Weird Shapes, Kiran Leonard, PINS, and Bird for Radio 6 Music Festival

Last night four of the most promising new artists in the North where added to the line-up for the first BBC Radio 6 Music Festival which will take place at Manchester's Victoria Warehouse on Friday 28th February and Saturday 1st March 2014.

Weird Shapes, Kiran Leonard, PINS, and Bird were announced on Steve Lamacq’s show on Wednesday 12 February, and will each open one of the two stages each day. 

Jason Carter, BBC Head of Live Music and Events, says: “BBC Introducing in the North is one of the hotbeds for discovering fantastic new artists, and the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in Manchester - a city itself a proven hub of musical talent - is going to be a brilliant opportunity for some of these artists to have exposure to potential new fans.”

Also added to the line-up are Mr Scruff, and during the Fringe performances curated by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Freak Zone by BBC Radiophonic Workshop on Friday, and The Part time Heliocentric Cosmo Drama After School Club  a Sun Ra Tribute on Sunday.

Guests for the Fringe include John Cooper Clarke, Alan McGee, Tim Burgess, Haim, Huey Morgan, Craig Charles, Murray Lachlan Young, James Blake, Bob Stanley, Viv Albertine, Peter Hook, and Freddie Flintoff hosts a live panel of guests from the world of sport, music and comedy for a special edition of Five Live's Fighting Talk.

The line-up includes Damon Albarn, The National, Franz Ferdinand, Midlake, The Horrors, Kelis, Metronomy, Haim, Drenge, Jake Bugg, James Blake, Jagwar Ma, Luke Sital-Singh, Nick Mulvey, Jimi Goodwin, Lykke Li, Otfit, Kiran Leonard, and Craig Charles will close the festival with a DJ set on stage at the end of the night.

The silent disco will also feature sets from Groove Armada (DJ set), Tim Burgess, X-Press 2, and 6 Music presenter Mary Anne Hobbs on Friday night. And on Saturday night, New Order’s Peter Hook, and 6 Music spin-meisters Gilles Peterson, Nemone, and Don Letts will be taking their turn on the decks.

Expect more than 30 acts across both days across 3 stages.

With 6 Music broadcasting from across the event, listeners can look forward to live performances, interviews with the artists, and reports from behind the scenes on air, streamed to their desktop, tablet, mobile and via BBC Red Button.

There will also be video highlights packages from each act available on the website for 30 days after the festival. And from Sunday 2 to Sunday 9 February, highlights packages featuring a different artist from the festival will be available via BBC Red Button.

For the line-up details, day and stage splits, as available, click here.

Tickets were priced at £25 and sold out rapidly.