Handmade Festival

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Handmade Festival

A totally independent music and Arts festival in Leicester, UK. Hey. We’re Handmade. Follow us on Twitter & Instagram:

We’re a totally independent music and arts festival that takes place on May bank holiday in the city of Leicester. Our aim is to find the best new and forward thinking music, comedy, art, film, performance and photography and bring it all together for one weekend. The festival is curated by some of the city’s best loved independent venues and promoters, all of whom have been involved in putting on

events for decades, working tirelessly to bring great things to Leicester. We wanted to create an arts festival the city could really be proud of together. During the first four years of the festival we’ve seen sets from Deaf Havana, We Are Scientists, 65daysofstatic, Swim Deep, Los Campesinos, Dry the River, Dutch Uncles, Slaves, Bo Ningen, And So I Watch You From Afar, Shonen Knife, Eagulls, Honeyblood, Iliketrains, Rolo Tomassi, Nine Black Alps, Three Trapped Tigers, The Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Sam Duckworth, Johnny Foreigner, Tangled Hair, Tellison Sky Larkin, Sulk, Maybeshewill and Her Name Is Calla, with comedy performances from Robin Ince, Rob Deering, James Acaster and many more.

28/04/2023

And we're sold out for the final time. See you on Sunday!

23/04/2023

ONE WEEK TO GO.
Get the last tickets for the last ever Handmade right here:

Buy tickets and see event information for 10 years of Handmade .

20/04/2023

Here’s your Handmade 2023 Schedule! Start planning your day.

Final tickets here: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

19/04/2023

Stage times and venues will be announced TOMORROW! Who are you most excited to see at Handmade next weekend?

Last tickets are available here: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

13/04/2023

Our final Handmade is only 2 weeks away and we hope you can join us and Maybeshewill / The Wytches / Grace Petrie / Johnny Foreigner / Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. / October Drift / Prima Queen / Robocobra Quartet / EYRE LLEW / Jools + loads more.

Last few tickets available https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

27/03/2023

GOOD NEWS: A whole host more names added to the 10th Anniversary Handmade Festival line-up including

Big Special, Breakfast, Bronze Age, Chief Springs, Dum language, EYRE LLEW, Freya Rose, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., Grace Petrie, Jasmine Kennedy, Johnny Foreigner, Jools, Maybeshewill, Mouse Teeth, October Drift, Other Half, Pitpony, Prima Queen, Robocobra Quartet, Sang Froid, Scumbag Lion, Soft Lad, Sorrell, S T Manville, Straight Girl and The Wytches with even more to come.

Find tickets here:
https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

SAD NEWS: This will be the last ever Handmade Festival. We're very sad to see it go, but absolutely delighted to be bringing you such an incredible collection of artists for our final year.

20/03/2023

We are delighted to have Robocobra Quartet with us for the tenth year of Handmade Festival.

Find tickets: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

17/03/2023

Leicester’s own Bronze Age play this year’s Handmade - helping us celebrate 10 years of the festival.

Tickets: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

15/03/2023

We’re delighted to be joined by Soft Lad for Handmade Festival this year.

Tickets: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

14/03/2023

Yorkshire’s Straight Girl will be bringing their riotous electronic live show to Handmade this year.

Tickets: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

13/03/2023

Leicester’s own Chief Springs play Handmade this year for our 10th anniversary.

Tickets: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

10/03/2023

With their first hometown show since releasing their fifth album ‘No Feeling is final’ in 2021, Maybeshewill join us to help celebrate our tenth anniversary this year. They played the first ever Handmade back in 2013.

Tickets: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

09/03/2023

Friends of Handmade October Drift return to the festival this year to help us celebrate our 10th anniversary.

Tickets: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

05/03/2023

Our old friend Grace Petrie returns to Handmade this year to help celebrate our 10th anniversary. With a top 40 album, touring the world in her own right and supporting Frank Turner and Jimmy Eat World on their UK arena tour, a lot has changed since she last joined us in 2018.

Tix: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

07/02/2023

The first 11 names for our 10th Anniversary festival are here! Maybeshewill and Grace Petrie head up an incredible line-up in Leicester city centre on Sunday 30th April.

They are joined by Bronze Age, Chief Springs, Johnny Foreigner, October Drift, Other Half, Robocobra Quartet, Sang Froid, Soft Lad and Straight Girl.

Tickets: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

13/01/2023

10 Years of Handmade
Sunday 30th April 2023.
Leicester.

Tickets on sale: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2023-04-30-12-00

10/08/2022

Some snaps of the incredible Soot Sprite & Olund at Duffy's Bar & Firebug respectively!
Photos by Matt Cawrey.

08/08/2022

Okay, Bye & Gimic opening the upstairs stage at Firebug.
📸: Matt Cawrey

06/08/2022

Handmade 2022
📸 Robin Hardman

03/08/2022

Another small schedule update ahead of the weekend. Due to an injury wych elm are no longer able to play (get well soon guys!). Yr Poetry and Pylons bump up.

02/08/2022

And we’re sold out! Thank you so much for supporting our little festival. See you all on Saturday!

01/08/2022

A small line-up change ahead of the weekend.
ølund replace Drips.
20 tickets remain: https://www.gigantic.com/handmade-tickets/leicester-various-venues-in-leicester/2022-08-06-12-00

30/07/2022

We are an absolute hairs breadth from being sold out for 2022. Find one of the last tickets here:

Buy tickets and see event information for Handmade 2022.

27/07/2022

CLASHFINDER!

There are a literal handful of tickets left for Handmade 2022 - find them at https://bit.ly/Handmade22

On arrival please head to the front entrance of Firebug before you do anything else and exchange your ticket for a wristband. Then feel free to wander between Firebug and Duffys as you wish.

Food is served in Firebug all day until 3am but please note it can get busy so we recommend ordering early or late!

We anticipate some venues operating at full capacity - make sure you arrive early for the sets you most want to see to avoid missing out.

26/07/2022

We’re looking for a couple of volunteers to help with Handmade Festival in return for food, drink and some amazing bands. If that sounds like something you’d be in to doing, drop us a line to [email protected]

29/06/2022

75% of tickets sold for our intimate return on Sat 6th August. Come hang out for old times sake!

Tickets: https://bit.ly/Handmade22

Buy tickets and see event information for Handmade 2022.

20/05/2022

Handmade is back with an intimate 2022 event that goes back to our roots bringing the best new music to Leicester city centre.

Tickets: https://bit.ly/Handmade22

Thanks to PPL - Phonographic Performance Ltd & PRS for Music

Address

Leicester

Website

http://www.handmadefestival.co.uk/

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Videos

Handmade 2019 Retrospective

Handmade 2017 Retrospective

Handmade 2017 Music Line-up

Handmade 2017 Announcement 1

Handmade 2016 Retrospective

Interview Teaser

Shortcuts

Our Story

Hey. We’re Handmade. We’re a totally independent music and arts festival that takes place on May bank holiday in the city of Leicester.

“Bigger and better than ever before” - Drowned in Sound “A world-class festival” - GQ “Huge tunes? Good times? Big grins? Yup” - Kerrang “Every guitar band worth their salt is playing Handmade” - NME During the first seven years of the festival we’ve seen sets from Frightened Rabbit, Metronomy, Futureheads, We Are Scientists, Idles, Twin Atlantic, Drenge, Circa Waves, Deaf Havana, 65daysofstatic and many more... Follow us on Twitter & Instagram: @HandmadeTotally