Let The People In! Interview: “Everyone there is there for the party”

Let The People In! Is one of Manchester's very best hidden gems. A night that came about through the collaboration of record label and promoter Sprechen and Sticky Heat, which made its debut last year, Let The People In! is a community-focused street party found at The Yard, an awesome industrial space in Cheetham Hill. 

Conjured up by Marco Giannini (Sticky Heat), Chris Massey (Sprechen), and Sticky Heat resident Muddy Feet, the event channels the ethos of the two brands, creating a safe, accepting space for their community of clued-up ravers of all ages. Whilst also crafting a bill of forward-thinking artists, the like of which Manchester rarely get to see play.

With Let The People In! 2024 on the Horizon, we caught up with one of the event organisers Marco Giannini to chat about the second edition of the event, the success of their debut last year, the ethos behind it all, and what it means to provide an inclusive space that caters for both the older and younger raver, in a scene saturated away from the grassroots. Check out what he had to say below!  

Hi Marco, so, how did the idea for ‘Let The People In’ first come about?

"Sticky Heat and Sprechen have been running for nearly 5 and 10 years respectively and we both share a musical and community ethos so it felt natural for us to collaborate.

"Then when Sticky Heat moved to the Yard and we saw their incredible outdoor space we felt we found the perfect place to do this.

"Add to that Kirby (Muddy Feet) who is a resident at Sticky Heat, and alongside myself and (Chris) Massey who makes up the trio behind the event.

"As for the venue at The Yard. It’s an industrial setting, off the beaten track and a stunning venue – really a bit of a hidden gem in the city. Because of this, you don’t tend to get many people wandering in off the street. So it’s a very safe space for our crowd to come down and cut loose. Everyone there is there for the party."

Image: Marco Giannini (Left), Chris Massey (Centre), and Muddy Feet (Right) - organisers of Let The People In

How would you describe ‘Let The People In’ to someone who has never been?

"It’s a community-focused street party. We don’t do labels or tribes, but instead want to provide a safe space for anyone to come down. If you are warm and welcoming and hold no prejudice, be it racism, homophobia, transphobia or ageism then you’re one of us.

"I was always inspired by SpeedQueen in Leeds, which was where I held my first residency in the early 00s. That was an LGBTQ+ night, but if you were an ally you were made to feel welcome. That’s what we want from Let The People In! Everyone is welcome if your attitude is right."

It’s the second edition of ‘Let The People In’ and this time around you’re going bigger and better with two indoor arenas as well as the yard, how will this bigger space look and feel?

"For last year we focused predominantly on the outdoor space. The indoor main room was open but really just as a chill-out area and we didn’t make the most potential of it.

"For 2024 we are again having the outside Yard as our main room. However, this year we are opening the inside room (where we typically throw our parties for the rest of the year) as a second room which will be hosted by Sons of Chorlton, FreakOUT and Suffragette City who will provide the music and we will have pop-ups from the likes of Never Make Waste, Sprechen and also Suffragette City."

Image: Outside Yard at last year's Let The People In!

The night is a collaboration between your brands Sticky Heat and Sprechen, how do you channel the ethos of both brands within ‘Let The People In’

"This is quite easy and transferable. We both place a heavy emphasis on community as we have always felt that it is the people on the dancefloor that make the best parties and all of the best parties that we can think of be it Electric Chair to Tribal Sessions, SpeedQueen to The Social Service have always led on that crowd and community feeling that really makes the nights stand out from the rest I feel.

"Community is the foundation of all of the great nights. When people reflect on the greatest clubs over the years, it’s always the ones that were known for their crowds.

"So for Let the People In! this is just a celebration of that. Everyone coming together for 12 hours and partying.

"You could come down on your own and not feel out of place or left out. From the second you step through the door, you’re in a warm, welcoming, friendly place.

"The music’s not too shabby either!"

Community seem to be at the heart of what you guys are doing, and your community seems to be made up of a mixed age range of more clued-up ravers, how have you cultivated such a community, and how important is it for you guys to keep doing so?

