The Louder Than Words Festival in Manchester is UK’s leading festival celebrating music, writing and conversation. The three-day programme brings together musicians, authors, photographers, filmmakers and music journalists for an eclectic weekend of interviews, panel discussions, films and special events. It is held at the INNSiDE Hotel in Manchester from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November 2026.
This year, featuring Irvine Welsh, John Foxx, Pauline Black, Nick Heyward, Clint Boon, Tim Pope, Mike Pickering and Nigel Planer among the guests heading to Manchester… and not forgetting Neil Storey – editor of The Island Book of Records, who will be signing copies afterwards..
The festival is headed up by music journalist John Robb, please visit the website which has masses of information about the three day event, including all the different tickets, packages and discounted accomodation at the venue.
Here’s the link to buy tickets for Neil – 8:30pm, Friday November 13, 2026.
ON FRIDAY EVENING – Inspiral Carpets keyboard player Clint Boon discusses The Manchester Chronicles, Haircut One Hundred frontman Nick Heyward is in conversation entitled Fantastic Days. Also punk chronicler Legs McNeil, Island Records’ Neil Storey and Alan Parsons, alongside the festival’s annual club culture discussion, One Foot in the Rave. Plus there’s an exploration of the cult of Half Man Half Biscuit with Steve Hill.
SATURDAY’S PROGRAMME includes photographer Hayley Madden, a women and punk panel featuring Molly Tie, Perry Kiley and Helen McCookerybook, and Marco Pirroni discussing his memoir Your Money or Your Life. Conversations examining Paul Weller’s 1990s work, the histories of Prefab Sprout and Talk Talk, the influential Cargo Studios in Rochdale and Sheffield’s fiercely independent music scene. Actor, comedian and musician Nigel Planer will discuss his memoir Young Once: A Life Less Heavy, while former Beta Band frontman Steve Mason appears to talk about Failure Is Always an Option.
SATURDAY EVENING features The Selecter’s Pauline Black choosing the ten records that shaped her life in conversation with comedian Maisie Adam. Celebrated music video director Tim Pope will discuss his wild career behind the camera, while writer Sylvia Patterson presents I’m Not With the Man: A Writer’s Life with the Music Mavericks. Saturday concludes with Daryl Easlea’s Record Department, a free late-night event for festival ticket holders.
ON SUNDAY editor John Robb will discuss Punk Rock Ruined My Life and Other Stories, whilst Mike Pickering presents Manchester Must Dance. John Penney of Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Zoë Howe, Helen McCookerybook, Mike Coles and Nick Soulsby are also among the day’s guests. Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp and designer/filmmaker Simon Halfon will explore Brian Epstein and the Beatles in 1967, while Irvine Welsh appears in conversation around his new book Can Nothing Save Us? The finale is with pioneering electronic musician John Foxx in conversation with John Robb.
Other events across the festival include discussions about Slade’s Jim Lea, Ozzy Osbourne, the Sex Pistols at 50, Strawberry Studios, The Slits, The New Blockaders, Scottish independent music and the enduring cultural world surrounding David Bowie.
There’s another festival in March 2027
