Manchester Pride announce 4 more acts

Little Boots, Jon Fitz, Shane Ritchie Jr Band and KStewart confirm appearances

Manchester Pride has confirmed another four acts to ‘The Big Weekend’ festival line-up. English electropop singer-songwriter Little Boots as well as Jon Fitz a skilled DJ, successful producer and highly accomplished musician and performer. They will be joined by the Shane Ritchie Jr Band and newcomer KStewart during the Big Weekend, which will take place from Friday 28th to Monday 31st August.

They will join Heather Peace and UK chart sensation Karen Harding as well as Texas, DJ Fresh, Union J, Andy Butler noughties favourite Atomic Kitten, attitude-packed vocal trio, Stooshe, and Big Weekend favourite Lucy Spraggan.  Manchester DJ legend, Graeme Park, is also set to perform a set.

Little Boots has toured internationally and since stepping out onto the music scene back in 2009, she has released two albums, ‘Hands’, which reached number 5 on the UK Albums Charts, and ‘Nocturnes’ as well as a number of associated EPs and remixes. She is most famous for her UK top twenty hit singles "New in Town" and “Remedy”. Her new album ‘Working Girl’ will be released on July 10th. 

Jon Fitz was nominated as best breakthrough producer in the 2006 House Music Awards and his creative talents have seen him remix for Robbie Rivera, Toolroom and Ministry of Sound. Jon’s Herd & Fitz anthem “Just Can’t Get Enough’ hit the Top 10 in the UK charts, while his credible floor filling house tracks and remixes rocked dance floors around the world.  He’s also an established bass player touring the world with the Bodyrockers, (Number 3 UK charts with “I like the way you move”).

With a relentless schedule of gigs in the UK and abroad supporting the likes of Pharrel Williams, Madness, Keiser Chiefs, Example, DJ Fresh, Ian Brown, LMFAO, the Kooks and many more, Jon is looking forward to making his first appearance at the Big Weekend.  

The Shane Ritchie Jr Band is fronted by Shane Ritchie Junior and they have gained a notable following with their eclectic mix of material.  Having  grown up on the stage, Shane has managed to develop a fantastic show, choosing songs from musical influences as diverse as Van Morrison and the Kings of Leon! The four piece will be showcasing their latest tracks and lapping up the fantastic atmosphere that is The Big Weekend. KStewart is a relative newcomer to the music scene and is set for huge success in 2015 as her current single ‘Keeping You Up’ has just been added to the BBC Radio 1 Extra playlist.  

Mark Fletcher, Chief Executive for Manchester Pride, comments: “Following audience feedback, we’re working hard to offer one of the most diverse ranges of musical genres ever experienced at The Big Weekend.  As we get closer to revealing the full line up in July it’s brilliant to be able to programme such variety of both new and well known DJ’s and artists. We’ve heard some of the new material from Little Boots and we’re really excited for her return to the festival. As for Jon Fitz, it’s great that we’ll have yet another local DJ legend playing to our bouncing crowd in the Dance Arena.”

The Big Weekend tickets are currently priced at £22 for a weekend ticket, £12.50 for day tickets and children's tickets are also available from £5 Ticket provides guests with access to the event site, including the Main Arena, Sackville Gardens, the Gaydio Dance Arena and the Expo and help Manchester Pride raise money for LGBT and HIV charities and organisations in Greater Manchester.  For more information on The Big Weekend visit the new website at bigweekend.manchesterpride.com

There's much more to Manchester Pride festival than the Big Weekend, events take place throughout the month of August and this year has seen the launch of Superbia, an all year round calendar of events that showcases, supports and celebrates LGBT and relevant arts, comedy, debate, film, literature, music, sport, theatre, family and community led projects within Greater Manchester with the aim to encourage engagement, wellbeing and culturally enhance our communities.

To find out more about the Manchester Pride you can follow the charity on Twitter @manchesterpride or visit the website at manchesterpride.com

Published: 29-May-2015: (3101)