The programme has been announced for this year’s iconic La Mercè festival in Barcelona, at which Manchester will be Guest City.

Each year the event attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors into the city for a 6-day cultural festival that showcases the very best of traditional Catalan culture, outdoor arts, and music.

Last year Manchester was chosen by its Catalan counterparts to be the first-ever English guest city. The event will take place from 23-28 September.

The programme for Manchester as Guest City has been led by XTRAX and Without Walls. It showcases the diverse cultural communities of Manchester and the rich diversity of the UK outdoor arts scene – including parades, dance, music, poetry, fire and installations.

The Manchester Guest City music programme at La Mercè is presented by Manchester Music City, led by Brighter Sound.

The artists representing Manchester are:

Children of Zeus

Two of the most respected artists on the Manchester music scene join forces in a soul and hip-hop project: one is Konny Kon, a DJ, MC and beatmaker known as one of the members of Manchester hip-hop group Broke ’n’ English, and the other is Tyler Daley, one of the most sought-after soul singers in Great Britain. In 2024, they released Travel Light, an album of rap and neo-soul in which both musicians pay tribute to the soul music they listened to as children. In 2025, they followed it with Son of Zeus, a collection of seven Children of Zeus tracks recorded under Tyler Daley’s solo project, also titled Son of Zeus. Once again in Barcelona (they performed at Razzmatazz in 2023), you can hear live the unique combination of Daley’s incomparable voice and Konny Kon’s fractured rhythms.

Chloe Slater

If you’re Gen Z, you’re probably already familiar with Chloe Slater because her addictive songs are full of references that are relevant to this generation, from influencers to current British politics. Because one thing’s for sure when it comes to this 22-year-old artist: she has a strong social consciousness. Born and raised in Bournemouth, she’s been writing songs since she was 13. In Manchester, where she moved to pursue a degree, she found a vibrant scene that welcomed her with open arms. Creator of singles released last year, she made her debut with the extended play (EP) You Can’t Put a Price on Fun, a grunge and indie-cool work that explores themes such as youth, identity and the complexities of modern society. Last year saw the release of her second EP, Love Me, Please, with songs such as “Sucker”, “Imposter” and “Fig Tree”. She’s been called “the firebrand songwriter that’s about to be everywhere”, so now you know.

Porij

Eager to hit the dance floor? With Porij, you’ll have plenty of good dance music combined skilfully with indie rock to create a unique sound. Lots of onstage energy and expansive arrangements are the trademark style of this band, made up of Scout Moore (Eggy) on keyboard and vocals, James Middleton on bass, Jacob Maguire on guitar and Nathan Carroll on drums. These four artists from different parts of England met while studying at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, the guest city at La Mercè this year. Curiously enough, they played for the first time in a jazz club. And when they were asked to perform on Coldplay’s 2023 Music of the Spheres tour, they gained the visibility that has brought them to where they are today. In 2024, they released Teething, their debut album that’s sure to be heard at La Mercè.

Ríoghnach Connolly and Honeyfeet

Swampy jazz, strident brass, fractured funk, blues ballads and folk textures, all held together by groove and a clear commitment to musical freedom. That’s what you’ll find in this concert by Honeyfeet and the woman behind it, the indomitable Ríoghnach Connolly. Born in Northern Ireland, she currently lives in Manchester and leads the band with her vocals, showing us both her most combative and critical side and her vulnerability. Winner of RTÉ Radio 1’s Folk Award for Best Folk Singer and BBC Radio 2’s Folk Singer of the Year, Ríoghnach Connolly has a voice that’s equally fierce, tender and courageous. Together with the musicians accompanying her, she connects tradition, in the form of ancestral songs, with contemporary narration. You may remember her early 2025 appearance alongside Annie Lennox at a fundraising concert (Sisters: Annie Lennox and Friends) for The Circle, the global feminist organisation led by Lennox.

Space Afrika

Both from Manchester and both called Joshua (Joshua Inyang and Joshua Tarelle Reid), they have spent half their lives listening to the same music, the dub techno style that greatly influenced their debut album, Above the Concrete/Below the Concrete. In 2014, they started to gain recognition for their fragmented, hazy ambient music with an industrial edge. Strongly influenced by the industrial architecture of North-West England, in 2023 they released the conceptual album A Grisaille Wedding, which celebrates a joyful occasion (a wedding) while also capturing the more oppressive side of the Manchester landscape. In recent years, they have released several singles, the latest of which is “Sixteen”.

Werkha and Queralt Lahoz

Who would have thought that flamenco, hip-hop and electronic pop, wildly different at first glance, could be fused so naturally? This Santa Coloma de Gramenet-born artist makes it look easy. Her groundbreaking, magnetic approach has earned her international recognition. Her music immerses you in Latin, flamenco and urban sounds; all enveloped in an aura of cobles and boleros that emerge from her flamenco roots and her inner world. Queralt Lahoz draws on family tradition to build a bridge between past and future, between the omnipresent flamenco of her city and today’s urban sounds. If you want to hear someone who can sing a heartfelt bolero and then turn into a ‘90s rap star at the drop of a hat, don’t miss this artist in a joint concert with Werkha, a musician from the Manchester scene. In fact, he’s known as both Werkha and by his real name, Tom Leah. A multi-instrumentalist and producer from Manchester and the English county of Cumbria, his live performances fuse analogue jazz with the UK’s electronic to create cinematic music that blends perfectly with the Catalan artist’s style. Come hear them play together in a unique concert that was largely developed during a residency that Queralt Lahoz and Werkha’s musicians completed at the Fabra i Coats: Creation Factory. This is what Manchester and Barcelona sound like together.

Kate Lowes, Director, Brighter Sound (sector lead Manchester Music City) said: “We’re thrilled to announce such an exciting group of artists representing Manchester at La Mercè 2025 – a powerful showcase of the city’s rich and genre-defying music scene. As a member of the Music Cities Network, Manchester is proudly international in its musical outlook. This is a fantastic opportunity to deepen creative exchange between Manchester and Barcelona, and to celebrate our shared love of music on an international stage.”