Progressive festival RADAR is doing a better job than Spotify for a time-poor 40-something trying to keep up to date with the metal and alternative music scene.

There was a time, before a career, before the school run, life admin and the junior football taxi service, when keeping up to date on metal music came so easy. A weekly copy of Kerrang! and a monthly copy of Rock Sound, with its helpful CD of potential hits by up-and-coming bands. MTV, Scuzz, Napster, message boards. Being immersed in alternative music did not feel like an effort but it was a priority. Before other priorities squeezed it down the pecking order. And all of a sudden you've been listening to the same old faithfuls on rotation for what feels like years.

Spotify and its algorithm was a help of sorts, with smart shuffle sending songs that you might like into the headphones. But sometimes it feels like an all-too narrow field of suggestions. Bands just like the bands you like. What I needed, to force me back into the habit of finding and enjoying new music, was a cross between an intervention and an assistant. A heavy shove in the right direction and a handy guide to what is out there.

Along came RADAR festival. An alternative music festival at Manchester's O2 Victoria Warehouse, with something of everything. New, exciting potential. Veterans of their scenes. Heavy. Light. Riffs. Beats. They like to call themselves a 'genre-busting' festival so the 2023 headline slot for Sleep Token was apt. Having hooked with me the intrigue of that particular act, RADAR helpfully curated a playlist of their offerings in that year's edition so I could familiarise myself with what would be on offer and develop some new favourites. Monuments, AA Williams, God is an Astronaut, Haken, Exploring Birdsong. Now all in heavy rotation in my playlists.

This year has been no different. As the 2025 July 4 weekend slots have been filled up, so has my to-do list when it comes to checking out unfamiliar artists. UNDERØATH of course need no introduction but Vukovi, Novelists and Bob Vylan have wormed their way into affections just like their predecessors of two years ago. Bands that are not like my old favourites. Bands that are not really like one another. What ties them all together is that there's something that makes them stand out, something that makes them interesting or progressive.

For RADAR co-founder Catherine Jackson-Smith, Bob Vylan embody that: "Our final headliner is the unstoppable Bob Vylan. 2025 feels like a time of uncertainty when many communities we belong to or guardian feel uneasy. There’s a choice: to carry on passively or to stand up and speak out. Few bands in today’s music scene do this as powerfully and unapologetically as Bob Vylan. With razor-sharp lyricism and an electrifying live show, they don’t just perform—they provoke, challenge, and inspire. Their music is a rallying cry, embodying the same passion and urgency that we at RADAR stand for in these climates. This isn’t just music; this is a movement, and it’s personal."

Hosting a festival in Manchester would be brave, were it not for RADAR's ability to guarantee the weather. It's indoor. You can keep your mud. What's more, stage one and stage two are scheduled so there are no overlaps, no clashes. Just music that might embellish and broaden your taste.