Noise in the Parish proves Huddersfield can host the loudest northern talent

Words by Meghan Glover. Photos by Kiah Azriel Photography.

Huddersfield. It might not be the place you associate with a vibrant music scene, but on Saturday 19th of July we headed over to an all-dayer in the West Yorkshire town. In typical northern fashion, it was raining, and the trains only ran part of the way. So, after a rickety bus journey that made us feel like we were back at school, we arrived at Noise in the Parish.

The brainchild of Noise In Promotions, Noise in the Parish saw 14 bands split across two venues. The aim being to bring about a day of loud, exciting underground acts to The Parish in Huddersfield. And we can safely say that organisers Ben Warrington and John Simmons-Powell did exactly that.

Born from a DIY spirit, and a shared love of loud fuzzy riffy bands, Ben and John - who are both from the Halifax area, have been playing in bands together since they were 15. And the local scene holds a special place for them. 

Ben said: “Noise In was born out of our love for the local scene more than anything. We had struggled with getting on festival bills, and hit the “no reply” wall back in 2023, and realised that the most fun festival we could possibly play would be with a line-up full of our mates in the scene, playing in the venues we love.”

Vinyl Friday

The line-up featured young and upcoming bands from around the country, kicking off at midday with a set from Bishops and Vinyl Friday - two young Yorkshire bands. We saw sets from Magick Mountain, Scouge, Slung, The Big Hell and Haggard Cat, and finally the event headliner The Wytches. Thanks to zero crossovers and clashes, we could move between the two venues in plenty of time to catch each set. Something that, as most festival goers know, is somewhat of a rarity. 

Talking to organiser Ben, we asked him how he put together the lineup for the day. He said: “We started building the line-up by speaking to local artists, and searching for some younger bands to get on the bill, then started to think about bands we’d like to see play on that stage and who fit the vibe.

“Being able to put a line-up together with some absolute stalwarts of the scene like The Wytches and Haggard Cat, and featuring The Big Hell, Magick Mountain and Scouge, who all have members of bands we’ve loved for years - was huge for us. We’re really proud of the line-up we put together.”

Magick Mountain

While the genre selection of garage rock, alternative rock and hardcore punk is appealing in itself, gathering a crowd for an all-dayer in Huddersfield is imaginably harder than cities like Leeds or Manchester. And Ben told us that “turnout is a hard thing to predict”. 

He said: “A wise man once told me that really we’re just professional gamblers, and you’ve got to just keep taking the chances. We’re really happy we took the chance and that even one person came and enjoyed the day we put together. The feedback from people who came has been fantastic. We had people travel from far and wide too which is amazing.”

He noted that one couple even travelled all the way from London just to see the fuzzy psych garage band Magick Mountain. That said, northern events such as Noise in the Parish are vital in attracting attention not just from locals but from across the country. 

“It’s hugely important for the northern music scene,” says Ben. “Our grassroots bands need the opportunity to get their music out there and have more people hear it, because there’s a huge wealth of talented noisy people around here. 

“Having bigger touring bands play in our independent venues is a huge plus too, hopefully because of what we’re doing more people know about these venues and will keep an eye on their listings too.”

We also caught up with a couple of the bands on the day to get their take on the northern music scene, and what events like Noise in the Parish mean for the north. Starting as a recording project at the end of 2021, Scouge is an alt-rock three piece who featured on Noise in the Parish’s Saturday lineup. Speaking to lead Rob, he told us that after moving to Bradford, the new band was “an attempt to reconnect with the music scene in West Yorkshire”. And this led to playing gigs all across the country.

Rob, who is also in Pulled Apart By Horses, said: “I had been involved in the Leeds music scene since the late 2000s which was really vibrant and productive, but since moving I had noticed there were interesting things happening and lots of potential in these other satellite areas like Halifax, Keighley, Shipley, Bradford, Huddersfield. 

“Places that may have been overshadowed by what had been happening in Leeds, but it really reminded me of the local DIY spirit of the LS6 area back in the early days of PABH.”

 It’s important to support local independent venues, events and scenes so that artists have a space where they can develop and maintain creative control and integrity.

About events in the north, he said: “I think events like Noise in The Parish are extremely important. Not just for local bands and music scenes, but also on a broader scale. It’s important to support local independent venues, events and scenes so that artists have a space where they can develop and maintain creative control and integrity.

“So, I have massive respect for people like Ben and John who put so much work and effort into making these events happen and the bands who get involved and the people who buy tickets and come to the gigs. We’re all in this together making real music happen.”

Catching the set of Leeds band Magick Mountain, we also pulled them aside for a chat. Classing themselves as an ‘on-and-off band’, they have been on the scene for years playing in various other bands. But after juggling parenthood, lead Lins says that while Magick Mountain is their “forever band”, they pick and choose their gigs - admitting that they only do the gigs they really want to do. 

With younger bands on Noise in the Parish’s line-up, Magick Mountain’s drummer Nestor told us that it’s nice to see younger bands on the scene, and his advice to them is to “do it whenever you want to do it” and it’s all about “knowing what works for you”. The band's bassist Tom, who is also in Pulled Apart By Horses, said that it’s about “being selective rather than doing everything”- reminiscing on times of doing every gig going. 

Magick Mountain

About Noise in the Parish, and building a local fanbase Lins said: “All-dayers and festivals are great. You can put more experienced or older bands on with younger bands and it gives them opportunities to play with bands they like.

“It’s about having a self awareness of what’s going on locally and regionally, and where you fit into stuff. There’s loads of good stuff going on in the north, especially Yorkshire.”

That said, playing in Bingley the night before, Leeds/Bradford garage punk band Tiger Island spoke to us about the difficulties in getting gigs outside of Yorkshire. “It feels harder to get gigs down south as a northern band,” says guitarist Matt. “But gigs are still the way to do it. We find we get a better response from doing gigs, but it's harder to find the promoters because sometimes they don’t know about you. So, it’s about finding that middle ground.”

Vocalist and guitarist Penny said: “It’s just saturation, there’s so much. For us, getting gigs south of Yorkshire has proven tricky. We only played Nottingham for the first time a couple of months ago and that’s as far south as we’ve been.”

If people aren’t putting on your kind of music, put it on yourself.

Her advice to younger bands starting out is to “just do your own thing”. She said that “if people aren’t putting on your kind of music, put it on yourself. Once you start to build your own eco-system, what other people are doing matters less - and it’s more fun as well”. 

So while the weather in Huddersfield may have been grey, we are sure that Noise in the Parish has a bright future. 

Ben said: “We’re looking at the logistics for doing more gigs whenever we can, we’re looking for the right opportunities and bands to do this at the moment to figure out where it works best for us. Noise In The Valley will be happening again in November and we can’t wait for that.”

And having done a prior event - Noise in the Valley in Sowerby Bridge, we are excited to see what else is to come from Ben and John.

So, keep an eye out for more from the Noise In Promotions team, and who knows - you may be making the trip over to Huddersfield next time.

Words by journalist Meghan Glover. Photos by Kiah Azriel Photography.