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Charli XCX to headline Parklife 2025 as first line-up drops

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Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 26th November 2024

Charli XCX has been announced as the first headliner for Parklife 2025, with the huge Manchester festival dropping the first wave of its line-up.

She’ll be joined by Confidence Man, Interplanetary Criminal, and Salute, among loads of other names confirmed this morning.

Parklife had already dropped a very big hint that Charli XCX would be headlining next year, with posters appearing all over town in her signature ‘Brat’ green hue.

And today, for the first time ever, the massive music event has shared a preview of its line-up before the full line-up drops in January, with Charli XCX right at the top of the bill when the festival returns between 14 and 15 June.

She’s been announced hot of the back of a huge Brat summer season, with tracks from the album dominating dance floors and festivals and social media over the last 12 months.

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Charli XCX’s album celebrates a confident and hedonistic attitude and has resulted in Grammy Award nominations, remixes with the biggest names in music, and now a Parklife headline slot too.

Charli XCX has been announced as Parklife 2025 headliner. Credit: Harley Weir
Charli XCX has been announced as Parklife 2025 headliner. Credit: Harley Weir
Charli XCX headlining Parklife 2025 rumours
Posters teasing Charli XCX as a Parklife 2025 headliner appeared last week. Credit: The Manc Group

Also on the 2025 line-up announced today are Confidence Man, widely considered one of the most fun live bands on the planet and who were a clear favourite at Glastonbury last year.

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There’ll be plenty of local names on the bill too, like Interplanetary Criminal with his groundbreaking UK garage tracks, Salute with their blend of house and rave, and electronic spoken word artist Antony Szmierek.

Berlin trance duo DJ Heartstring, KI/KI, Girls Don’t Sync, Prospa, Chaos In The CBD, Sim0ne, Bakey, Jodie Harsh and Gina Breeze have also been announced.

Interplanetary Criminal will perform at Parklife 2024
Interplanetary Criminal will perform at Parklife 2024. Credit: Jody Hartley

The full Parklife 2025 line-up will be announced in January, with general sale tickets on sale on Friday 29 November from 10am.

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Weekend tickets will be £135 but prices will rise in January. Day tickets will be available once the full lineup is revealed in January for £89.50.

Parklife 2025 will take place between 14 and 15 June 2025 back in the fields of Heaton Park.

To buy tickets, head HERE.

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Featured image: Jody Hartley

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James Morrison is BACK with new music and coming to a beautiful Manchester venue

Danny Jones Danny Jones James Morrison Manchester tickets 2025

Noughties favourite James Morrison is back with his first new album in six years and is putting on a small handful of special shows in a select few cities to celebrate, with Manchester being one of them, and tickets are going on sale next week.

With five records to his name over the course of a career spanning more than 20 years, it may have been a while since we’ve heard his instantly recognisable and raspy vocals, but he’s making his return later this year with his sixth studio LP and this limited run of live performances.

The Rugby-born singer-songwriter, acoustic guitarist and one-time regular in the pop charts enjoyed a successful period in the 2000s, even collaborating with the likes of Nelly Furtado, Demi Lovato, Olly Murs, Kelly Clarkson and more.

Having just announced his latest project, Fight Another Day, which is scheduled for release this autumn, we’re looking forward to seeing him not just back on stage but at a truly beloved and beautiful Manc music space.

Morrison, now 40, said of his latest music: “When I leaned into how I was feeling, that’s when the songs started coming. I started writing about what I was going through. My own struggles with myself. Every day being a bit of a battle. Trying to eke the light out after what felt like darkness for ages.

“I’m really proud of the album in terms of the creative, sonic elements and how I dealt with truthful stuff. But also it’s an album of songs that hopefully make you feel better and make you nod your head and stamp your feet and singalong.”

“It just sums up what the record is. It’s about reminding yourself what’s good. About convincing yourself you’ve got enough strength to keep the fight going”, he went on to add.

