THE FERRET is 20!

This year marks The Ferret's 20th Birthday! Throughout the year, we'll be bringing back some of our favourite artists from across 20 years of incredible live music, as well as introducing you to some incredible brand-new acts (as per).

And now, we’re very excited to announce a new project! 

“The Ferret is 20!” is a series of special events celebrating 20 years of The Ferret in Preston. Between May & August, we’ll be presenting a series of shows featuring some of our favourite artists from around the world - as well as grassroots artists from the across the North West & around the UK.

AND, thanks to public funding by Arts Council England, this series of shows will all be FREE ENTRY &/or very low-cost. Our aim is to encourage more people to experience world-class live music in the intimate setting of The Ferret.

We’ll be asking you to tell a friend, invite someone who has never been to The Ferret, invite someone who loves live music but hasn’t been to a gig in yonks, maybe invite someone who doesn’t even realise what’s right on their doorstep.

We launch this program with a pair of all-dayers featuring some of our favourite bands…

The Ferret is 20! - Launch Weekender

FREE ENTRY ALL DAYERS

Sat 23rd + Sun 24th May 2026

3pm - late

The Ferret, Preston

Claim your free tickets here:

Sat 23rd May:

MAN OF MOON

THE DSM IV

OORYA

THOSE FKKKKNG SNOWFLAKES

TRIANGLECUTS

POCKETKNIFE

Sun 24th May:

LOOSE ARTICLES

ZOOKRAUGHT (usa)

THE EMPTY PAGE

THE RED STAINS

MUTT

HUMMUS

DREW YOUNG

Capacity is limited, so grab a FREE TICKET now to guarantee entry. PLEASE only take as many tickets as you need - if you need to return any tickets, please let us know so other Ferret Friends can use them.

Claim your free tickets at skiddle.com/e/42434771

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

Check out the amazing lineup:

>>> SAT 23RD MAY (doors 3pm)

MAN OF MOON

Since their beginning Man of Moon have been a standout live act. The Glasgow-based duo possess an extraordinary talent for cross-pollinating genres and styles but their sound is not hybridised, rather they are a synthesis of their influences; a pure sonic distillation of what has come before. You hear the mesmeric drones of Mogwai, the dynamic shifts of Radiohead, the harmonic angularity of Tool, the industrial amalgam of Nine Inch Nails, even hints of Pink Floyd's austere and abstract lyricism. Man of Moon are so much music in one band. And yet they've always sounded uniquely themselves; there is deep intentionality in every song's construction.

THE DSM IV

Formed in Liverpool in 2018 by former Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster frontman Guy McKnight, THE DSM IV crystallise the ultra real and the otherworldly, bringing a focused hyperrealism to the party. Their convention-defying live performances toy with audience expectations and stimulate questions of the narratives being sold to us as news—or entertainment—all to the beat of the drum machinist. 

OORYA
- pronounced WHO ARE YA!? is a Queer Electro Punk Folk sonic excavation. 

“We are pulsing against the tide of inequality, and the mycelium knows”

Made with a lyrically dancing neurodivergent synaesthetic soul machine; guitar, beats, synth and accompanied by Eon The Emotional Support Dinosaur. They are “incendiary” (BBC Introducing) “Breathtaking & Unforgettable” (Louder Than War) and a must see live! Guest artist on BBC 6Music’s Trunk Of Punk & signed to Society of Losers (Revolutionary Liverpool based record label) on their second gig.

“It is rare to see an artist so unique” (Future Yard)

THOSE FKKKKNG SNOWFLAKES

A vibrant clash of left wing punk, noise rock and jazz tinged math, a band formed as a means to scream out the dread and horror faced in these terrible times of our modern society. From the current mess of the UK political system to the intolerance of, well, everything. From race and gender to such simple items as Greggs  releasing a Vegan Sausage Roll, the band are shouting about it backed with a tight unique sound and occasional off kilter humour.

"Deploying 1000 volts through the civility of discourse."

TRIANGLECUTS

Trianglecuts are a post punk electronic duo from Manchester. Recent gigs include supporting Dead Space Chamber Music and Vanishing at Samuel Worth Chapel in Sheffield, ‘Of Thee in the Tree’ at FellFoot Woods, Ulverston and ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ at Aatma, Manchester. 

POCKETKNIFE

Pocketknife are a Welsh/Mancunian melodic post-punk duo blending math-rock energy with hook-driven songwriting. Drawing influence from Biffy Clyro, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age and Dinosaur Jr., the band are known for intense live performances and have previously shared stages with Lightning Bolt, The Joy Formidable and Melt-Banana. After a hiatus, they've recently returned with new music and live shows.

