New Order, The Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets and more to host stalls at Manchester Merch Market 

A new wave of artists have been confirmed for the Manchester Merch Market 2025, with New Order, The Charlatans, Inspiral Carpets and more set to appear at their own stalls.

• READ MORE: Soundtrack Of My Life: Tim Burgess

News of the market was first shared last month, when it was confirmed that Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess had organised an event where bands could sell their merchandise for free and keep 100 per cent of the income.

Taking place on May 25 from 11am, entry to the market is free and will see a number of artists run their own stalls and sell their own merchandise to fans. For Burgess, his stall will contain a number of rarities that he’s collected over the years, five Charlatans ‘Sproston Green’ sports bags and more, and he will also deliver a live show at the event.

Participating venues holding stalls, live performances and on-stage interviews include O2 Ritz Manchester, Gorilla, Dog Bowl and more.

Now, NME can exclusively reveal that a huge number of artists have been confirmed as taking part in Merch Market 2025 including New Order, A Certain Ratio, BMX Bandits, Inspiral Carpets and more.

The solo artists and members of each band will be appearing at the event, running the stalls themselves, selling merchandise to fans, and taking part in other activities across the site.

For New Order, drummer Stephen Morris and keyboardist/guitarist Gillian Gilbert will be hosting the stall, as well as doing an on-stage interview with Dave Haslam.

Discussing the event, organiser Tim Burgess said:  “Merch is a key element that can help bands thrive and survive in a world where income from actual music is lower than ever. The Merch Market is a commission-free zone where bands can set up shop and sell direct to fans.

“No fees, everything kept by the artists for whatever they want to spend it on – more to announce soon but I’ve texted lots of friends in bands and it’s going to be a brilliant day.”

He continued: “I can’t quite believe what’s happened with The Merch Market – a new order stall with Stephen and Gillian doing an on-stage interview would be enough for me but so many amazing artists got in touch, from bona fide legends to younger bands taking their first steps. Still lots of exciting stuff to announce too. See you in Manchester at the end of May.”

Check out the full list of artists and businesses taking part below.

We were going to announce the first wave of bands involved in The Merch Market this morning. But it’s so good everyone would have thought it was an April Fool’s Day trick Read More