Factory International has appointed of Rivca Burns as its new head of music.
Burns will take on responsibility for Factory International’s year-round music programme at Manchester’s Aviva Studios, as well as the rich music offer for the biennial city-wide Manchester International Festival (MIF).
For the past 15 years, Burns has been a freelance creative producer, working as director of From the Other, home to pioneering new music and art festival Sounds From the Other City in Salford, the experimental Fat Out Fest, and music residency programme Samarbeta. She also co-chairs the Greater Manchester Music Commission and sits on the Board of Manchester Music Cities.
Since 2019, Burns has produced and programmed Festival Square for Manchester International Festival, transforming it into an essential destination for free live music (the 2023 edition featured over 190 performers and drew 83,000 visitors). In 2021 she was recognised as Local Hero for her contribution to Grassroots music at the AIM Awards.
Burns has been acting head of music for Factory International since January 2024 and has already programmed a range of events at Aviva Studios such as the first show from ANONHI and the Johnsons in ten years, a three-day residency from cultural icon and pop superstar Janelle Monáe, and a two day in-the-round residency with Mercury Prize winner Sampha – his first in the city since 2018 – featuring performances from local artists The KTNA, DJ Paulette and Isaiah Hull.
Burns will develop a year-round programme across the music spectrum for the unique and versatile spaces at Aviva Studios, including in-house concerts and collaborations with local and national promotors, as well as the biennial festival.
Working with teams across the organisation, she will build on the venue’s exceptional welcome for audiences and artists, making the most of what has been widely praised as an acoustically-outstanding new space. She will also lead Factory International’s work supporting emerging artists, including talent development initiative Factory Sounds.
Burns said: “I’m really excited and honoured to be taking on such a huge role within a thriving musical community that I care so deeply about, and which has supported and nurtured me for nearly two decades. I bring with me an authentic and collaborative attitude, a passion and a drive to really challenge audience expectations of what live music can be.
“Factory International and Aviva Studios are world-class and working with musicians from across the world, the UK and locally to thrive, experiment and wow audiences is going to be a truly exciting adventure.”
Upcoming highlights include Gogo Penguin, who are teaming up with London-based cognitive design studio TENENTNET, to showcase a brand-new audio-visual experience ‘Apophenia’ (Sept 18); a celebration of South Asian artistry and transcendental musical fusion with Jaubi & Tara Lily and partners Dialled In (Oct 2); and Grammy-winning vocalist and experimental jazz musician Arooj Afrab in the Hall (Oct 12). In the Warehouse, award-winning indie folk artist Ben Howard celebrates ten years of his landmark album I Forgot Where We Were (October 21); Fontaines D.C. play a sold out three night run in support of their fourth album Romance (November 29- December 1), and pop-punk legends Bowling for Soup tour A Hangover You Don’t Deserve twenty years on (February 8, 2025).
