Lockdown restrictions are lifting and the sunshine is out. Summer is definitely getting closer now – and that inimitable festival feelingis finally within reach.
For most of us, raving in a big field with a thumping soundtracks alongside thousands of others is a distant memory – with the vast majority of large-scale events cancelled for well over a year.
But there’s hope for the future – and loads of mint day festivals have been pencilled in to take place in summer 2021 and beyond.
We’ve put together a list of the biggest events up to an hour’s(ish) drive from Greater Manchester. Here are some of our top picks that still have tickets remaining.*
Newsam Park, Temple Newsam, Leeds – Saturday 10 July
The brand-new open-air festival Newsam Park festival was due to take place in July last year – but was cancelled for obvious reasons. They’re having another go on Saturday 10 July with a scaled down version but packed with all the same big-name house and techno DJs.
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On the former site of the Cocoon in the Park festival at Temple Newsham in Leeds, there’ll be two stages featuring the likes of Jamie Jones, Denis Sulta, Sven Vath, Mella Dee and Nightmares on Wax throughout the day.
Acropolis, Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire – Saturday 31 July
Aerial view of the grounds and ruins of Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire / Image: Acropolis
Another new one for 2021 is Acropolis which will make its debut at Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire on Saturday 31 July.
The ruins of the castle will provide a moody and atmospheric setting for this techno-fuelled day. Alan Fitzpatrick, Eats Everything, Enzo Siragusa, Pawsa and Manchester’s own Mason Collective are confirmed to play, with support yet to be announced.
Mardi Gras, Roundhay Park, Leeds – Saturday 14 August
Mardi Gras at Leeds’ Roundhay Park is yet another exciting new addition to the 2021 festival calendar on Saturday 14 August.
There’ll be two full-size festival production stages hosting everything from local acts to global names.
The lineup is yet to be announced so keep an eye out for that. Tickets are already running low, get yours on Skiddle here.
Retro In The Park, Burnley – Saturday 28 August
After a bit of nostalgic house music? Burnley’s Retro In The Park festival should do the trick.
On Saturday 28 August, there’ll be three arenas of music at Towneley Park, each with a different vibe.
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The UK’s largest house classics event, Retro, will take over Arena 1, with Roger Sanchez and Graeme Park taking the headline spots.
Some of best 90s artists will be taking the stage over in Arena 2. Think: N-Trance, Nightcrawlers and K-Klass.
Arena 3 will also see the Angels Reunion with Stu Allan, Rob Tissera and Matt Bell.
General admission and VIP are still available on Skiddle here.
Wile Out Festival, Burnley – Sunday 29 August
Again at Burnley’s Towneley Park, Wile Out Festival on bank holiday Sunday is boasting a massive bass and house lineup featuring some huge artists like DJ EZ, Mistajam and James Hype on the main stage, alongside Sigma, Tom Zanetti, Flava D and Bad Boy Chiller Crew at the bass stage.
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Sam Divine, Low Steppa and Huxley will also take on the Cuckoo Land stage to provide the house energy.
People sat around the Highest Point festival sign /Image: Highest Point
Up in Lancaster, across two days on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 September, will be Highest Point.
Following the success of the 2019 weekender, the festival will return for another instalment at Williamson Park later this year.
Friday will see DJ sets from Rudimental and Wilkinson, alongside performances from Becky Hill and Ella Eyre. Then, there’ll be tons more house and tech from the likes of Richy Ahmed, Josh Butler, Seb Zito, Monki and East End Dubs.
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On the Saturday, Rag’N’Bone Man takes the headline slot and there’ll be music from Clean Bandit, plus cracking sets from Hybrid Minds, Friction and Dimension to make up the drum and bass offerings.
Another one just down the M62 in Leeds is Mint festivalon Saturday 25 September.
Now in its tenth year, the festival promises to be the biggest and best edition yet, at its new home of Newsam Green Farm, located just 10 minutes outside the city centre.
There’ll be four arenas of techno, house and tech house which will see Leeds’ faves Patrick Topping, Eats Everything and Darius Syrossian on the decks, alongside Amelie Lens, East End Dubs, Elliot Adamson and Enzo Siragusa.
Sandwell Valley Country Park in the Midlands will play host to the famous elrow on 25 and 26 September.
There’ll be the usual confetti, inflatables and carnival madness and whilst the lineup is yet to be announced, they always curate the biggest and best parties so it’s well worth grabbing a ticket here.
