If Manchester International Festival is remembered for doing one thing very differently in 2011, it will be the zeal with which it took over outdoor spaces.This year, several major events have been deliberately designed to be in your face: from the massive kids events like The Crash Of The Elysium and Music Boxes in Salford Quays and MediaCity UK to major arts and music shows from Wu Lyf and John Gerrard staged in Manchester city centre.

One MIF regular who knows the benefits of being involved at the very visible end of the festival’s schedule is DJ and author Dave Haslam. Following the success of his True Faith event in 2009, Dave is again chief DJ programmer in the Festival Pavilion throughout MIF – a tent in Albert Square that has become the focal point for some of the most memorable and spontaneous moments in previous years.

A series of 'in conversation' events and live showcases, True Faith brings together music icons and the latest and greatest local bands under one giant, canvas roof in a celebration of Manchester’s cultural landscape –past and present.

Around that, free daily DJ events fill the space with music all day – including turns from Dave himself as well as The Specials’ Terry Hall and club nights Contort Yourself and Pull Yourself Together (July 1-17).

In previous years, True Faith has put Guy Garvey, John Thomson and Lemn Sissay in the hot seat, plus live gigs from Everything Everything, (the sadly recently defunct) Run Toto Run, Dutch Uncles and Delphic. And in 2011, the line-up is no less impressive. For his Close Up talks, Dave has signed up New Order frontman Bernard Sumner, writer and broadcaster Paul Morley, and legendary bassist with Magazine and Nick Cave’s band The Bad Seeds, Barry Adamson.

The live events take place on the nights between the talks, with an impressive line-up announced for each. On July 5, Egyptian Hip-Hop are joined by XXXY and Plank!; July 6 sees LoneLady headline with Silverclub and Air Cav; and, finally, on July 12, Young British Artists and Sudden Glow play alongside one of 2011’s hottest outfits, D/R/U/G/S.

Keeping the core of the line-ups local has been important, says Dave, but it’s more than just a matter of city pride. "Shows in the pavilion are a great spectacle, and the wonderful thing about MIF is that you’re marketing to an audience who are willing to give it a chance," he says.

"There are a lot of local band nights in town all year round that are really good, but to do one that people might just give a real go is great – MIF has a chance of making people watch the show differently.

"All the bands we asked said yes. After the success we had with it in 2009, they see it as an opportunity.

"Having said that, I totally get the international part of MIF, I think it’s really important that it’s not inward looking. MIF is a dialogue between Manchester and the world.

"I remember Ian Brown being quite embarrassed at having ‘Manchester, la la la’ sung at him. He used to say: ‘It’s not where you are, it’s where you’re at’. And there’s a tendency for a festival to be a bit parochial; there’s nothing wrong with being inward looking but once every two years it’s good to be part of the world of ideas rather than just Manchester."

This, though, is not Dave ‘trying to do a Simon Cowell’ and pick bands who he thinks will be next year’s big commercial successes. "That would be self-defeating," he explains.

"If you look back, the great Manchester bands weren’t the ones with the biggest following but they tended to be very well liked on the scene: The Smiths, The Fall, bands that always divided opinion.

"They’re the bands that inspired me, and I wouldn’t dream of inflicting bands on people in True Faith that I wouldn’t like or respect on the level that I respected The Smiths or The Fall.

"The thing I’ve liked most has been sitting down with bands that have no interest in the Happy Mondays or Oasis. There’s a tension between music past and current music and I think that sometimes the oldsters have a totally nostalgic view of the old days and write off what happens now at their peril.

"But sometimes, the young ones have an unhealthy relationship with the past; they buy into it 100 per cent and end up resenting it."

He’s applied the same principle to his choice of Close Up guests, too, choosing three names that he believes complement each other – or, as he puts it, a ‘ménage a trois’ of musical luminaries – but who have always kept the evolving music scene in sight. "I find that line up quite a turn on," he laughs, "they work as a series.

"I could have done Close Up with Bernard Sumner in any major city in the world and sold it out. The local aspect is important, but it’s not the whole story. These people are respected around the world for their work and their opinions."

Dave’s approach to the True Faith performances has always been a bit experimental and lo-fi. But even though his might not be the most expensive event on the schedule ("I mean," he asks, "how much can two men sitting on chairs under a spotlight cost?"), he disagrees with suggestions that the festival is an unnecessary expense for Manchester as cuts take hold of the economy.

"It’s hard for anyone to look at that programme and think the people of Manchester are being short changed or that the programmers don’t know what they’re doing," he argues. "It is genuinely Mancunian and genuinely international.

"The perception of Manchester turning off creatively, a lot of that is perpetuated by people outside the city who just inflict that image on us because they can‘t be bothered to dig any deeper. With this year’s programme, they will have to digest that Manchester is still a creative and inspiring city."

» Truth Faith, Festival Pavilion, from July 4. DJs in the Pavilion, July 1-17 – Yellow, featuring Dave Haslam plus special guests on July 16 is a ticketed event. Tickets for all events: www.mif.co.uk .

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