Moovin Festival, one of the country’s best-loved festivals, is set to take over the beautiful countryside in Etherow Country Park this August bank holiday weekend.
The festival was once considered a real hidden gem but is now a proudly independent and welcoming staple for thousands every summer.
There’s a line-up of returning favourites and hotly-tipped newcomers, all performing in the ‘adult playground’ where quirky stages are built into open-sided cow sheds and festival-goers relax on actual bales of hay.
The site itself features canopies of trees, lakes with busy waterfowl, and a breathtaking gorge.
This year, Moovin Festival will take place between 25 and 27 August at Compstall’s ‘udderly unique’ Whitebottom Farm.
Located just 30 minutes from both Manchester and Sheffield, this place is a real northern gem.
Moovin Festival is also on the longlist for a Festival of the Year Award at the inaugural Nordoff and Robbins Northern Music Awards – you can vote for it here.
Moovin’s picturesque countryside location in the village of Compstall is actually only 15 minutes from Stockport, and 30 minutes from Manchester.
Those who are driving should use postcode SK6 5HH, and follow the signs to the car park. The cost is £15 for a day or £25 for the full weekend, paid in cash.
For drop offs you can either get dropped off in the Festival Car Park, SK6 5HH, or Etherow Country Park Car Park, George St, Compstall, SK6 5JD.
The walk to the festival site is approximately 25 minutes from the Festival Car Park or 20 minutes from Etherow Country Park Car Park, and is clearly signposted from both locations.
A shuttle bus will run between the Festival Car Park and the festival site, costing £1 each way,
The nearest train stations are Marple and Romiley. Stockport train station is also nearby with buses every 15 minutes.
Moovin Festival 2023 line-up and headliners
This year’s line-up includes headline performances from Laurent Garnier, house music mainstay Toddy Terry, plus local legend Mr Scruff.
The bill also includes Mungo’s HiFi feat Eva Lazarus, David Holmes, Massive Attack’s Daddy G performing a DJ set, Craig Charles, plus hip hop royalty Big Daddy Kane, Goldie live with his orchestra, Sister Nancy, Chali 2Una from Jurassic5, Children of Zeus, Gilles Peterson, Stanton Warriors, Plump DJs, Jaguar Skills, Krafty Kuts, Freestylers, DJ Paulette, Graeme Park and many more.
What are the stage times?
Moovin Festival stage times for Friday, Saturday and Sunday
The Moovin Festival party will, as usual, run right through into the early hours, with the entertainment starting from mid-morning.
Headline performances from Sister Nancy Meets Legal Shot, Goldie, and Big Daddy Kane will all close out the main Barn Stage each night, with silent discos running until 2am at The Udder One.
And beyond the music, the programme includes fire shows, gong baths, yoga and more.
Gate opening times
Motor Home Ticket Holders Only: Friday 25 August – 11am – 9pm
Camping Ticket Holders Only: Friday 25 August – 1pm -9pm
All Other Ticket Holders: Friday 25 August – 2pm – 9pm Saturday 26 August – 10am – 9pm Sunday 27 August – 10am – 9pm
What the headliners say
“At the bottom of a tree lined valley, a hay barn with a fat sound-system. A freewheeling crowd, no VIP red ropes, no hassle from the authorities, just music and good vibes” 90s free party? No its the brilliant Moovin Festival,” – GROOVE ARMADA
“Moovin Festival was my Highlight of the Summer. The Great Vibes, Music, Venue, the perfect organisation and all these Beautiful people made this Festival become my Favourite Worldwide” – LEE SCRATCH PERRY
“Moovin Festival is one of the standout festivals of the year for me. Wonderful location with the best party people who are always mad for it …What more could you ask for? KRAFTY KUTS
“Whenever I get to play Moovin Festival it’s a highlight of my festival calendar. As soon as I see the waterfall I feel like I’m home. The crowd is just beautiful and the energy is electric.” DJ PAULETTE
Last night marked K-pop group ENHYPEN’s first-ever visit to Manchester, the UK and Europe as a whole, so it was no surprise the crowd was ready to get ‘Loose’ as they took to AO Arena.
The lights dimmed, the fans screamed, and it had finally dawned on Manchester that it was officially ‘En-O’Clock.‘
It’s a bouncy bassline, synth-stinted number also known as ‘Brought The Heat Back’ that kicks the show off, and on a day when our city was surprisingly warm, this three-minute performance was very fitting.
