Mr Scruff has been Keeping Manchester Unreal for an astonishing 22 years this summer. After the pandemic paused his monthly live sessions, we were thrilled to welcome him back to the city for a six-hour Keep It Unreal takeover of Festival Square on Friday 16 July in partnership with Worldwide FM – joined by a ton of familiar faces, including the Rebecca Vasmant Ensemble and NikNak.

Rowetta, onetime Happy Monday and longtime local legend, gave a live PA as part of her Records of Reflection slot with DJ Paulette, followed by some party-starting sounds from Andy Shake’N’Fingerpop. Also today, there was soul, electronica and more from DJ Zeyla, hip hop and beyond with DJ Silva, homegrown slacker-pop from Modern Day Pirates – and, to open up, DIY hip hop and more from Hulme’s Ku’umba Collective.

We would like to thank Therme Group, Co-op, JW Lees, Hawkins\Brown, Buro Happold and Civic Engineers for their contributions to Festival Square.