After a three-and-a-half-hour coach and quick catch up with friends over a few Guinness’s, we find ourselves stood outside Manchester’s iconic Victoria Warehouse, home of this year’s BBC Radio 6Music Festival. As we queued to enter a buzz of excitement filled the air. It was hard not to overhear other concert-goers enthusiastically sharing stories of their previous encounters with the progressive hip hop group as well as the severely underappreciated support act, Hak Baker.
Upon entering and paying a whopping £8 for a pint (thanks Rishi Sunak), we found our place in the crowd as Hak Baker took to the stage bringing his usual euphoric energy. After previously seeing him play the extremely intimate Strummerville stage at Glastonbury Festival 2023, it was incredible to see the stage presence he can bring to a large venue. This was especially noticeable during crowd favourites like ‘Windrush Baby’ and ‘Keep Running’. However, the standout of his set had to be his ode to Manchester with a unique rendition of The Stone Roses’ ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ which had the whole crowd singing and moving. Baker is no doubt a growing talent and amazing live artist who deserves more praise.
With smiles in abundance, anticipation couldn’t be higher for Young Fathers to take to the stage. Accompanied by Hulme and Moss Side based NIA community choir, the band open with the wonderfully soulful ‘Shoot Me Down’. With just a simple white curtain behind, golds, blacks and deep reds danced across the stage bringing a true sense of opulence, the colours perhaps a reference to the album art of their fourth and newest album Heavy Heavy.
Young Fathers core trio - consisting of Alloysious Massaquoi, G Hastings and Kays Bankole - quickly ramped up the tempo jumping into the energetic ‘Queen Is Dead’. Then followed with personal favourite ‘Get Up’ featuring groovy synths, keys and a chant like chorus which brought the whole crowd into dance. With an impressive 16-year career behind them, there was no shortage of hits to choose from. ‘I Heard’ and ‘In My View’ were delivered to great applause from long-time fans before a powerful three song run from their newest album ensued. Although receiving complains of the bass being too loud, a problem I had issue with too, during one of their most popular songs, ‘Rice’, it did not stop the crowd from singing every word. The choir truly came into their own on ‘Only God Knows’ (famed from T2 Trainspotting’s soundtrack) and rhythmic drums on ‘Geronimo’ allowed them to continue shining. My friend after the concert stated “I got shivers when the choir took over” to nods of agreement from the rest of the group.
On top of an already incredible performance, the Mercury Prize-winning act delivered the strongest message of the night when Hastings exclaimed “We are Young Fathers. We are Young Fathers, and we want a ceasefire now. Ceasefire now”. This declaration was in retaliation to the government’s failure to call for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The statement received the strongest applause of the night. Hastings continued asserting, “This next one’s for those who won’t vote for a ceasefire.” and introduced ‘Shame’. This assertion isn’t a new stance for Young Fathers who with Fontaines D.C. and Massive Attack, released a charity vinyl in support of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) emergency operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
The band brought the night to a close with a classic of theirs, ‘Toy’, which expertly displayed their Hip-Hop roots. “Manchester”, Bankole shouted “We did it just for you”. After only seeing the band preform a bare-bones set in a Lithuanian prison last summer, to see them with a full choir and exceptional production value was a truly sensational experience and early contender for my gig of year. If you would like to support and purchase Young Fathers vinyl in aid of Gaza click the link here.