The festival opens with Manchester's premier SKA band, The Uplifters who have provided their unique Two-Tone SKA sound since 2005. The bands influences include Prince Buster, the Skatalites, the Specials, Bad Manners, Madness and the Selecter. Are you old enough to remember hits like A Message To You Rudy and Ghost Town by the Specials, On My Radio and Three Minute Hero by the Selecter, Guns of Navarone by the Skatalites and My Girl Lollipop, Lip Up Fatty, Special Brew and Ne-Ne-Na-Na-Na-Na-Nu-Nu by Bad Manners? What about Our House, One Step Beyond, My Girl and Baggy Trousers by Madness? All great fun songs delivered by a polished 7 piece SKA band complete with a skanking keyboard, boss horns, and a sweet rhythm section. The band mixes Jamaican music from the early 1960s with American R&B, jazz and funky rhythms to create a unique sound. The band has supported the likes of Bad Manners, The Beat, and Neville Staples in recent times. Over the last two years, the Uplifters has we been busy writing and recording songs for a new debut album, due out later this year