Rockers on song to unite two cities

Nelson punk band and headliners ALL HAIL HYENA! is calling on music lovers to be part of a celebratory gig at The Castle, Manchester, on Saturday.

The Preston/Manchester Crossroads is giving music fans the chance to enjoy a feast of pop and rock music hailing from the two cities.

Vocalist Jay Stansfield said: "We cut our teeth in Preston, and Manchester is our Northern equivalent of London, producing some of the best stuff on Earth.

“It’s a big responsibility being a musical voice for such a large area but I hope we’re pushing the boundaries as much as we can, throwing caution to the wind and making music people want to hear (and not want to hear!) enough to inspire other bands to do the same.

“We essentially want to be the band from Burnley and Pendle who make it bigger than anyone else has ever done because the area deserves some positive recognition."

Helping the trio to wave the Lancashire flag is Preston indie band Three Headed Monkey, while taking the mic for Manchester are pop-rock group, The Empty Page, and solo-singer RoBoTaLiEn.

“It’s a massive honour to be playing with some top quality musicians all on the same bill,” Jay said.

“We’re really looking forward to having what is essentially a massive party full of cool people.”

One of the aims of the Manchester gig is to introduce a new fanbase to Preston's music scene and ultimately help to revive it.

“The music scene could definitely be much better," Jay added. "In fact if there is a scene in Lancashire then it’s very hidden away.

“There doesn’t seem to be much cohesion, promoters fight each other, bands don’t interact as much as they could, venues don’t help promote as well as they could and people aren’t going to gigs as much as a result.

“We need more parties with cool bands on in smaller venues organised by the bands and we hope we can help make that happen."

It's why The Hyenas said they are keen to see more aspiring Lancashire bands take a risk, push boundaries and put themselves out there. And the advice Jay said he would give is: “Drop the act.”

“Be who you would be if nobody made judgements about you. Produce music that annoys people or makes people squirm, or gives people something to talk about or avoid at all costs: music that sounds horrible in places on purpose or music that sounds unintentionally beautiful and melodic.

“Put on your own gigs. Do what makes you feel like a superstar in your own backyard and take it from there.

“We’re all crazy weirdos at heart so don’t let society squash that out of you.”

The gig will kick off at 8pm at the Oldham Street venue.

Tickets are £3.50 in advance (booking fee included) from www.skiddle.com or £5 on the door.