Many people may think the end of the ‘Summer Holidays’ marks the end of ‘Festival Season’ – but that is far from the case. In fact, the darker months are offering up some truly unique festivals and celebrations to enjoy, each with their own innovative twist.

Forget overpriced acts and endless queues, this selection from HAUNT highlights a range of festivals that are giving a city a taste of something different – from the majestic and mysterious to the weird and wonderful. It’s not just music either – there will be culture of all kinds, so make the most of it.

With a combination of music, poetry, performance art, noise, film and even a big ‘Black Christmas’ gathering from HAUNT itself – there is something for everyone…

SONDER Festival

Affordable and enormous – is there any better combination? One of the best-value and most interesting music festivals around, SONDER celebrates Manchester’s thriving grassroots, across some of the best venues in the city from 27-30 September. 2018’s line-up is the biggest yet, with well over 200 acts, including musicians, artists, performers, poets and comedians on the variety of festival stages. And it doesn’t just sound good, SONDER does good, as this year’s charity partners are Future Perfect, The Christie and White Ribbon. Just some examples from the enormous line-up include Bang Bang Romeo, Beth McCarthy, Lilith and the Knight, The Kut, Bad Pollyanna, Bud Sugar, The Winachi Tribe, Def Neon, Hands Off Gretel, Husk, James Holt, Modern Family Unit and The Moods. It is also great value, with tickets at £10 per day or £20 for the full 4 days, available online. There’s also an exciting Russell Howard event on the 26th, operated by Future Perfect as a separate ticket with the proceeds going to fund art and music therapy at The Christie.

Grimmfest

Manchester’s iconic horror film and culture festival celebrates its 10th year in 2018, taking place 4-7 October at ODEON in Manchester’s Great Northern Warehouse. At Grimmfest audiences will be able to see a range of films, including a number of UK premieres – with the first three already announced as NIGHTMARE CINEMA, BROTHERS’ NEST and ALIVE. This year also marks new exciting awards prizes and an appearance from actress and producer Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR, FROM BEYOND) as the recipient of a 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Horror Channel. Barbara will receive the award and this year’s Grimmfest, as well as presenting a special screening of 80s horror classic RE-ANIMATOR.  With the festival directed by Simeon Halligan (founder of Grimmfest and director of a number of films also, including HABIT), many exciting line-up announcements are yet to be made. Grimmfest is on opportunity not just to enjoy cutting-edge horror cinema, but to be amongst industry experts and stars including producers, directors and actors. Tickets are available online.

Louder Than Words

Manchester’s iconic festival of music and writing, co-curated by Dr Jill Adam and John Robb, is returning to Oxford’s Street’s historic Principal Hotel for its sixth year, from 9-11 November. Audiences can expect a packed range of panels, Q+As with industry icons and performances - with guests including musicians, authors, popular culture experts, DJs, broadcasters and many more. Guests already announced include crime novelist Ian Rankin, Andy McCluskey of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, original punk icon Jordan and photographer Kevin Cummins amongst a massive line-up.  There will also be an event with current Pink Floyd bass player Guy Pratt, who will be presenting his one-man show ’The Inglorious BASSterd’, David Gedge from The Wedding Present talking about his life and much more. There’s plenty for young people too, with 2018 welcoming many more student volunteers and panellists, as well as seeing a return of the Slam Poetry workshop. More features are yet to be announced and tickets are available online.

WAM Festival

A brand-new Words And Music (WAM) festival curated by Dave Haslam, spanning across four days this October (18-21) at the Northern Quarter’s iconic Night and Day Café. This is a celebration of creative culture, with spoken word and poetry acts taking to the stage as well as musicians – giving creative writing some well-deserved recognition along with innovative new music from the city. Highlights include a headline slot from much-loved Manchester band LIINES on Thursday 18 October  with special guests KAZE, whilst Friday 19 sees Lætitia Sadier and on Saturday 20 Fujiya & Miyagi - just some examples from an extensive line-up. There will also be DJ sets across the festival, including from the Pacemaker DJs, Dave Haslam himself, Jason Boardman and a DJ set from Konny Kon (of Children of Zeus) – the latter which will be free entry during Sunday daytime. Sunday evening will also see a much-loved local spoken word night take centre stage – as Verbose presents Jim Friel, Rosie Fleeshman and Maz Hedgehog, plus special guests. With a number of acts still to be announced, this is an exciting new festival to see. Tickets are available online.

Foundations Festival

A two-day micro festival at The Peer Hat and AATMA in Manchester’s Northern Quarter celebrating grassroots live music, community action, networking and creativity – with plenty of experimental fun from 14-15 December. Set up in the city by local record labels AnalogueTrash and Valentine Records, this is a festival determined to question an upturn music festival convention – and instead put people at the heart of the experience, making it more immersive and collaborative. Artists and performers have equal billing to musicians, which means that a range of creativity is celebrated. This includes a Community Action Stage with panels chaired by John Robb – tackling questions on Manchester’s current music scene – immersive artistry from Neil Milton, a DJ set from Max Tundra, performances from much-loved Manchester band ILL, a poetry vs. noise event and much more. HAUNT Manchester will also present ‘Black Christmas’, doubling up as a HAUNT Manchester network Christmas party and set to present an eclectic range of performance, burlesque, stalls and speakers – also taking collections for the SOPHIE charity. Having debuted to great acclaim in 2016, Foundations is highlighting itself as even more experimental for 2018, challenging participants to push the boundaries with their work. For example, Wrapped in Plastic, who performed at the inaugural festival, are returning with a unique art installation. Be prepared to have your Foundations shaken. Tickets are available online.