Synthesiser festival with over 60 companies exhibiting, seminars and demos, including a conversation with Cabaret Voltaire members.
SynthFest UK returns to The Octagon on Saturday 24 October, running from 10:30am to 6:00pm. Now in its eighth year, it's the largest event of its kind in the country, bringing together a huge range of synthesizers in one room with the chance to try them and buy them on the day. It's put on by Sound On Sound magazine in partnership with Sensoria Festival, and it runs alongside several other Sensoria events, with SynthFest ticket holders getting a discount on those too.
There are over 60 companies exhibiting, from boutique Eurorack modular brands to the major keyboard names, as well as soft-synth and virtual instrument developers. If you're into the hardware side of things, it's a good place to get hands-on with gear you'd usually only see in reviews. The ticket includes free entry to the seminars and demos throughout the day.
The programme kicks off at 12:00pm with the Electronic Music Open Mic (EMOM) showcase, featuring Hexial (Alex Herington), Lilly Sphire and Estimate Boum (Paul Mattulat), hosted by Brawnywho (Paul). At 2:30pm there's a session on the History of Synthesizers, and at 4:00pm comes the afternoon's centrepiece: Cabaret Voltaire's Stephen Mallinder and Chris Watson in conversation with author and journalist Daniel Dylan Wray. It's a look back at their legacy as electronic music pioneers who started here in Sheffield experimenting with tape loops, Dadaism and industrial sound, and who returned in 2025 to mark 50 years since their first gig. This conversation comes ahead of Mallinder and Watson's final ever concert.
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Advance tickets are £17.99 plus fee, with walk-up tickets £25 on the day. Concessions are £9.90 for students, registered claimants and senior citizens (65+), and children aged 14 to 18 are £7.70, with children under 14 free. The first 200 adult visitors get a free tote bag. It runs from 10:30am to 6:00pm at The Octagon, Sheffield, S10 2HU.
