Bluedot festival is finally set to make a return in 2022, with headline performances from Bjork, Groove Armada, Mogwai and Metronomy.
The popular festival at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire has revealed the first wave of its line-up for this July’s event.
Bluedot marries the worlds of music, science and culture in a family-friendly four-day extravaganza.
Both its 2020 and 2021 festivals had to be cancelled, with organisers saying a ‘lack of government support around insurance’ had forced them to call it off.
Bluedot will return in 2022. Credit: Lucas Sinclair
But Bluedot will be back between 21 and 24 July for its fifth instalment.
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There’ll be huge performances beneath the 76-metre-wide Lovell Telescope, which will be lit up with projections as a huge digital artwork for the first time.
Bjork will close this year’s Bluedot in a UK festival exclusive, with a uniquely commissioned performance with the Halle Orchestra.
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Bluedot has revealed its 2022 headliners. Credit: George Harrison
On Friday night, dance act Groove Armada will headline as part of the band’s final live tour.
Scottish post-rockers Mogwai are set to headline the Saturday night, following the release of their Mercury Prize-nominated As The Love Continues.
They’ll be joined on the Saturday evening by Metronomy, who’ll perform tracks from their upcoming seventh album, Small World.
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Bluedot’s now-traditional opening concert on the Thursday evening will see Mercury-nominated Hannah Peel and Paraochestra take to the stage.
Bluedot Festival. Credit: Lucas Sinclair
Bluedot Festival. Credit: George Harrison
Also confirmed on the bill are psychedelic space rockers Spiritualized, current chart-toppers Yard Act, Warp Records mainstay Squarepusher, multi-instrumentalist composer Anna Meredith, the legendary likes of A Certain Ratio and Tim Burgess, and techno producer and creator of the official theme for the 2023 Women’s World Cup Kelly Lee Owens.
Bluedot 2022’s science programme will welcome key speakers including Radio 4’s Jam Al-Khalili, British filmmaker David Olusoga, space scientist Monica Grady, and many more.
Comedians such as Desiree Burch, Olga Koch, Robin Ince and Ahir Shah will also be making appearances as part of the culture programme.
The family-friendly festival will also have curations from Wallace & Gromit creators Aardman Animations and Clangers, and an enormous range of science-focused activities, workshops and live experiments across the Star Fields.
Festival director Ben Robinson said: “After two years away we are thrilled to be able to return with such a unique and diverse line up to the iconic Jodrell Bank for the fifth instalment of bluedot.
“We can’t wait for people to join us beneath the Lovell Telescope in July to experience four days of cosmic adventures which will close with a very special orchestral performance from Björk and The Hallé.”
Dermot Kennedy at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Irish singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy is bringing The Weight Of The Woods tour to Manchester for a night of powerful ballads and bangers.
After busking for a considerable time, Kennedy took to streaming platforms to upload his music before dropping notable tracks like ‘Glory’, ‘Moments Passed, ‘Power Over Me’, ‘Giants’ and more.
Since then, this Irish performer has amassed a total of 9 million monthly listeners and multiple songs with over 100 million streams across three chart-topping albums.
In 2023, Dermot Kennedy teamed up with electronic music group Meduza for a monster of a collaboration titled ‘Paradise’, which peaked at 5 on the UK Official Charts.
Gig guide | Dermot Kennedy at AO Arena, Manchester
Are there any tickets left for Dermot Kennedy at AO Arena?
Hoping for some ‘Better Days’? Well, maybe that can happen by getting the chance to see Dermot Kennedy live on his latest ‘The Weight Of The Woods Tour” in support of his most recent album of the same name, which dropped back in April.
Don’t be ‘Outnumbered’ and grab a ticket or two for Dermot Kennedy on Saturday, 30 May at AO Arena in Manchester HERE.
What are the stage times for Dermot Kennedy in Manchester?
AO Arena has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning you’ll be leaving the venue reminiscing ‘An Evening I Will Not Forget’ before the sun’s up.
Supporting Dermot Kennedy on the night will be some of his fellow countrymen in the form of Irish trio, Amble, who will be taking the Manchester crowd on a journey to ‘Mary’s Pub’ and reflecting on ‘Schoolyard Days’.
Getting to AO Arena
Tram
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station, and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces, including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
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Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
Neighbourhood Weekender confirmed for return in 2027 after standout year
Danny Jones
It’s official: Neighbourhood Weekender WILL be back next spring, making that three consecutive years of the big outdoor bash over in Warrington.
We think it’s time we just scrap this whole hiatus malarkey and make it annual forever and always.
Thankfully, NBHD Weekender won’t be taking a fallow year like Glasto any time soon, as they’ve just confirmed that the festival will be returning in 2027.
It will be a while before we see the lineup, of course, but if the roster is even half as good as the one we just enjoyed over the late May bank holiday, it’s bound to be a belter.
Neighbourhood Weekender 2027 starts here! 😎🎉
Sat 29th – Sun 30th May, Bank Holiday Weekend. Earlybird tickets on sale 10am tomo via: https://t.co/j5GRbT0jDE 🎟️
10% cheaper than 2026 price, and payment plans available via SEE. Earlybird ends Fri 5 June.
Following a standout weekend, the much-loved North West favourite continues to grow in reputation with each and every iteration.
If anything, the short break a couple of years back only confirmed how much people missed it, with people travelling all the way from London, Scotland, the Netherlands and more to attend the two-day celebration of live music.
Managing to welcome one of the largest and most varied audiences they’ve ever pulled in, they’re expecting spring ’27 to draw even bigger crowds.
With the likes of Richard Ashcroft and Blossoms as their two main headliners across Saturday and Sunday, several other big regional names topped the bill, from The K’s and Kaiser Chiefs, to The Fratellis, The Royston Club, Mel C and many more.
And then there was the raft of talent from further afield, like Keo, Example, Brooke Combe, and Aussie exports turned adopted-Notherners, DMA’S, just to name a few.
Safe to say our Audio North team had a blast after making yet another visit earlier this month.
Once again, the latest iteration only further cemented Neighbourhood Weekender as a staple of the UK festival calendar.
As the festival now sets its sights on following up on the rousing success, they’re aiming to continue that growth over the same bank holiday weekend in 2027, and tickets for the next full NBHD Fest will be going on sale sooner than you think.
In fact, a limited number of discounted early bird tickets will go live from 10am this Friday, 29 May and be available until Friday, 5 June via their official website, where you can stay tuned for all further news and updates in the coming weeks.
Last but not least, it’s also worth reminding that its sister spin-off event here in Manchester city centre kicks off in October, and there are still tickets left HERE. In the meantime, you can find our most recent write-up in full down below.
Daisy Jackson -
1st February 2022 
