Mad Ferret festival returns with The Streets and Roots Manuva

Manchester’s freshest independent festival, Mad Ferret, returns for a second successive year to Platt Fields Park, Manchester, 12th & 13th June 09! Headliners include The Streets, Roots Manuva, Finley Quaye, Pendulum (DJ set), Stanton Warriors and Claude Von Stroke, with lots more still to be announced. To keep up to date with the latest Mad Ferret news visit www.madferretfestival.com.   Alongside playing host to International cutting-edge artists, Mad Ferret showcases some of Manchester’s untapped underground talent; local acts performing include The Travelling Band, The Gentleman’s Dub Club and the Riot Jazz band (featuring Jenna G and Broke n £nglish). Other acts also confirmed include, KidKanEvil, Toddla T & MC Serocee, DJ Hype, FreeStylers, Zinc, Ntype, Hatcha, SubFocus, A1 Baseline and Trevor Loveys. Those wanting to seize the opportunity to get involved should contact info@madferretfestival.com. With the aim of giving Manchester’s burgeoning community of artists and performers a stage, paintbrush or a patch of grass on which to perform, Mad Ferret encompasses much more than just music. Expect comedians (such as The Comedy Sluts), live artists (such as Sketch City), circus performers, poets and even burlesque dancers – just some of the entertainers on-hand to keep audiences captivated throughout their Mad Ferret experience. Promising to keep the entertainment as cutting-edge as possible, Liverpool extravaganza The Kazimier will also be putting its stamp on the Festival, as only it can, www.thekazimier.co.uk.    In another rather unique twist for a festival, as camping is disallowed on site, organisers’ are encouraging all those with homes to host a visitor through the social networking and cultural exchange site www.couchsurfing.com.  Mad Ferret festival was started in 2008 by a group of student friends. Hell-bent on recreating in Manchester the sense of spirit, community and euphoria they found at numerous festivals across Europe, they set up Mad Ferret. Its first year saw the likes Aim and Lee Scratch Perry perform alongside hot local talent such as The Riot Jazz Band and Super Fresh Power Squad, all squeezed into one packed day. Lee Scratch Perry had this to say of the festival’s first outing; ‘Most wonderful festival I’ve partaken in for a very long time…it was ball of fire, a special blessing.’ Inspired to make this ‘one off event’ into a legacy, and a positive, lasting institution, Mad Ferret returns for 2009, extending the fun over two-days and with two more stages.

One of the organisers, Ben Tillett, commented; ‘I’m really excited about this year’s festival, last year was amazing, so many people pulling together, working hard and letting their imaginations run wild. This year promises to be even greater, with a more experienced team, more people and ideas and a better line up, how can it fail?’  Mad Ferret is supporting the Bollocks to Poverty tour, with 5% of the profits donated to Bollocks to Poverty, the youth arm of ActionAid. ActionAid works in Africa, Asia and the Americas to end global poverty and injustice. Registered charity 274467. For more information www.actionaid.org.uk/bollocks  Tickets are priced at £45 for the first 500, £55 thereafter and available online from www.ticketline.co.uk and www.skiddle.com.