Cream Classical on the Waterfront, Liverpool – Saturday 18 September
Liverpool’s iconic Pier Head will be home to “Cream Classical on the Waterfront” for an open-air event on Saturday 18 September. The show will bring together a 50-piece orchestra who will perform an extra special live set curated by K-Klass.
Between 12pm and 11pm, there’ll be sets from legends Basement Jaxx, Faithless, Seb Fontaine and Tall Paul.
Stay up to date with Manchester music and events with The Manc Audio.
*Tickets available at time of publishing.
Featured image: Elrow
Gigs & Nightlife
Tyler, The Creator at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for CHROMAKOPIA tour
Thomas Melia
Tyler, The Creator is returning to Manchester and playing in the city’s newest live entertainment venue, Co-op Live.
The last time Tyler – or Mr Creator, if you will – found himself in our gorgeous city was just over two years ago when he headlined Parklife, sharing the bill with 50 Cent and Megan Thee Stallion as well as many more.
Now, he is playing his magnificent ‘CHROMAKOPIA’ album live as part of his world tour of the same name at none other than Co-op Live.
Tyler, The Creator gig guide
Tyler, The Creator is playing Co-op Live, Manchester, on 27 and 28 May.Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Tyler, The Creator UK tour dates
Sat 17 May – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Mon 19 May – London, UK – The O2
Wed 21 May – London, UK – The O2
Thu 22 May – London, UK – The O2
Tue 27 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Wed 28 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Fri 30 May – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Sat 31 May – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tyler, The Creator tickets for Co-op Live gig
If you’re after catching Mr Creator live in the flesh, this one might be tricky as there’s a hefty amount of people wanting to do the same thing, tickets for his 27 May show can be found HERE.
It’s a good thing he’s playing two dates otherwise getting your hands on tickets might’ve been sticky, you can browse all the options for 28 May date HERE.
Tyler, The Creator set list
St. Chroma
Rah Tah Tah
Noid
Darling, I
I Killed You
Judge Judy
Sticky
Take Your Mask Off
Tomorrow
EARFQUAKE
I THINK
Yonkers
Tron Cat
She
Tamale
Rusty
IFHY
LUMBERJACK
I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE
DOGTOOTH
SORRY NOT SORRY
Who Dat Boy
WUSYANAME
Thought I Was Dead
Like Him
See You Again
NEW MAGIC WAND
I Hope You Find Your Way Home
There are three tracks that act as interludes throughout the show too: ‘IGOR’S THEME’, ‘A BOY IS A GUN’ and ‘THANK YOU’.
What are the stage times for Tyler, The Creator in Manchester?
Tyler, The Creator is coming to Manchester and we’re sure he’ll be wearing something equally snazzy.
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm meaning the ‘Flower Boy’ has enough time to sing ‘I Hope You Find Your Way Home’ while you get under the covers before midnight.
Anyone attending can expect the doors to open at 6pm with a kick-off time of 8pm and support from local Manchester talent Just Yaz hyping the crowd up beforehand.
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
Getting there by car and parking
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide come event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Featured Images – Wikimedia Commons / Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Gigs & Nightlife
Why you should go to this hidden music festival in a garden centre
Thomas Melia
Manchester’s only direct-from-garden-centre music event, Green Island Festival, is returning with free tickets, big charity projects and more.
Now in its fifth year, Green Island Festival is back for 2025 and its set to be bigger and better than ever before, spread across three dates throughout the summer.
The lineup is as diverse as ever bringing in a range of acts from all over the globe such as Australia to local grassroots talents that deserve a turn in the spotlight.
I sat down with the event organisers for this one-of-a-kind music festival George and Stephan to find out why you should go to this hidden music festival in a garden centre.
What makes your festival different from any other?
George: Definitely the garden centre aspect. There’s an escapism element to it and we’re also doing pretty well at championing the grassroots scene, giving people a platform to showcase their music. We’re trying to not be super focused on one specific type of music or genre this feeds through to our lineups.
Stephan: We’ve been lucky being able to attract different age ranges from 18 and 19 all the way up to 50 and 60 year olds. The people are what make it what it is and they’ve stuck with us from day dot really, it’s one big community. Managing to get a very diverse lineup in place is important too.
Georgegetting the crowd hyped at Green Island Festival.Music festival in a Manchester garden centre? We’re in.
