Conor Michael heads into Aelius Alternative knowing exactly what he wants from the set.
Not just a good reaction. Not just a polite crowd. He wants to be remembered. In his own words, he wants people to come away thinking, “That one with the guitar and loop was alright, I’d go see him again.” It is a simple way of putting it, but it gets right to the point of what a festival slot like this is really about. Get in, make an impression, leave something behind.
And for him, Aelius feels like the right place to try and do that. He says he loves being involved with any festival, but local ones always stand out, and this is one he wanted to be part of because it is known for showcasing local talent. There is a bit of bluntness in the way he talks about that too. He would rather play festivals that are in it for the live feel than ones just putting on the same people because they can. That probably tells you quite a lot about where his head is at going into this one.
For anyone coming across him for the first time on the day, he keeps the description of his sound very straightforward: energetic. He performs solo, but with a loop pedal at his feet, building everything live on stage using guitar and a second mic to create what he calls a live band sound. Nothing is pre-recorded. It all happens there in front of the crowd. His own shorthand for it is probably the best one: “Think Ed Sheeran. But without his bank account.”
That kind of setup suits a festival slot because it gives people something to latch onto quickly. And Conor sounds pretty clear on what he wants the set to do. Asked what people can expect, he says it will probably be the crowd favourites, the songs he knows hook people in straight away. He talks about crowds singing certain songs back word for word at his live shows, so there is already a sense of what lands hardest in a room. He is not looking to reinvent things just because it is a festival crowd either. In his own words, all of his shows are “as energetic as possible,” with the main difference between a festival slot and a headline slot really just coming down to the set length.
That probably matters at Aelius more than most places. On a multi-act bill, you do not get long to make your point. People are moving between stages, catching bits of sets, deciding quickly what they want to stay for. So if you are going to leave an impression, you need something immediate about you. Conor seems to know that already, and his whole setup feels built around it.
There is one song in particular that sounds likely to hit hard. He says there was a point where Come and Kiss Me felt like his signature track, but over the last year Dance in the Rain has become the most popular one. From the way he describes it, people dance, sing and whistle along from first hearing it, which sounds like exactly the kind of reaction you want on a festival bill where everyone is fighting to be remembered.
And that really is the thing he keeps circling back to. Festivals, as he puts it, are huge for artists and the wider North East scene because they give musicians the chance to play to people who actually want to be invested. And people who want to be invested usually leave having found a new favourite act or two. That is clearly what he sees Aelius as: not just another date, but a proper opportunity.
There is new music feeding into that as well. He says he has a new song out on 10 April, a collaboration with Harrison Rimmer, and that he may well add it into the setlist. So the festival slot lands at a good time, right in the middle of things moving forward rather than between them.
One of the biggest steps for him recently has been starting to produce his own music. He says that is new for him. He had usually relied on studios to record before, but is now learning and feels like he is getting there quickly, even if he knows there is still a long way to go. The goal, he says, is to be able to record on his own time rather than waiting on other people’s schedules and the bigger costs that can come with that. It sounds like one of those shifts that matters just as much behind the scenes as it does in the final music.
There is something quite clear in all of that. He is not talking like someone waiting around for things to happen. He is talking like someone trying to build it as he goes, show by show, song by song, figuring out more of it for himself along the way. That suits a festival like Aelius too, because those are usually the sets people remember most — the ones where you can feel someone trying to push things on in real time.
Even once Aelius is done, he is not hanging around. He says he will be straight out the door and heading to Skipton, where he is due on stage at 7pm as part of a UK tour. He admits he would rather stay and watch the rest of the festival, but shrugs it off as part of musician life. Play everywhere. Build new fans. And go again.
That probably sums up his Aelius appearance as well as anything else. Conor Michael sounds like someone who knows exactly what this sort of slot can do if it goes well. Turn up, make an impression, leave people remembering the songs, then get back on the road and keep building.
Aelius Alternative takes place on Saturday 18 April 2026 across The Globe, Head of Steam and Mosaic Tap in Newcastle. Tickets are available via Fatsoma, with prices listed from £17 plus fees. More info can be found on the Aelius Alternative website.
Tickets for Aelius Alternative Festival are available here.