Homobloc is returning to Depot Mayfield with salute, LSDXOXO, Romy and more

Homobloc has revealed the line-up for its return to Depot Mayfield this autumn, welcoming performers, clubbers and spectators to band together on one dancefloor on Saturday, November 4, from 2:PM to 4:AM.

Always a full throttle spectacle with a focus on queer performers, this year sees Homobloc branch into an unseen roof space at the top of Depot Mayfield, where headliners Horse Meat Disco will be hosting a tight-knit takeover. The new space will also be home to cinema screening, in-session podcasts, talks, acoustic performances, pop up shops and more.

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The event has been curated with the help of LGBTQ+ collectives throughout the UK such as drag, DJ and dance collective Ghetto Fabulous, Creatures run by performer Beau Azra, Mischief by Banksie, Cavalcade and Drag Kings of Manc.

The heavyweight headliners for this year include Mercury Prize nominee Jessie Ware, the iconic electroclash artist Peaches, and Australian electro pop band Confidence Man. Other talented occupiers of headline spots include SHERELLE b2b I. Jordan, LSDXOXO, The Blessed Madonna, Romy, salute and David Morales.

Further names on this year's roster include the enticing band Girls Of The Internet, energetic Mancunian DJ-producer Gina Breeze and jungle-rave fusionist DJ Soyboi

Homobloc promoter Rod Connolly said: “It’s with great pleasure we unveil the most adventurous Homobloc line-up to date. For 2023 we have straddled the edges of queer culture to introduce fresh new sounds and textures from the alternative music scene, aligning them with some of the biggest names in electronic and dance music to create a unique international party busting with nitty-gritty northern queer energy.”

“The LGBTQ+ community has experienced another challenging year”, they continued, particularly our Trans siblings who are facing a relentless wave of discrimination. Trans rights and liberation are under real threat and in response we are growing our charity partners this year to offer much needed resources deep within the Trans community. We are also working on a cultural spaces charity partnership to support independent artists and creatives within the Salford and Greater Manchester area.”

Last year Homobloc faced criticism by local promoters High Hoops, who accused the event of being “owned by and benefitting cis straight men”, calling for great transparency on how the profits are used to benefit LGBTQ+ organisations. Their full statement added: "We think that a queer event of this size and involving this much money in our city should be predominantly run by and on the feedback of queer people who live this life everyday in our community."

In April this year, Homobloc published a breakdown of how the £47,000 it raised from the 2022 event was raised, which was split between partner charities LGBT Foundation, George House Trust, The Proud Trust and The Greater Manchester LGBTQ+ Community Fund.

Read this next: Sweet Salvation: How Homobloc took the queer underground to new heights

Pre-sale access becomes active from Thursday, August 3, and can be accessed through subscribing to the Homoelectric family here. General sale access goes live on August 4.

Tiffanie Ibe is Mixmag’s Digital Intern, follow her on Instagram