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Highest Point Festival 2023 – everything you need to know as summer of live music kicks off up north

Who's ready to kick off festival season then?

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 10th May 2023

Our favourite time of the year is about to kick off, as Highest Point launches us head-first into festival season.

The massive open-air music event begins tomorrow and promises another bumper weekend of music, food and activities, as well as a whole day dedicated to families.

Set in one of the most picturesque locations of any northern festival, Highest Point will lure in around 35,000 music-lovers over the next few days.

It paves the way for the summer of live music across the north west, including Parklife, Bluedot, and Kendal Calling, plus the Sounds of the City series at Castlefield Bowl.

Highest Point Festival was first set up in 2018 as a tribute to the late Chris Glaba, who started A Wing alongside Richard Dyer and Jamie Scahill but tragically lost his short battle with cancer in 2016.

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Now, it says its ultimate goal is to ‘create a legacy music festival, to join all of the other amazing events that happen in the city, that the people of Lancaster can be proud of’.

So if you’re digging out your best festival fit and getting ready for a weekend of dancing in the fields, here’s what you need to know about Highest Point Festival 2023.

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When and where is Highest Point Festival 2023?

Highest Point Festival. Credit: Robin Zahler

This year’s festival will run between Thursday 11 and Sunday 14 May, back at the beautiful setting of Williamson Park in Lancaster.

The entrance to the park is located on Wyresdale Road, LA1 3EA.

If you’re using public transport, get the train to Lancaster and then either walk the 30 minutes to the park or take a 10-minute taxi.

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Road closures are in operation so if you’re driving, follow the signs to the customer car park at North West Auctions, Wyresdale Road, LA1 3JQ.

Who’s on the line-up for Highest Point Festival 2023?

Anne-Marie. Credit: Publicity picture
Bastille. Credit: Publicity picture

Headliners at Highest Point 2023 will include Bastille, Anne-Marie, Sub Focus, Freya Ridings, Friendly Fires, Craig Charles, and Wigan’s very own chart-toppers The Lottery Winners.

There’ll also be a special launch night on Thursday, headlined by Hacienda Classical.

The music is split across six stages – the main stage, the Chris Glaba Memorial Stage, The Sundial, The Woods, The Dell Inn and Bushrocker HiFi at the Waterfall.

Keep reading for the full line-up, including who’s playing which day.

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Highest Point Festival 2023 tickets

Highest Point Festival
Highest Point Festival. Credit: Robin Zahler

Tickets for Highest Point 2023 are priced as the following:

  • Adults: £145 for weekend tickets, £39.50 Thursday, £69.50 each for Friday and Saturday.
  • Teen tickets: £80 for weekend, £20 for Thursday, £35 each for Friday and Saturday, .
  • Children aged 0-12: go free with an adult ticket.
  • The Big Family Day Out from £12. 

Tickets are on sale through Skiddle here.

What about the food and drink?

Festival food will take the shape of a regional street food offering.

The full line up of street food stalls features Supper by Sanah, Cubbins, Kitchen Tap, Pizzarana, Eat Like a Greek, Veggie Republic, Furness Fish, Senor Paella, Yardies, Halloumination, Spoon Crepes, La Petite Crepe, and Mac and Wings.

What is the Big Family Day Out?

Taking place on Sunday 14 May, this low-cost, all-inclusive day out is geared towards families to want to soak in the atmosphere at a lower ticket price.

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The theme this year will be Kings and Queens of Pop, inspired by the Coronation and Eurovision.

Visitors are encouraged to dress as their favourite pop icon from years gone by, with prizes awarded to the best-dressed.

There’ll also be music on the main stage, craft zones, vintage markets, carnival parades, dinosaurs, Paw Patrol, birds, bees, and loads more.

Stage times and day splits

Thursday 11 May (gates open from 4pm)

Main stage

Hacienda Classical 21:00-22:30
House Gospel Choir 19:45-20:30
K-Klass (DJ) 18:00-19:30
Dobbo (DJ) 17:00-18:00

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The Woods

Matt Thiss 19:00-21:00
Summer Jenkins 18:00-19:00
Sam T Harper 17:00-18:00
Ryan Gould 16:00-17:00

Friday 12 May (gates open from 1pm)

Main stage

Bastille 21:30-23:00
Friendly Fires 20:00-21:00
Freya Ridings 18:30-19:15
General Levy 17:00-18:00
Phoebe Hall 15:45-16:30
Delights 14:30-15:15

Memorial

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D.O.D 21:30-23:00
Girls Don’t Sync 20:00-21:30
Bklava 19:00-20:00
Matt Thiss 18:00-19:00

Sundial

Binx 23:00-0:00
Sub Focus 22:00-23:00
Charlie Tee 21:00-22:00
AMA 20:00-21:00
Emily Makis 19:00-20:00
Nathan X 18:00-19:00
Lasko and T.Lee 16:30-18:00
Monika & NafroB 15:00-16:30

Dell Inn

Jamie McCool 20:15-21:00
Pub quiz with The Lovely Eggs 19:30-20:00
Lowes 18:45-19:15
Melanie Williams House Party 17:45-18:30
In Conversation with Gordon Raphael 16:45-17:30
In Conversation with DJ Paulette 16:00-16:30
Lois 15:00-15:30

