wednesday 26th March

• 大象传媒 Introducing at YES (7pm): Adult DVD, Renee Stormz, jasmine.4.t

Thursday 27th March

• 6 Music Festival Presents鈥� Ezra Collective + Fat Dog + 6 Music鈥檚 Jamz Supernova (DJ set) at Victoria Warehouse Manchester (6.30pm)
• New Music Fix Live at YES (10pm): DJ sets from 1-800 GIRLS, Florentino, Marie Davidson and NAINA

Friday 28th March

• 6 Music Festival Presents鈥� Mogwai + English Teacher + 6 Music鈥檚 Tom Ravenscroft (DJ set) at Victoria Warehouse Manchester (6.30pm)
• Indie Forever Live at Band on the Wall (9pm): DJ sets from Sports Team DJs, Lava La Rue, Steve Lamacq, Viagra Boys and Nathan Shepherd
• 6 Music Festival & The Warehouse Project present Rave Forever at Amber鈥檚 - which embraces a 鈥榥o phones鈥� policy to encourage everyone to engage fully with the music - (11pm): DJ sets from Ayy Den, nora, Anish Kumar and SBTRKT

Saturday 29th March

• Morning After Mix Live at YES (12pm): DJ sets from Jamz Supernova and Emma-Jean Thackray
• 6 Music Festival Presents鈥� Kae Tempest + Perfume Genius + 6 Music DJ SHERELLE (DJ set) at Victoria Warehouse Manchester (6.30pm)

On air and online

Highlights from the festival, including live and recorded-live performances will be broadcast on 6 Music and 大象传媒 Radio Manchester from MediaCityUK in Salford, as well as on 大象传媒 Sounds, 大象传媒 Four, 大象传媒 iPlayer and 大象传媒 Music鈥檚 YouTube channel.

The 6 Music broadcast schedule is as follows:

Wednesday 26th March

• Huw Stephens broadcasts from YES ahead of the 大象传媒 Introducing night (4-7pm)
• Tom Ravenscroft and Deb Grant broadcast live from the 6 Music radio studios in MediaCityUK, Salford, to reflect on the 大象传媒 Music Introducing night that鈥檚 taking place at YES (7-11pm)

Thursday 27th March

• Chris Hawkins (5-7am), Nick Grimshaw (7-10am), Lauren Laverne (10am-1pm), Craig Charles (1-4pm) and Huw (4-7pm) broadcast from MediaCityUK
• Tom and Deb broadcast live from YES ahead of New Music Fix Live and bring listeners festival performances from Victoria Warehouse (7-11pm)
• New Music Fix Live DJ sets from YES (11pm-2am)

Friday 28th March

• Amy Lam茅 (5-7am), Nick (7-10am), Lauren (10am-1pm), Craig (1-4pm) and Huw (4-7pm) broadcast from MediaCityUK
• Emily Pilbeam and Nathan Shepherd broadcast from Band on the Wall ahead of Indie Forever and bring listeners performances from Victoria Warehouse (7-11pm)
• Indie Forever DJ sets from Band on the Wall (11pm-2am)

Saturday 29th March

• AFRODEUTSCHE presents Morning After Mix (6-8am)
• Mark Radcliffe & Stuart Maconie (8-10am) and Craig (10am-1pm) broadcast from MediaCityUK
• Jamz Supernova broadcasts live from YES, bringing listeners a special DJ set from Emma-Jean Thackray at Morning After Mix (1-4pm)
• Zakia broadcasts from MediaCityUK (4-7pm)
• Tom and Deb broadcast live from MediaCityUK, bringing listeners festival performances from Victoria Warehouse (7-11pm)
• Rave Forever DJ sets from Amber鈥檚 (11pm-1am)

Sunday 30th March

• Don Letts presents Morning After Mix (6-8am)
• Radcliffe & Maconie (8-10am) and Cerys Matthews (10am-1pm) broadcast from MediaCityUK
• Guy Garvey鈥檚 Finest Hour (1-4pm)
• Amy and Chris present the 6 Music Festival Wrap Up live from MediaCityUK

In the lead up to the festival, Ezra Collective (17th 鈥� 20th February, 11pm-12am), Mogwai (24th 鈥� 27th Feb, 11pm-12am) and Kae Tempest (3rd 鈥� 6th March, 11pm-12am) will each present new four-part series of Artist in Residence. Artist in Residence sees musicians invite listeners on a journey into their musical soul, with each episode based around a different theme or mood. In addition, Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas) and his partner and collaborator Alan Wyffels will present an episode of Love Notes (Monday 10th February, 11pm-12am), in which they will take listeners through the songs which have soundtracked their relationship, have inspired them and which they want to share with each other.

大象传媒 Radio Manchester will bring listeners festival highlights and more from local artists performing at the 大象传媒 Introducing night at YES (Wednesday 26th March).

