Louder than Words - jpeg

Louder than Words

Where: The Palace Hotel, Oxford Road, Manchester, M60 7HA
When: November 11-13 2016
 What: www.louderthanwordsfest.com

The Louder Than Words Festival of music and writing grows louder each year.  Now in its fourth edition, this remains the only festival that interrogates that enduring love affair between music and the written word.

Since its first incarnation in 2013, audience and contributor numbers have more than doubled, 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 Butler (The Jam), Guy Garvey, Edwyn Collins, Viv Albertine, Mary Anne Hobbs, Tim Burgess (The Charlatans), Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers), Alan McGee (Creation Records) to Manchester, talking all things musical and literary, as well as the spiritual godfather of the festival, Wilko Johnson.  Attendees come from as far as San Francisco and Moscow to engage in a weekend that included panels, Q&As and some very special performances from all four corners of the musical world, from club culture to heavy metal; ska to punk.

 There are some significant names still to be confirmed at this stage, but already signed up for 2016 are the band Thunder, launching their first ever book ‘Giving The Game Away – The Thunder Story’ and playing live; as well as Wolfgang Flur from Kraftwerk, Kristen Hersh from Throwing Muses flying in from the States, Brix Smith from The Fall, Steve Ignorant and Penny Rimbaud. We are also delighted that after that after the death of David Bowie, the last surviving Spider from Mars, Woody Woodmansey, will be joining the line-up.  Louder Luminary, the author Zoe Howe, will be back to talk about her work, alongside key authors such as Barney Hoskyns, Matthew Collin and Mick Middles, taking part in numerous panels and Q&As.

As well as hearing their stories, the Festival also offers a unique chance to get up close to people often only seen on the stage; in a much more social, conducive atmosphere of the suitably grand Palace Hotel. Built in 1895 as the Refuge Assurance Building, the grade two listed structure’s eclectic baroque style provides the perfect venue for an event of such diverse topics, with varied rooms used, including the elegant, wood-paneled Director’s Suite and the Post Room, for more social occasions and networking, as well as fringe events and book signings (not to mention the very welcome use of the late night bar, where you are likely to find venerated old music scribes catching up and reminiscing).

 As well as looking back with most significant music personalities of past decades, Louder Than Words also celebrates future voices, with a continuing focus on the role of education in music and journalism, whether that be welcoming back the Slam Poetry workshop team; involving students as volunteers and panelists; arranging workshops on everything from writing and getting published, making music, DJing and music law. The Wilko Johnson Writing Award will make an extremely welcome return, celebrating young music writers under 25. 

More news will come from Louder Than Words in the coming weeks.

LOUDER THAN WORDS Official | Facebook | Twitter