ENHYPEN performing ‘Loose’ for 21,000 fans at AO Arena in Manchester (Credit: BELIFT LAB)
‘Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)’ had the crowd quite literally jumping for joy, ‘Given-Taken’ saw a similar response, while a personal highlight was ‘Bite Me’.
With lyrics like “Come here and get some” and “Just come over and bite me”, this song follows a perfect pure-pop formula that works every time; it’s hard to ignore.
‘Your Eyes Only’, which makes reference to the previous hit “You can bite me / You can play me”. Did we like this song? “Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya” we did.
Disco belter ‘Sweet Venom’ had the crowd captivated for just under three minutes with its “Swe-hee-hee-t” earworm lyrics in every chorus.
K-pop boyband ENHYPEN played ‘Tamed-Dashed’ during their ‘Walk The Line’ tour at AO Arena in Manchester (Credit: BELIFT LAB)
An extended electronic synth introduction plays out as the staggered-vocal single, ‘XO (Only If You Say Yes)’ begins, and it’s easy to see why this is a fan favourite.
Whether it’s the fact that it has an easy-to-follow but incredibly addictive chorus or due to it featuring on the soundtrack for the Netflix rom-com and To All The Boys I Loved Before spin-off, XO, Kitty.
Following this was the 2010s-reminiscent ‘Bad Desire (With or Without You)’, which felt like a callback to ex-boyband star Justin Timberlake and his return with magnum opus ‘Mirrors’.
This song warranted such a roar of cheers and applause that the band decided to give it a second play later in the set, although this time they opted for the English version, which was equally appreciated.
All seven members of ENHYPEN interacting with fans during their Manchester show (Credit: BELIFT LAB)
During interactions with fans between songs, ENHYPEN discuss what they recognise Manchester for, stating, “This city is really famous for its football”.
Instead of declaring their support for the reds or blues, the band opted for a smart and conscious, “We’ll leave it there” – well played, boys.
‘Paranormal’ signalled that this night of incredible dance-packaged music was coming to an end, but ENHYPEN’s version of an encore is much different to any other musical act.
These seven singing sensations decided to play not just one or two songs before saying goodbye to the Manchester crowd, they opted for five plus – phenomenal.
ENHYPEN at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
It’s time to ‘Scream’ as K-pop boyband ENHYPEN are about to land in the UK as they embark on their European leg of the ‘Walk The Line’ tour.
Global superstars ENHYPEN are visiting Manchester for the first time ever, trading ‘Highway 1009’ for the Mancunian Way as they play out in the highly acclaimed 21,000 seater, AO Arena, this bank holiday.
ENHYPEN consists of seven members, including Sunghoon, Heeseung, Jungwon, Sunoo, Jake and Ni-ki – all of whom have stayed loyal to the group since they formed back in 2020.
This very ‘Walk The Line’ tour kicked off almost one year ago with two sold-out stadium shows in Korea before making its way across America, and now the boys are sinking their ‘Teeth’ into the UK and Europe.
Expect this Manchester live music venue to feel like a living runway as these K-pop idols are known for their stylish looks and designer brand partnerships, such as Italian fashion house Prada.
Anyone after some ‘Sweet Venom’, also known as precious tickets to ENHYPEN’s upcoming Manchester show, will be pleased to know that they aren’t in ‘Fatal Trouble’; there are still a few options left if you act fast enough.
You’ll have to act fast, as we’re sure you’re aware these K-pop nobles have given everyone a serious case of boyband ‘Fever’, and there is absolutely ‘No Doubt’ you’ll have a fabulous night when you grab your tickets HERE.
ENHYPEN setlist
Brought the Heat Back
Fever
ParadoXXX Invasion
Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)
Given-Taken
Lucifer
Teeth
Blessed-Cursed
Fatal Trouble
Bite Me
Your Eyes Only
Loose
Scream
Tamed-Dashed
Sweet Venom
Go Big or Go Home
Moonstruck
XO (Only If You Say Yes)
No Doubt
Bad Desire
Helium
Paranormal
Drunk-Dazed
Go Big or Go Home
We’d like to hear and, more importantly, see this one.
What are the stage times for ENHYPEN in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm, meaning you can ‘Go Big or Go Home’ and still make sure you get your beauty sleep.
There is no confirmed support act as of yet, however, it looks like this will remain as they have fronted this tour independently across the globe.
Doors for this event are opening from 6pm, and this huge K-pop concert is expected to kick off at 7:30pm when this group reminds you that they ‘Brought the Heat Back’.
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.
Getting there by car and parking
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
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.
Daisy Jackson -
23rd August 2023 
