Through The Lens: Faetooth & Cwfen @ The Star & Garter, Manchester, 18th June 2025
On a sweltering summer night in Manchester back on the 18th June last year, The Star & Garter, affectionately dubbed the Temple Of Doom, played host to an unforgettable evening of heavy, hypnotic sounds, courtesy of local promoter The Beauty Witch.
Opening the night was Cwfen, the dark, brooding act hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, whose haunting melodies and creeping rhythms immediately set a moody tone.
Their set unfolded like a slow-motion nightmare, mesmerising and unnerving in equal measure. The oppressive heat only intensified the feeling of descent into something ancient and uncanny, as if the venue itself were alive, breathing in sync with the drone of the amps.
Headlining were Los Angeles-based fairy doom purveyors Faetooth, whose ethereal yet crushing set turned the venue’s sauna-like atmosphere into something almost ritualistic. Their unique blend of dreamy vocals, sludgy guitars and pounding drums washed over the sweat-drenched crowd, each note lingering like incense smoke in the thick, humid air.
By the end of the night, the venue was a furnace of shared catharsis. As the final notes rang out, fans staggered into the warm night air dazed by the weight and wonder of what they’d just witnessed. This wasn’t just a gig, it was a fever dream of doom, sweat, and spell craft. Now check out the photos from the night capturing every hazy doom moment…
Faetooth
Cwfen
Photos by: Lee Edwards
