Starting life in 2003 as a one-day event, Supersonic Festival has grown significantly over the past twenty one years to be one of the premier European showcases for DIY, Leftfield and experimental music situated in the heart of Birmingham. Welcoming a wide variety of artists, genres and cultures to showcase across their home in Digbeth, Supersonic celebrates the fringes of the alternative music scene and gives a larger platform to acts you wouldn’t typically find at more mainstream events.
Upchuck
A little grunge, a little psych-rock, a lot of nail biting punk rock fury, Atlanta collective Upchuck are fast becoming favourites in the punk scene. Feeling very old-school in their approach, the band oozes DIY energy, skate-punk defiance and an overwhelming passion for personal freedoms and alternative community. Embracing cathartic live performances, unbridled presence and energy lead to them scoring an opening slot for Aussie punkers Amyl and The Sniffers across the U.K. and Europe this November. Supersonic looks to be a rather intimate affair for a band who’s are surely soon to shoot straight through the ceiling and breakout themselves.
Where, When? – Saturday, 20:20, XOYO (Second Stage)
Tristwch Y Fenywod
Hailing from the murky underground scene of Leeds, Welsh Language goth rock power-coven Tristwch Y Fenywod (The Sadness Of Women) are a throwback to early goth rock roots. Conjuring witchy atmospheres as the trio channel by employing cavernous electronic beats, eerie traditional folk instrumentals and haunting vocals. Transmitting their energies into songs about bog bodies, flickering landscapes and queer enchantment, their debut album releases the day of their Supersonic set. With two teaser singles readily available, the promise of an otherworldly experience harking back to the cultural roots of Welsh paganism and witchcraft is too tempting to ignore.
Where, When? – Friday, 19:30, XOYO (Second Stage)
John Francis Flynn
Regarded as one of the leading figures breathing new life into Ireland’s burgeoning folk scene revival, John Francis Flynn takes the emerald isle’s traditional instrumental folk and vocal style and experiments with variations on soundscape explorations. With soulful and poignant storytelling and instrumentals teetering on the brink of dissension his latest album, 2023’s Look Over The Wall, See The Sky makes for a simultaneously somber and cathartic experience. Said to be performing his Supersonic set with a full band, expect plenty of fiddle, traditional Irish instrumentation, acoustic guitar from the folk realm and touches of psychedelia in the hypnotic songwriting.
Where, When? – Sunday, 18:10, o2 Institute (Main Stage)
UKAEA
An ever shifting experimental collective founded by Dan Jones (Sly & The Family Drone, Nitkowski, Worldzero) in 2014, UKAEA sit somewhere between unnerving ambient soundscapes and punishing eclectic beats; think a child of Godspeed’s ambient post-rock soundscapes and projected live art presentation brought up on decaying industrial plains and forced to play with modular synthesisers. Experimental just about covers the band’s indescribable sound, touching on elements of electronica, post-rock and psychedelia. Their live shows are known to be quite intense from both a musical and visual perspective, regularly inviting audience members on stage to be blindfolded, painted and released back into the crowd as a part of their vivid and confrontational performance art.
Where, When? – Friday, 21:10, XOYO (Second Stage)
Senyawa
You want a unique experience? You’ve never heard anything like Senyawa. The Indonesian duo showcases their musical and cultural heritage saturated in fuzz and accompanied by industrial percussive sensibilities. Finding themselves floating between psychedelia, Doom Metal and Indonesian folk, their live shows have been described as almost ceremonial and ritualistic over the band’s decade long career. They only make sporadic live appearances as it is, but getting to make their Birmingham debut in the grandeur of the old theatre that is the modern day o2 Institute, Senyawa is set to be a standout set over the weekend and promises a damn near a religious experience.
Where, When? – Saturday, 17:50, o2 Institute (Main Stage)
Womb x Water
A loving tribute to Manchester DIY & Art scene champion Louise Bolla (formerly Woodcock) who sadly passed away in 2021. An originating founder of both Womb and Water alongside being of indescribable importance to the health of Manchester’s DIY scene. Womb were formed in 2011 as an all-female/NB musical collective, Water in 2015 blending art, poetry and music. The remaining members of each collective team up to honour the memory of Bolla, curating a collaborative memorial performance of Louise’s poetry book TANK. Encouraging a large swathe of audience participation in the collective excising of grief, expect heaps of noise and emotional intensity as the Supersonic community celebrates and honours the memory of an eccentric icon.
Where, When? – Sunday, 14:30, XOYO (Second Stage)
The None
The None are very quickly making a name for themselves and for damn good reason. Comfortably selling out their Birmingham debut headline show, the band are a veritable alt rock super group; comprised of vocalist Kaila Whyte (Blue Ruth, Youth Man), bassist Gordon Moakes (Bloc Party, Young Legionnaire), guitarist Jim Beck (Cassels) and drummer Chris Francombe (Frauds). Their debut single “Pigs Need Feeding” conveyed the influences of noise rock legends The Jesus Lizard and Silverfish, alongside the recently released “Cheap Cloth Soon Frays” being a pent up ball of hardcore punk tinged fury, The None have plenty of excitement left in the tank for their debut EP on the way in a matter of weeks.
Where, When? – Friday, 20:30, o2 Institute (Main Stage)
Flesh Creep
Only forming in 2021, local West Midlands hardcore punk outfit Flesh Creep are on fire right now. Supporting the likes of Spy, Terror and Show Me The Body over the past few years, their debut album We Need You To Bleed was released to rabid excitement earlier in 2024. Finding themselves at this years event as a late replacement for Vile Creature, who unfortunately had to cancel their appearance, the band make for a suitably merciless and caustic substitute. Ruthless aggression, confrontation lyricism and cutthroat live performances; the local legends are swiftly making a name for themselves in the Midlands scene and Supersonic is sure to be a landmark set in their career so far.
Where, When? – Saturday, 18:40, XOYO (Second Stage)
One Leg One Eye
Sticking out like a sore thumb on the more ambient and folk oriented lineup for the Sunday, One Leg One Eye are an intense affair. The project was founded by Ian Lynch (Lankum), exploring darker Irish folk territories through electronic means, combining aspects of Black Metal noise and cacophonous drones with ambient field recordings and unnerving auras. The Irish experimental project immerse itself in ritualistic atmospheres and Gaelic pagan folklore calling to worship of the Black Worm. Inspired by abandoned locations around Dublin, the desolate emptiness is reflected in the bleak compositions, revelling in melancholia and discomfort with Lynch’s electrifying vocals and presence adding to the striking nature of the project.
Where, When? – Sunday, 21:10, XOYO (Second Stage)
Agriculture
Finally making their U.K. tour debut, Agriculture’s self-titled debut album set the fringes of the Black Metal world aflame last year, in a similar manor to Deafheaven, with its various eccentricities alongside their introduction of Americana and Bluegrass influences. New EP Living Is Easy continues the actualisation of their self-described highly emotive “Ecstatic Black Metal”. With a notable slot on the main stage at this year’s Supersonic Festival for their Birmingham debut, the band were heralded as a standout performance at this year’s Roadburn festival. Wash away the sins and embrace the ecstatic, Agriculture are here at long last.
Where, When? – Saturday, 19:20, o2 Institute (Main Stage)