All 6 Music and 大象传媒 Radio Manchester programmes will be available on 大象传媒 Sounds for 30 days after broadcast. Performances and DJ sets will be added to a 大象传媒 Sounds collection, joining special editions of 6 Music鈥檚 Indie Forever, to be released in the build-up to the festival. Available now is Indie at the 6 Music Festival 鈥� a compilation of highlight tracks performed at the event over the years.

From Monday 17th March, 大象传媒 iPlayer will launch a 6 Music Festival Channel, featuring classic performances from previous years. From the morning of Saturday 29th March, the channel will see 6 Music DJs present coverage of performance highlights from Ezra Collective, Mogwai, Fat Dog and English Teacher, followed by sets from Kae Tempest and Perfume Genius as they happen that evening. Victoria Warehouse sets and highlights will also be available to watch on demand across the weekend and for 30 days after broadcast. Individual tracks will be available on 大象传媒 Music鈥檚 YouTube channel.

大象传媒 Four will broadcast highlights from the festival on Friday 4th April.

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About the artists

British jazz quintet Ezra Collective became the first ever jazz group to win the Mercury Prize in 2023 and the first jazz act to sell out Wembley Arena in 2024. They have also received four nominations for the 2025 BRIT Awards and were named runners-up in 大象传媒 Radio 1鈥檚 Sound of 2025. Formed in 2012, their albums include You Can鈥檛 Steal My Joy (2019), Where I鈥檓 Meant To Be (2022) and Dance, No One鈥檚 Watching (2024).

Fat Dog, from South East London, released their debut studio album, WOOF., in September 2024 to critical acclaim. They performed their first ever radio session on Steve Lamacq鈥檚 6 Music show at the start of 2024. Later that year, they toured the UK and played their first US shows in New York, Los Angeles and at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.

Scottish band Mogwai formed in Glasgow in 1995 and have since released 11 studio albums including, most recently, The Bad Fire. They won the Scottish Album of the Year Award in 2021 with their 10th studio album, As the Love Continues, which also reached Number 1 in the UK album charts.

English Teacher are an indie rock four-piece formed in Leeds. They won the Mercury Prize for their debut album This Could Be Texas, in 2024, a year which saw them play numerous international shows, including at Glastonbury Festival, and support IDLES on their US tour. They recently received a 2025 BRIT Award nomination for Best New Artist.

Kae Tempest is a recording artist, lyricist, performer, poet and author. They have released four studio albums, as well as numerous books, plays and poetry collections, including Brand New Ancients, which saw them become the first person under 40 to receive the Ted Hughes Award in 2013. For their music, Kae won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 2024, following two previous Ivor Novello nominations in 2020 and a BRIT Award nomination in 2018. They have been shortlisted for the Mercury Prize twice (For Let Them Eat Chaos in 2017 and Everybody Down in 2014).

American singer, songwriter and musician Perfume Genius (Mike Hadreas) has been releasing albums since 2010 and is set to release his seventh 鈥� Glory - this year, which he co-wrote with his partner and collaborator, Alan Wyffels and producer Blake Mills. He has won and been nominated for numerous awards, including a nomination for Best Alternative Music Performance at the 2023 Grammys.

About 6 Music Festival and 6 Music

Greater Manchester has been the permanent home of the 6 Music Festival since 2023. The festival began in 2014, and travelled to locations all over the UK, including Manchester, Tyneside, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, Camden (London) and Cardiff and has seen performances from artists including Anna Calvi, Arlo Parks, Bombay Bicycle Club, Christine and the Queens, Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, Hot Chip, Johnny Marr, Loyle Carner, Khruangbin, Little Simz, Pixies, Primal Scream, R贸is铆n Murphy, Self Esteem, Wet Leg and many more.

The 2024 event saw performances from: Young Fathers, who collaborated with the Hulme and Moss Side based NIA community choir; Gossip, with their first UK show in four years, the global premiere of unreleased material and a duet with Alison Moyet; and The Smile, alongside the London Contemporary Orchestra, which was the first time that the band had ever performed with an orchestra. CMAT (including a stunning duet with John Grant), Hak Baker and Jordan Rakei also performed, alongside many others.

With a reach of 2.7 million listeners (Rajar Q3, 2024), 6 Music is the UK鈥檚 biggest digital-only radio station. It brings a broad range of music and culture beyond the mainstream to music lovers with a curious spirit, combining the cutting-edge music of today with the iconic, ground-breaking sounds of the past 50 years. Presenters include AFRODEUTSCHE, Amy Lam茅, Cerys Matthews, Chris Hawkins, Craig Charles, Deb Grant, Don Letts, Emily Pilbeam, Gideon Coe, Gilles Peterson, Guy Garvey, Huw Stephens, Huey Morgan, Iggy Pop, Jamz Supernova, Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley, Mark Radcliffe, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nathan Shepherd, Nick Grimshaw, SHERELLE, Steve Lamacq, Stuart Maconie, Tom Ravenscroft, Tom Robinson and Zakia.