"I think the emphasis is on the musically clued up. That doesn’t necessarily come down to age. Because of our ethos, we have everyone through the door, from 20-year-olds tired of a dancefloor full of mobile phones to stalwarts of the scene.

"Straight or gay, black or white. The core element that brings everyone together is that desire for a safe space where people can feel free to be who they are without fear of what other people will say or think.

"We do feel we have the best community out there and over the years we’ve seen it grow and evolve. Our crowd trust us to put on the best lineups, and know that they’ll be surrounded by friends, so our parties always feel like an event or a celebration.

"It’s wonderful for us to see friendships and relationships formed from the club, and it’s always brilliant to see new faces joining our regulars."

Your lineups continue to be forward-thinking and progressive in the music department, how do you go about crafting your lineups?

"Sticky Heat was born from a desire to focus on the incredible DJs and artists that rarely or in some cases had never played in Manchester, and we wanted to adopt a music policy that would focus on this. Chris’s Sprechen has a similar ethos.

"Then there is also Kirby (Muddy Feet) who is one of the Sticky Heat residents and the third part of our trio of promoters for Let The People In!

"Between the three of us we’ve been DJing for over 50 years and are totally absorbed in the electronic music scene. Therefore everyone we book be it for Sticky Heat, Sprechen or Let The People In! is based on the three of us knowing what we think would work well on the dancefloor.

"We don’t pay attention to Instagram followers or other social media stats. Our bookings are based on our knowledge of music and the scene, who we feel hasn’t played in Manchester and who would be really exciting for our crowd.

"On a personal level, as a 46-year-old married father with a 9-year-old, I also use the babysitter gauge. In that what do I think would make the sort of lineup that would make me get a babysitter for the night?

"Basically, each party we do has to feel like an event from top to bottom and something that we feel stands out from the rest."

Is there anyone on the bill for this edition that you are particularly excited about?

"The Norwegian electronic music scene has always run through our nights, be it the music you will hear in the club, or acts we’ve booked such as Lindstrom (who has so far played twice, including the launch party for Sticky Heat).

"So Prins Thomas is someone that we’ve been wanting to get over for years now and we’re so excited that we’re finally making it happen.

"There’s a holy trinity of Norwegian musicians in our opinion. Lindstrom, Prins Thomas and Todd Terje. So to now have Prins Thomas play for us will be amazing… and a three-hour extended set to boot.

"Then we need to look at how to get all three on the same lineup next…

"And we’re also super excited to welcome back Alinka as well. She played for Sticky Heat at the Carlton Club back in 2022 and she just blew everyone away. Her set is easily regarded by us and also our crowd as one of the best at the club. So she’s someone we wanted to bring back and we can’t wait to see her in that amazing outdoor space."

Having cultivated an audience that is a bit older, do you feel like parties for such an audience can often go overlooked? If so, why do you think this is?

"I guess we need to look at ageism in the scene first off. It does feel that this is still considered an acceptable prejudice in some quarters, and it does need to stop.

"There’s maybe also a misconception that nights that attract an older crowd will be heritage nights, but that’s absolutely not the case with what we do.

"From our perspective, we’ve taken inspiration from the nights mentioned above in the likes of Electric Chair or Tribal Sessions where musically they were just incredible and over time these nights built such a solid reputation that people would trust who was on the lineup even if it wasn’t someone, they were aware of before.

"We would say the common denominator with our crowd is how clued up they are musically. Yes, we do attract an older crowd, but you’ll see 20-year-olds sharing the dancefloor with 50- or 60-year-olds, so it’s incredibly mixed and diverse.

As for do these nights get the attention that they should then I think the simple answer is no. There seems to be too much attention focused solely on huge warehouse parties and festivals these days and the grassroots, DIY scenes that we feel are the most exciting places to be don’t get the attention that they really should or deserve.

Do you think changing this comes down to the availability of more nights like your own, or something else?

"The clubs, the scene and the crowd are already there and more parties are appearing every day. However, we need the spotlight shining on it more to help people know that it exists and where to find it."

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