Who came up with the idea to host a festival in a garden centre?
Stephan: George. He walked past the garden centre and thought that’s the perfect place.
We didn’t know we didn’t know each other at first then George found my page (Me Gusta Collective) and I was fully up for it straight away, and since then we’ve been best friends. And, like, I’ve called him like, my best friend.
Manchester is known for its love of music, how did you guys fall in love with music and then eventually fall in love with festival organising?
George: It’s always come pretty naturally to both of us. Stephan’s done lots of work with Band on the Wall and I did various bits at Freight Island and Canvas when it was still open. Our favourite part is when we’re planning and scheming the flow of the festival and lineup.
Stephan: I guess our love of different types of music comes from our upbringings really. I listened to a lot of salsa and my dad used to throw events when I was a kid with family members so creating events has always been around me. I started my first night when I was 19 in Germany after I fell in love with house music and electronic music in Manchester so I feel like the path to creating events has always been laid out but it took me a while to make a living out of it.
Good vibes only at Green Festival Island 2025.Stephanperforming under his DJ alias Atiké.
Stephan, you’ve been a long time supporter of indie artists and local venues, working at band on the wall yourself. So how important is it for you to see local artists reflected in Green Island’s lineup?
Stephan: It’s so important to us. We’ve got the marquee stage which is all about local acts and our bandstand stage too. There’s High Hoops [A Manchester-based Queer club night], which has been going for years now, and same goes to Eves’Drop Collective [A group of female DJs from across the UK] that have been doing bits for such a long time, and Ruf Dug who is a no brainer for the lineup.
George: When it comes to headliners there’s only a handful per day and the rest of Green Island [Festival] is pretty much grassroots music. Paying a fortune for each act isn’t the only way to bring a lot of people together and sell a lot tickets, people are interested in grassroots more than ever.
Tickets are quite reasonably priced, too, with children and under 13’s getting free entry, what made you decide to offer this?
Stephan: We want to make this festival available for families so you would have to pay for every kid to get in, it ends up being so expensive.
George: We worked pretty hard on finding the perfect price point for the festival so it can operate but not break the bank because it’s pretty crazy how expensive tickets are getting now.
Children and under 13’s can get into Green Island Festival for free.The wonderful Green Island Festival team.
What made you choose a lineup that spans lots of different sounds, rather than sticking to a few main genres?
Stephan: We come from a background of music purists who listened to lots of records to a lot of records. I was listening to African bands who are fully authentic much like grassroots music it’s raw. , raw, it’s fresh. We’ve been able to come up with a lineup that fuses African music, Latin music, sounds from the Middle East with ska, house, drum and bass, even jazz. We know exactly what we want to hear.
George: It’s the appreciation of music across the spectrum, there’s so many different facets to it, and we programme a solid lineup that incorporates all of them. We love a challenge and we love feeding the energy throughout the day, leading to the last little crescendo at the end.
You also give attendees the option to donate £1 to Eat Well MCR with every ticket bought, how important is this charity to the pair of you?
George: We know Kathleen [Co-founder of Eat Well MCR] quite well, she’s always been a huge supporter of us so we do what we can to support whatever she’s got going on. We managed to raise quite a bit of money for them last year. Also, when you’re buying food from our vendors you can add a donation for this initiative which last year 90% of everybody that ordered food added on £1 or more which was very nice to see.
We also work with Play It Green where we have a levy on our ticket and 50% goes to them so they can plant trees around the world. We want to make our festival more sustainable in the long term and eventually be net zero.
Stephan I know you also have a DJ alias, Atiké, how excited are you to play the festival alongside all acts?
Stephan: I can’t wait, I’m doing a b2b set with Little O who is amazing. I met her on Bandcamp, now we’re playing together. I went all over Dublin to see her and because I grew up in Ireland it’s quite nice to kind of reconnect with that side of me. I asked her if she fancied doing a b2b set with me and she was all for it. We bounce off each other so well.
If you could describe green album festival in three words, what would you choose? George: Inclusive, friendly, vibrant. Stephan: Sunshine, diversity and friendship.
Tickets for ‘Green Island Festival 2025’ range from full price to low-income and neighbours tickets at just £12.50 and entry for children under 13 completely FREE – Get ready to grab your tickets for Green Island 2025 HERE.
Hannah Starkie -
4th June 2021 
