REVIEW: Cheshire Fest 2025 featuring Peter Hook, Inspiral Carpets and Bez
By Matthew Hancock-Bruce 4th Aug 2025
Macclesfield's new 'boutique' festival had people dance, dance, dance, dance, dance.
On Saturday (August 2), I made the short trip over to Capesthorne Hall for the second-ever Cheshire Fest.
This year's lineup featured several iconic names, including K-Klass, Tunde Baiyewu and Joy Division's Peter Hook.
Arriving shortly after gates opened at midday, the first port of call was, naturally, the bar.
Maybe I've been ruined by the prices at Co-op Live and the AO Arena, but I thought £6.50 wasn't too bad for a draught pint at a festival.
Musically, I was drawn more to the offering at the Indie Live Lounge, a new addition for 2025.
Unfortunately, the timings on the secondary stage were a bit all over the place, leading to a rather awkward moment when a crowd expecting Bez were instead presented with Shade.
This resulted in many people leaving the tent and subsequently missing out on a great set from the Manchester-based four-piece.
Eventually Bez did make his way to the stage and did pretty much what I'd expected, getting the crowd hyped up as he danced around to iconic anthems from Oasis, The Smiths and, of course, Happy Mondays.
This nicely set up the Indie Live Lounge's afternoon headliners, Inspiral Carpets, who got everyone singing with This Is How It Feels.
Over at the main stage, the party vibes were kept going all day long thanks to performances from Kenny Thomas and Billie Clements.
Peter Hook & the Light were perhaps the act I was most excited to see, and they certainly didn't disappoint.
Festivalgoers quite literally ran to the stage as Hooky rattled through hits from both Joy Division and New Order, culminating with Love Will Tear Us Apart.
'How do I feel?' goes the chorus of Blue Monday.
Well, given how much Cheshire Fest has grown already, more than anything I feel optimistic for the future of this new event which has shown you don't have to travel far from home to see some of the world's biggest names.
Bring on Cheshire Fest 2026!
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