Having helped co-produce the entire thing with the likes of two-time Ivor Novello winner, Eg White; Daniel Merriweather, Connor Reeves and Andy Platt (Young Gun Silver Fox), fingers crossed it’s everything fans are hoping for.

As for the gig venue itself, the ‘Broken Strings’ and ‘You Give Me Something’ singer will be coming to Manchester’s grand Bridgewater Hall in September.

bridgewater hall manchester
bridgewater hall concerts
A historic and truly iconic place. (Credit: The Manc Group)

With just three other shows confirmed – Birmingham, Symphony Hall on 23 September, Glasgow, SEC Armadillo (24 Sep) and a night at the London Paladium (28 Sep) – Manchester can count itself lucky to have been chosen for these intimate evenings.

As for the album itself, Fight Another Day is due to drop on 3 October and is available for pre-save/pre-order right now; those who do so will gain access to the pre-sale window, which opens at will open at 10am next Wednesday, 4 June.

General admission to see James Morrison in Manchester city centre goes live at the same time on the following Friday (6 June); you can get ready to grab your tickets HERE.

Meanwhile, for those unaware of the venue itself, find out more down below.

@the.manc The Bridgewater Hall is one of Manchester’s most intriguing music venues, balancing on more than 300 isolation bearings to allow in next-to-no external vibrations. Did you know about this engineering marvel? @bridgewaterhall @BBC Sounds #themanc #manchester #bridgewaterhall #mcr ♬ Nutcracker: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairly(845241) – ogsogs

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Stian Schløsser Møller (via WikiCommons)/Tom Oxley (supplied)/Audio North

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A brand new grunge and hard rock festival is kicking off in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Broken Knees Fest 2025 Manchester

Manchester grungers, hardcore heads, and fans of all things rock, pay attention because there is a brand new festival coming to the city centre – and it has possibly the best name for a live music event we’ve heard in some time.

Ahem… let us introduce you to Broken Knees Fest.

Yes, donning a name that feels increasingly more relatable the closer we get to the wrong side of 30, Broken Knees Festival 2025 marks the inaugural edition of Manchester’s newest series of rock and grunge gigs, helping spotlight rising artists across the genres from within two crucial grassroots venues.

Very loud music inside tightly-packed, small-capacity rooms? It’s a winning formula that never fails. It’s about time we broke a sweat – here’s hoping the knees just about hold out.

Hosted in the heart of the Northern Quarter, which continues to thrive as a creative hub for new music and art of all forms, the festival will be debuting at small-cap favourites Gullivers and Castle Hotel just across the road.

As you can see, the lineup is full of up-and-coming talent within the guitar-driven space, but you can bank on more than a few bringing their die-hard fans to fill the place out to the rafters.

It doesn’t matter if you prefer punk, hardcore, grunge or another specific sub-genre found somewhere in between the ever-sprawling rock spectrum, there’s something to suit all alternative tastes at this one.

With the likes of Bohmen, Mavis, One Dimensional Creatures and Smother headlining the first-ever iteration of the festival across four stages, you can expect plenty of energy and even more noise.

Set up by the events group of the same name, Broken Knees Promotions, who help platform rock and alt acts across Greater Manchester and beyond year-round, this is more than just a festival: it’s a grassroots celebration through and through.

Best of all, if you’re interested, you don’t have to wait long because it’s kicking off next month.

castle hotel gigs
gullivers gigs manchester
Gigs go off in here. If you know, you know… (Credit: Audio North)

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Broken Knees Fest 2025 is happening on the weekend of 21-22 June, and you’ll be glad to hear that, as a brand new event, prices have been kept nice and low.

The early bird window had prices starting from just £12, and although this tier has now sold out, day tickets are still only £15 while a full weekend pass will set you back £25.

You can grab yours HERE.

Until then, why not dive into another load of new Manchester music? We round up artists from all genres each month; we’ll also confess to leaning slightly more towards the heavier stuff from time to time.

Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | April 2025
More coming at the end of May.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

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