In anticipation of 2025's edition, we sat down with the founders of Radar Festival - Catherine and Joe, to chat all things fest-related; from curating line-ups to envisioning dream ones, festival “wow” moments, and building a community, this year's festival to set to be the biggest and best yet.
Joe: There are two answers to this. The first is that putting on a festival was always a dream of ours as organisers. I grew up in the festival world (dad is a famous-ish folk musician) and Catherine has run a grassroots music venue for twenty years. However the reality is I accidentally found a venue that is the same format as Euroblast Festival and, while at that festival, I drunkenly announced to my friends I was going to put one on.
Catherine: Since its conception, RADAR has evolved significantly. While the core commitment to quality music and a welcoming atmosphere remains, we've grown in scale and ambition. The move to Manchester in 2023 was a pivotal moment, allowing us to tap into the city's incredible musical heritage and reach a wider audience. This transition has brought a new energy to the festival, attracting a more diverse crowd and opening up exciting possibilities for future growth while staying true to our independent spirit.
Joe: An eclectic lineup, with three big headliners, but RADAR is more than a music festival, featuring a massive music and gaming market, which is like a mini NAMM or Guitar Show. It’s packed with musical instruments of every kind, which you can get your hands on and play as well as games on high-spec PCs, retro gaming and weird and wonderful things like playing the first Mario controlled with a full drum kit.
Catherine: There are masterclasses with your favourite artists in an intimate setting, and bands to discover that will become your new favourites. It's something for everyone, and we strive to make sure that you're all welcome
Joe: We just book who we like! Obviously, we have an idea about size of band (who is a headliner etc) and we look to (mostly - 90%) book up and coming bands of the moment, but we all listen to so much music that it is really not something that we struggle with.
Catherine: Most commonly, we’ve seen a band at a show recently and walked out wanting to bring them to our stage.
Joe: We also really believe in helping our audience find their new favourite bands. We all love live music so much that it’s a privilege to be in this position.
Joe: We’ve worked really hard on our community, it is the best thing about the festival. We’ve barely had anything you could call trouble in our events so far and we are really seeing gender parity in the audience, which is fantastic as our corner of the music scene is often very male-dominated. It feels like everyone feels like they can be themselves.
Accessibility is something that we strongly believe in. We had our eyes opened to the needs of access customers in a talk at The Association of Independent Festivals, which explained how from the point of booking a ticket customers hit barriers of information. We try to improve every year and we’re not claiming to have nailed it, but we listen and we try.
Part of that was hiring Scarlett, our Accessibility Manager. Scarlett has access needs and we felt hiring someone with real-world experience was key to improving the experience for accessibility customers. Scarlett absolutely smashed it out of the park in our first year with her and we’re excited to empower her, especially as a young person starting out in her professional journey, to lead and make positive changes at our event and our venue, who have been very supportive.
Catherine: From day one, building a strong and inclusive community has been central to RADAR's ethos. We actively work to foster an environment where everyone feels welcome, respected, and safe. We also strive for diversity in our lineup and crew. It's the passionate attendees, the dedicated crew, the incredible artists, and everyone who contributes to the festival's unique spirit. It's a feeling of belonging and shared appreciation for the music. Seeing people connect, discover new bands together, and create lasting memories is what makes all the hard work worthwhile. We believe that a strong community enhances the entire festival experience.
Joe: The obvious answer should be Sleep Token in 2023, but on the same weekend we had Volumes as special guests to Periphery and that might just be one of the best bookings we have ever achieved. The cake must go to TesseracT to went to a great deal of effort to bring a one-off, special performance to the RADAR stage. That’ll live in the memory for a long time.
Catherine: It’s also the “were you there for?” moments where it’s sometimes the smaller acts that people don’t expect to blow up, or they do something completely unexpected. In 2024, that was probably unpeople, Cestra and Pintglass, but there have been countless acts throughout the years that cause that real buzz in the crowds for the whole weekend, and it’s unpredictable, which makes it all the more thrilling!
Joe: We often joke that if we were doing this pre-pandemic, we would be selling out every year with ease. Sadly the landscape in 2025 is challenging. 80 UK festivals went out of business in the last year. Every year is a struggle in its own right. We’re spending more on marketing now than ever before.
Catherine: We would say if you love something, buy a ticket. If you have a favourite festival, go. If you love live music, make sure to go to a few gigs every month, especially in the small grassroots venues. Buy the merch, help the bands. We’re all in it together.
Catherine: Supporting local and up-and-coming musicians is a key part of RADAR's mission. We actively seek out and provide a platform for emerging talent on our stages. This includes bands from the Manchester area and across the UK. We believe it's vital to nurture the next generation of artists and offer them opportunities to reach a wider audience.
Joe: Catherine runs a grassroots music venue too, so is constantly scouting new bands without even having to leave work. The second stage often has bands that she has wanted to elevate after seeing them on this smaller stage, and it’s an opportunity to try something new and introduce the community to something else we’re passionate about that they just don’t know about yet.
Joe: Capacity. We pretty much sold out in year one and we fully sold out in year two. We needed a bigger space. Doing what we do, in our format, requires a special set of facilities and there are not many venues in the UK that can have multiple stages, space for other things like masterclasses and a music market, let alone park 20 vans and a couple of nightliners. Think of most the amazing 3,000-5,000 cap spaces around the UK, they’re just one room. We were very lucky to find O2 Victoria Warehouse.
Catherine: The move has brought a fresh energy to the festival. We've seen an increase in attendance and a more diverse audience. Manchester's infrastructure and transport links have made the festival more accessible for people across the UK and beyond. While the core identity of RADAR – the focus on quality progressive and alternative music and the strong sense of community – remains the same, the Manchester chapter has allowed us to grow, evolve, and reach our full potential.
Joe: Around our capacity, I would love headliners like: Bad Omens, Crosses, and if we could get away with it, Electric Callboy.
Catherine: Vulfpeck, Clipping, Cory Wong, Louis Cole and Polyphia. TesseracT and Dirty Loops last year was hard to beat for me, so I got pretty lucky there!
Catherine: The immediate answer that springs to mind is TesseracT’s War Of Being. I stayed with the band for a few days around my birthday whilst they recorded that album and heard the beginning riffs of that song being written. Fast forward to 2023, and it was the album that accompanied site visits and drives to the festival in secrecy because the album wasn’t released yet, and then again to 2024, and it was performed on the main stage with the best production we’ve ever had. It was a proper full-circle moment for a band that we’ve had connections with for over 15 years, and will be hard to top, emotionally!
Joe: Additionally, Catherine makes us play Mambo No 5 after every festival (and every gig she puts on) so it is probably that - but that’s not quite as on-brand…!
Radar Festival takes over O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester from 4 - 6 July 2025. Limited tickets remain, so make sure you snap yours up today.
Get ready for an unforgettable festival and listen to our dedicated Radar Festival playlist!
Looking for more festival inspiration for this year? View our full festival listings!
