PHOTOS: Winona Fighter – Deaf Institute, Manchester – 19/05/2025

Winona Fighter are one of those bands you’d really love to see succeed, and it’s good that that seems to be happening. For a stripe of pop-punk that’s taken pride in chunky, turn-of-the-millennial presence (i.e. the polar opposite of what most pop-punk has been like in the 2020s), seeing them really begin to move and catch on is a little heartwarming. Of course, context definitely matters there. If you’re looking at them solely within the micro-space of the Deaf Institute’s smaller room, there mightn’t be much to go on. From the view of this as their first ever UK show and part of a run-up to Slam Dunk Festival at the end of the week, however, it’s a different story. That’s the litmus test for Winona Fighter, and one they’ve got every chance in the world of passing. So, with that next big jump on the horizon, Dean Cavanagh headed over to Manchester to catch their running start.

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Big Problem

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Winona Fighter

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Photos by Dean Cavanagh (Instagram)