Louder Than Words festival of music and writing returns for 12th year
The Louder Than Words Festival of music and writing grows louder each year. Now in its twelfth edition, this remains the only festival that truly interrogates that enduring love affair between music and the written word.
The Louder Than Words team, led by Jill Adam, a former educator from Pannal in North Yorkshire, and music journalist, author and broadcaster John Robb, are delighted to announce this year’s festival programme, all taking place at the Innside Hotel on Tony Wilson Place, Manchester – appropriately located in the shadow of what was Manchester’s Haçienda nightclub.
The festival kicks off on Friday November 15 with a typically elastic and eclectic collection of events, from Daryl Easlea in conversation with Don Powell (Slade), Jon Savage talking The Secret Public: How LGBTQ Performers Shaped Popular Culture (1955-1979) and DJ Paulette talking the Life and Lessons of a Black Woman DJ.
Saturday sees Tiffany Murray and Louder’s John Robb discussing Tiffany’s book ‘My Family and Other Rock Stars’; Mike Batt in conversation about his illustrious career in music, Janey Lee Grace talking From Wham! to Woo – with her stories of a life on the mic and Jah Wobble sharing Memoirs of a Geezer plus a live performance with Tian Qiyi and Invaders of the Heart.
As for musical genres, is it possible to get a more varied selection than one that runs from The Wombles to R&B and disco; from punk to funk; and from Scottish independent records to A Life with Tony Wilson via rave and club culture? A romping DJ set courtesy of Daryl Easlea will close the evening, with drinks and networking in the hotel bar.
And Sunday rounds things off in the same spirit, with conversations discussing subjects as varied as Music and Culture during Covid, Taking Kyiv to the Kosmos with post punk pioneers The Ukrainians and a chance to enjoy a special book launch event of ‘House Anthems’ with a live performance by author Ralph Dartford and musician Gary Clark. Former Cocteau Twins bassist and boss of Bella Union Records, Simon Raymonde, will also be talking about his memoir, In One Ear.
If that wasn’t enough, Louder’s Sunday – and the weekend as a whole – is drawn to a close by special guest Dr John Cooper Clarke, celebrating 50 years in showbiz.
And that is merely to scratch the surface, as elsewhere numerous academics and music writers gather for panels, discussions, Q&As, workshops, dancing, skanking and more.
Dr Adam said: “As well as hearing their stories, Louder Than Words Festival also offers a unique chance to get up close to people often only seen on the stage; in the much more social and conducive atmosphere of The Innside Hotel. We have sole use of the three fully accessible adjoining function rooms of the hotel over the entire weekend, giving visitors the best experience of comfortably moving between events. With all three rooms operating throughout the weekend, there is obviously plenty to choose from and we will also have a dedicated book shop via our partners Blackwells, Manchester, book signings and, of course, socialising in the hotel bar and social spaces before and after the events.”
Louder Than Words works in partnership with a number of local, regional and national organisations including Omnibus Press, The Blacka Group, CMC School Catering, P-C Press, Manchester Digital Music Archive, Route Publishing and Melia Hotels.
Since its first incarnation in 2013, audience and contributor numbers have more than doubled at Louder, which in turn has only increased the variety of talks, panels and workshops programmed over the weekend. Over those years the festival has welcomed music characters such as Rick Buckler (The Jam), Guy Garvey (Elbow), Edwyn Collins, Viv Albertine, Mary Anne Hobbs, Woody Woodmansey (The Spiders From Mars), Wolfgang Flur (Kraftwerk), Brix Smith (The Fall), Tim Burgess (The Charlatans), Miles Hunt (The Wonderstuff), Bob Geldof, Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers) and Alan McGee (Creation Records).
Attendees come from as far as San Francisco and Moscow to engage in a weekend that includes panels, Q&As hosted by Louder’s John Robb (amongst others) and some very special performances from all four corners of the musical world: from rave to metal; ska to punk.
Louder 2024 also includes an opportunity for aspiring and inspiring writers to enter Louder’s annual Wilko Johnson Writing Award. Entrants must respond to a topical and pertinent theme and have the chance to win an enviable collection of music books, two full weekend passes to the Festival and their winning piece published by Louder Than Words, Northern Gravy and Louder Than War.
For further details visit https://louderthanwordsfest.com/