Poyton’s Party in the Park is back for 2024 and has an announced legendary disco act as their biggest headliner ever.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the cult favourite event, the old Cheshire town which neighbours the likes of Stockport and Macclesfield is hosting its biggest party to date at Poynton Park this summer in partnership with the local Rotary Club, promising a jam-packed day of live music and more.
Confirming classic New York disco group and vocal trio Odyssey and the main event, with millions of records sold worldwide and some of the most iconic tracks of the 1970s and 80s to their name, this little one-day festival is set for a massive year.
Better still, as a fundamentally not-for-profit event raising money for local charities and community groups, you can party all day and all night whilst doing your bit for a good cause.
They’re best known for tracks like ‘Native New Yorker’ and former ‘Use it Up & Wear it Out’ (Credit: Supplied)
Alongside Odyssey, the lineup for Poynton’s Party in the Park 2024 includes critically acclaimed cover bands like The Soul Providers and Soulvation Band, performing some of the greatest soul, funk, Motown and disco hits of the 1960s.
There’s plenty of local talent from around the North West on show too, such as Manchester singer-songwriter Imogen Paige, Liverpool-based indie band The Garnetts and, returning due to popular demand, Party in the Park favourites and Poynton’s very own Monkey Harris Band.
Great name and an even greater stage presence.
They’re the stuff of legend around the local area, regularly playing the likes of the Poynton Beer Festival and this is by no means their first turn around the park.
This year’s Party in the Park is being put on by local festival organiser and Hale Barns Carnival creator, Max Eden, working alongside Poynton Rotary – who founded the event two decades ago – to deliver what they’re calling a “refreshed and updated event for all the family to enjoy”.
The one-day festival also promises to feature lots of new and exciting additions for 2024 including traditional funfair rides for all ages, alongside an extended showcase of the amazing local food and drink, as well as a new VIP area offering premium seats, table service and exclusive meet and greets.
Local station Happy Radio UK will also be covering the event as the official radio partner, broadcasting in Greater Manchester, Cheshire and across various other parts of the North West, with well-known presenters like Steve Penk, Darren Proctor and Chelsea Norris all set to be involved.
Speaking ahead of the fundraising festival, Odyssey lead singer Steven Collazo said: “We’re so excited to be headlining Poynton Party in the Park this June. We’ve heard you guys know how to party and we can’t wait to get our groove on with y’all!”
As for organiser Max Eden, he added: “I’m thrilled to be working with Poynton Rotary this year to stage the biggest Poynton Party in the Park to date.
“We have an incredible headliner alongside outstanding local musicians and performers, amazing family attractions and the best food and drink from the local area – it’s the perfect lineup for a really good party!
“We hope to raise vital funds for Poynton Rotary to enable them to continue the incredible work they do locally in supporting charities and community groups in our area.”
Party in the Park starts at 1pm on Saturday, 8 June with tickets starting from £28.50 for adults and just £15 for 5-16s – not to mention kids four and under going completely free. You can grab your general admission, or VIP passes if you’re feeling a bit posh, right HERE.
No-phones nightclub Amber’s has announced it is relaunching its second room
Danny Jones
Manchester’s famous no-phones nightclub, Amber’s, is preparing for a relaunch of its second room, just over half a year on from the venue’s opening week.
The smash hit, semi-censored space, which enforces a strictly no-device policy to ensure those in attendance maximise their amount of in-the-moment enjoyment without any risk of distraction, has just announced that they will be reworking ‘Room 2’.
Confirmed just in time for the rest of summer ‘season three’, where plenty of people will be opting to rave instead of splash their cash on Oasis and/or festival tickets, the soon-to-be-refreshed space will partner with audio specialists to provide an experience set to rival the main room.
Sharing a post featuring blueprints for the fixtures and some of the top-end equipment, new-look second room opens its doors early next month.
Writing on social media, the venue wrote: “Amber’s is proud to announce the relaunch of Room Two, featuring a brand new custom soundsystem designed by Norwegian pro-audio specialist NNNN and OJAS, and installed by Neuron Audio Visual.
“The collaboration between Amber’s and NNNN is the first time that the Oslo-based company, which specialises in innovating the future of audio, has created a speaker system for use in the UK. Amber’s will be the first venue in the country to house the state-of-the-art system.”
“The partnership furthers our commitment to world-class sound and creating a truly unique club space in the heart of Manchester. Room Two also now boasts a brand new lighting system and has received bespoke acoustic treatment.”
Reacting to the news, plenty of punters and artists alike are already stoked to see what they have in store; promoters ABB Events simply said, “We can’t wait to test this out 26 September.”
Speaking to The Manc, a regular visitor of Amber’s Manchester told us: “Room Two at Amber’s always felt a little forgotten – a space with potential, but lacking the same pull as the main room. With this new Soundsystem they’re putting in, it finally feels like it’s getting the love it deserves.”
While we understand the urge to document those ‘unforgettable’ gig moments – that does kind of go against what we build them up to be, hence why the Amber’s concept has gone down so well.
Teasing a lineup of “the best in house, techno and groove”, Amber’s Room Two 2.0 will debut on 2 August, and regulars are buzzing for it.
As always, the headliner remains unannounced to keep that allure, as well as that further added feeling of anticipation and excitement.
‘No ticket, no entry’ – Council urges ticketless Oasis fans not to travel to Heaton Park
Emily Sergeant
Ticketless Oasis fans are being urged not to make the journey to Heaton Park this week.
With three concerts still to be played by as part of Oasis Live ’25 here in Manchester this week, following the iconic band’s two hugely successful concerts at the weekend, Manchester City Council has now reissued its repeated request – and warning – for fans without tickets to the shows to not travel to the park.
The warning comes after it was discovered that the so-called ‘Gallagher Hill’ viewing area inside the park, that went viral on social media, has now had large steel fencing erected around its perimeter.
After taking stock of how the first two shows went, the Council says additional measures have now been deemed ‘necessary’ to protect the environment of the park, ensure areas of parkland and nearby livestock are protected, and maintain public safety.
These additional measures will be in place for the next three concerts, taking place tonight (16 July), and Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 July.
The Council says its decision to erect steel fencing around a large area of the hill within the cattle field in the main park is because the area is currently being developed as a new woodland for the park and has been recently planted with around 300 young trees, as well as being a measure to protect the livestock in the field, which include both expectant and nursing cows, and a bull.
“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there,” the Council said in a statement released ahead of tonight’s show.
There are also no facilities for ticketless fans at the park, the Council confirmed, and they will not be able to see the concerts or get into the event arena – which is double-walled with solid high-security fencing all the way around.
The Council has urged ticketless Oasis fans not to travel to Heaton Park this week / Credit: The Manc Group
More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will be on duty around the site across the next three dates to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticketholders, and to make sure that only those who have official tickets can access the concerts.
Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Employment, Skills and Leisure at Manchester City Council, commented: “As you would expect, given the size of the concerts and numbers of people attending, we go through a continuous process with partners of re-assessing the plans in place for the concerts to ensure both public safety and that any environmental impact on our award-winning park is minimised.”
“Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead,” Cllr Hacking continued.
“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time. We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”
Danny Jones -
27th April 2024 
