Manchester to host Great Northern Ska Festival

The Great Northern Ska Festival comes to Manchester and brings with it the most exciting bands of the genre. Including the Skatallites, Rhoda Dakar of the Bodysnatchers, From the Jeramiah Ferrari and more.

Last updated: 11th Apr 2017

Originally published: 7th Apr 2017

Image: Skatallites

Following the success of it's debut, The Great Northern Ska Festival returns to Manchester this year, bringing the best names of the genre to the multi-arena complex of the Bowler's Exhibition Centre. Last year held host to headliner acts of seminal ska bands The Beat and The Selecter, placing the all day festival firmly on the map as one of the biggest of its kind in the country.

For the second consecutive year, ska bands from past and present and hailing from various locations gather in Manchester for a celebration of a style of music that's been around since the late 1950s. The line up consists of headliners the Skatallites.

Get Great Northern Ska Festival tickets 

Coming from Jamaica - the very birthplace of the genre - the collective began performing in '64 and proved one of the most popular acts in their country. Their very first rehearsal ended up developing into an in-demand show with people queuing down the road to catch them. After a twenty year hiatus, the band returned to the live circuit, wowing audiences all over the globe with their original sound. 

Also announced for this August's event are From the Jam, the best The Jam tribute the UK has to offer, as well as reggae and R&B fusion Aswad. 

Returning after an ever successful performance of the previous year are Manchester's' own modern reggae beat band Jeramiah Ferrari. Grammy award winning King Hammond and The Rudeboy Mafia will also bring their sound and in addition, a very special DJ set from Rhoda Dakar of the Bodysnatchers will see the star spinning reggae, dancehall and ska tracks. 

You can grab your Great Northern Ska Festival tickets from the box below