>>> SUN 24TH MAY (doors 3pm)

LOOSE ARTICLES

Recently winning themselves coveted, high profile support slots with the likes of New Order, Foo Fighters, The Lovely Eggs, and Gang of Four, Loose Articles are a punk quartet with plenty to say. Specialising in discordant, hypnotic repetition, tales of nights out, and radical politics, their music speaks to all those determined to get through the age of austerity with tongue in cheek and two feet firmly on the dancefloor. 

Plying repetition (repetition, repetition…) with ragged edges and a sardonic, sarcastic drawl delivered with fierce, in your face, punk-fueled attitude, both feminine & threatening, Loose Articles are here to make a point.

Already heavily championed by Steve Lamacq at BBC 6 Music (where they’ve also seen strong support from Chris Hawkins, Tom Robinson and Amy Lamé) the band have also picked up love from John Kennedy at Radio X, appearing on the Evening Playlist, and have appeared on Spotify’s The Punk List & championed by NME as one of The NME 100 list.

ZOOKRAUGHT (Seattle, USA)

3 piece dance-punk from Seattle - “Vida Violet is the captivating full length debut album of Seattle Dance-Punk trio Zookraught. From the opening squalls of Key and Lock, to the dizzying pace and frenetic energy of Chew Tobacco, Spit, and even a chaotic visit to the Waterparks of America (and Other Places, Too), Zookraught has adeptly transcribed the magic of their live shows that has developed for them a cult-like following in the Seattle punk scene. To the listener willing to let go and Get Zooked, Vida Violet is the album of the year.” - Jocelyn Crafts on Zookraught’s album VIDA VIOLET, out now!

THE EMPTY PAGE

Born in a humdrum town, Manchester alt-punkers The Empty Page started life in a freezing cold rehearsal space in a former cotton mill. Their anxious, energetic songs address heavy subjects like victim blaming, toxic anti-ageing rhetoric, and the end of the (f***ing) world but also bed rot, disco nostalgia, and house cats.

Fiercely independent, the band has released two LPs on its own DIY label. Unfolding, recorded with Gggarth Richardson (L7/Biffy Clyro/RATM) in Vancouver Canada, and Imploding produced by Morton Kong (Orielles/Everything Everything) in Stockport.

Between albums, a trio of 7-inch singles were released on bedroom label Punk Fox, and more recently, another trio, recorded with Matt Peel (Eagulls, Dream Wife, Bodega) at Nave Studios, a former church in Leeds. These catapulted the band beyond their cult status, with recent single A Feminine Ending shared by rock legends Courtney Love of the band Hole and Shirley Manson from Garbage.

THE RED STAINS

Cooking up a plastic fantastic disco-punk sound from a collage of musical influences, Manchester four-piece The Red Stains embrace the kitsch and the tacky as a power to disrupt the male-dominated music industry. Their sharp and sarcastic lyrics hold a mirror up to domestic everyday life: consumerism, mental illness, public transport, discount supermarkets and being queer.

Forming the Red Stains’ distinctive ready-meal-punk sound are four ingredients: Natalie Lauren’s fiery and powerful vocals hang over a backdrop of Sterling Kelly’s gritty, throbbing bass, Robyn Elliott’s drum beats that demand your attention and newly added into the mix; Liss Connelly’s cosmic synthesisers that shapeshift like shimmering stardust on nuclear alert to create the familiar ‘Red Stains’ chaos. Turn your microwaves up, turn the volume up, turn the hoover on and get ready to dance your socks off.

MUTT

A selection of janky riffs and melodic bass lines, seamlessly blending atmosphere and groove with a political message! Preston-based band MUTT make motivated music for motivated people. No love songs here!

HUMMUS

Lancaster four-piece Hummus blend prog-metal precision with funked-up grooves and leftfield pop hooks, serving up technically sharp original music packed with odd time signatures, soaring guitar work and plenty of personality.

DREW YOUNG

Music enthusiast.

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The Ferret is 20! - Launch Weekend

FREE ENTRY ALL DAYERS

Sat 23rd + Sun 24th May 2026

3pm - late

The Ferret, Preston

Claim your free tickets at theferret.live/tfi20

Sat 23rd May:

MAN OF MOON
THE DSM IV
OORYA
THOSE FKKKKNG SNOWFLAKES
TRIANGLECUTS
POCKETKNIFE

Sun 24th May:

LOOSE ARTICLES
ZOOKRAUGHT (usa)
THE EMPTY PAGE
THE RED STAINS
MUTT
HUMMUS
DREW YOUNG

_________________

All ages welcome (under 18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult).

Accessible ground-floor venue & facilities.

Dog-friendly venue.