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Rochdale Feel Good Festival brings packed day of live music to Town Hall Square

Sunday, 9 August 2026 01:49

By Jack Shepherd

Credit: David Murphy / Roch Valley Radio / Alamy Live News

Rochdale Feel Good Festival filled Town Hall Square with live music yesterday, Saturday 8 August, as local emerging acts shared the main stage with established names including Starsailor, Ash and headline performer Gabrielle.

The festival began with some of the borough's newest musical talent as Rochdale based rock band Metro opened the main stage.

Formed last year, the band performed covers of songs by acts including Foo Fighters and Deftones alongside their own material. Their set included If I Die Young, an original song written by drummer Tristan.

Metro reached the Feel Good stage after winning the Rochdale Music Service Battle of the Bands Competition. Representing Rochdale, they also competed in the finals of the Greater Manchester and Blackburn with Darwen Music Hub Battle of the Bands Competition.

Middleton band K Estate followed with a change of sound, bringing a mixture of electronic funk and dance music to Town Hall Square.

Credit: David Murphy

The group, which also formed last year, recently featured on the Rochdale Music Stories presents Kenion Street album. The project features local bands covering songs associated with acts including Joy Division, New Order and The Stone Roses, who have recorded at Kenion Street in Rochdale.

Alex Spencer then brought his indie sound to the main stage. The 19-year-old artist from Droylsden began his music career by busking on the streets of Manchester at the age of 12.

His Rochdale appearance followed a European tour supporting former One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson earlier in 2026, while Spencer has also sold out his own tour.

His track Nightmares had reached one million Spotify streams shortly before Saturday's performance. The song also appeared on the EA Sports FC 25 soundtrack, giving his music an international audience. Spencer is due to perform in Berlin as his career continues to take him beyond Greater Manchester.

Credit: David Murphy

Bristol DJ duo The Allergies made their first Rochdale appearance next, combining hip hop and funk on the main stage.

Rackabeat and Moneyshot were joined by Andy Cooper, Marietta Smith and saxophone player James Morton. All three are due to feature on the duo's forthcoming album Beneath This Sun.

The performance combined the duo's DJ led sound with rap, saxophone and soulful vocals. The Allergies have released five singles during 2026 and their forthcoming record follows two consecutive albums which reached the UK top 40.

Greater Manchester's contribution to the line-up continued with Starsailor.

Credit: David Murphy

The Wigan indie rock band formed in 2000 and arrived in Rochdale after marking 25 years together with a sold out European tour in 2025.

Their 2024 album Where The Wild Things Grow reached number two on the Official Independent Albums Chart. Across their career, Starsailor have achieved 10 UK top 40 singles, with some of their best-known material featuring during their first Rochdale Feel Good Festival performance.

Northern Irish rock band Ash followed with another Rochdale festival debut.

The band have recently celebrated 30 years since the release of their chart-topping debut album 1977 in 1996. They went on to headline Glastonbury Festival's Pyramid Stage in 1997 and returned to number one in the album chart with Free All Angels in 2001.

Ash played Glastonbury for an eighth time in 2025 and released Ad Astra around 10 months before their Rochdale appearance, with the album reaching the UK top 20.

Credit: David Murphy

Gabrielle brought the main stage programme to a close with her first headline appearance at Rochdale Feel Good Festival.

The singer has won two Brit Awards, including British Breakthrough Act and British Female Solo Artist, and has four platinum albums to her name, two of which achieved four times platinum status.

Her music has also appeared in Bridget Jones films and her career has included performances alongside artists including Rick Astley, Adele and Michael Buble. More recently, she appeared on The Masked Singer.

Credit: David Murphy

In Rochdale, Gabrielle performed songs from across her career alongside covers of other well-known tracks, with the Town Hall Square crowd joining in during parts of the set and giving the singer a warm reception throughout the performance.

The headline set rounded off a main stage programme which had begun with emerging Rochdale musicians and moved through electronic music, hip hop, funk, indie and rock before Gabrielle closed the night.

Check out the photos below which our photographer took throughout the day;

58 of 81

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Credit: David Murphy

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