Animal Crossing @ Progress review: a thrilling underground alternative

It’s tough to compete with Manchester Pride, one of the city’s biggest events of the year, where crowds flood the streets with bright, joyous colours and rainbow flags. But this year, Animal Crossing was an underground alternative, away from the hectic central Manchester streets. 

It is hard to imagine that The Progress Centre ceased to exist three years ago. Part of the Connecting Dots Group - a network of venues across Manchester,  including The Loft and Secret Warehouse - Progress delivered a well-curated day and night party for the final weekend of Summer. The event was organised by Animal Crossing, a music and arts collective that hosts parties across the globe. For each event, a new location is chosen to create a fresh narrative for the dance floor with this bank holiday's performances showcasing an energetic myriad of house music.

Bunney, Hamish and Toby, Garrett David, Fumiya Tanaka, Kolter, Truly Madly, Melody, Joey Jackson and the iconic Dr Banana made up the diverse lineup.The venue itself was on the outskirts of the city on an industrial estate with factory chimneys that created a quintessentially Mancunian setting. A waft of a burger van and the pour of an IPA greeted attendees on arrival - British summer at its very best.  

An intimate atmosphere was established early on, with the stage framed by two red brick walls. The opening set came from Bunney, a Manchester-based DJ who deviated away from their usual sound, leaning into dub and deep house that served as a relaxed opener. “A venue like this really cares about their setup. It made my set so smooth, it went really well” she said just after her set.

The legendary Dr Banana followed, performing B2B with Dimension Festival curators Hamish and Toby. They blended classic house and garage, and at this point, the venue was rammed. Garrett David was to follow with a live performance. His rig, a complicated sound box of wires and buttons was switched with the traditional DJ set up to create an entirely live, synthesised performance, impressively produced on the spot. Later, Fumiya Tanaka brought intense Japanese techno to club-goers before Kolter closed the night. 

As the sun set, the party carried on for those still keen to dance. Sister venue, The Loft was the site of ‘The Afters’. A high point was certainly Dr Banana’s second set of the day, this time with Truly Madly. The duo played spicy unreleased dubs that had the crowd moving to songs they had likely never heard before. The vibe was certainly heavier, which flowed into a closing set from one of Animal Crossing Collective’s nearest and dearest, Joey Jackson. 

Animal Crossing offered a refreshing, well-curated alternative night over the bank holiday weekend. Whilst Manchester Pride remained unrivalled on scale, Animal Crossing provided an intimate experience with a great lineup and fantastic vibe. 

For more club nights and raves from across the UK, check out our UK Rave Guide Inspire Me page. 

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.