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The Woods

Craig Charles 19:30-21:00
DJ Paulette 18:00-19:30
Audiowhores 17:00-18:00
Sam Redmore 16:00-17:00
David Dunne 13:00-16:00

The Waterfall

North Fire Soundsystem 19:00-20:00
Daddy1Love 18:00-19:00
Chris Holt 17:00-18:00
John Hayward 16:00-17:00
Jojo & Jnr Jahvis 15:00-16:00
Miss Chop 14:00-15:00
The Buddhakkan Headset 13:00-14:00

Saturday 13 May (gates open from 1pm)

Main stage

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Anne-Marie 21:30-23:00
Lottery Winners 20:00-21:00
Cuban Brothers 18:45-19:30
Gok Wan 17:15-18:15
Toploader 15:45-16:45
Elvana 14:30-15_15
Jamie McCool 13:30-14:00
The Native Cult 12:30-13:00

Memorial

Danny Howard 22:30-00:00
Ki Creighton 21:00-22:30
Arielle Free 19:30-21:00
Pirate Copy 18:15-19:30
Murphy’s Law 17:00-18:15
Matrefakt 15:45-17:00
Beth 14:30-15:45
Nico Balducci 13:15-14:30
Eldon 12:00-13:15

Sundial

Binx 23:00-00:00
Sigma 22:00-23:00
Goddard & MC XL 21:00-22:00
Turno & MC Dreps 20:00-21:00
A Little Sound 19:00-20:00
Binx 18:00-19:00
DJ Clumsy 17:00-18:00
Rek:law 16:00-17:00
Charlie Tee 15:00-16:00
Coded 14:00-15:00
Grimsey 13:00-14:00

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Dell Inn

Vicky Radio 1 (pub quiz) 20:30-21:00
Sk Shlomo 19:30-20:15
Mike Garry 18:45-19:15
Andy Ellis / Thomo Turgoose 17:45-18:30
Cuban Brothers in convo 16:45-17:30
Lowes 16:00-16:30
Rich & Jamie In convo 15:00-15:30
Chris DJing 14:00-14:30

The Woods

Guilty Pleasures 16:00-21:00
Bucky 15:00-16:00
Les Croasdaile 14:00-15:00
Mark Hogg 13:00-14:00
Ginny K 12:00-13:00

The Waterfall

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Jinx in Dub & Cheshire Cat 17:30-19:00
Catch a Fire & MC Dandy Dizzle 16:30-17:30
Matty Banton 15:00-16:30
Prof P 14:00-15:00
Impressa Soundsystem 13:00-14:00
Ranking Miss P 12:00-13:00

Featured image: Robin Zahler

Audio

An old indie favourite is heading back to Manchester for a ‘Best Of Tour’ at a brilliant venue

Danny Jones Danny Jones The Pigeon Detectives Manchester gig tickets

Time to roll back the years as old-school indie favourite The Pigeon Detectives are coming back to Manchester for a special show at one of the most stunning venues in the city.

We swear, if we could find our old iPod, their tracks would still be all over it.

Coming back to another part of the North that always showed them plenty of love, The Pigeon Detectives will be playing a special ‘The Best of Tour’ in line with their latest record, Still Not Sorry.

The Manc gig comes as the Yorkshire lads announced just six UK headline sets to support the album release, but let’s be honest, they were never going to skip 0161, were they?

With only half a dozen domestic dates confirmed so far, including the likes of Manchester, a homecoming night in Leeds and up in Glasgow, this really does feel like a return that long-standing fans won’t want to miss.

The new LP, which is a greatest hits compilation featuring the very best tracks from their discography that stretches over two decades, drops next month and we’re very ready to pump some adolescent nostalgia into our ears.

And best of all, they’ll be playing all the cult favourite Pigeon Detectives tracks at the simply stunning New Century Hall, marking just their second visit to the venue.

Boasting the food and beer hall downstairs as the ideal pre-gig location, not to mention a sprung dancefloor and those iconic, mesmerising lights, it’s a nigh on perfect space for live music.

We’re not exaggerating when we say we’ve had some of our best gigs in recent memory here.

Speaking in a lengthier statement on social media, the boys from Rothwell wrote: “If a band is lucky (and hardworking, and fairly decent at what they do!) there comes a time in their career when they realise that the journey they started as mates messing about on guitars has culminated in a hefty bunch of songs that people actually care about and connect with!

“At this point, the only logical next step is to take a breath, reflect back through the archives and assemble a ‘Best Of’ album. We’ve reached that point, Pigeon Heads!”

They describe the project as a collection of songs and memories that chart their career from their humble beginnings in Leeds to their “adventures around the globe”, where they have been fortunate enough to “some of the biggest stages on the planet.”

“As a band it’s always felt like we had to do things the hard way, even with an amazing set of supportive fans”, they go on to add, “but we just kept on writing songs, kept on playing gigs and kept on being The Pigeon Detectives. Us against the world. We weren’t sorry then, and we’re Still Not Sorry now!”

Maybe it’s our age showing but those last few lines alone have got us feeling all teary-eyed.

Read more:

The Pigeon Detectives come to New Century on Saturday, 29 November, which will be the closing night of their ‘Best Of’ run.

The greatest hits album arrives on 23 May via Dance To The Radio and tickets for all other shows go on general sale next Friday, 2 May at 10am.

You can also gain access to pre-sale by pre-ordering Still Not Sorry. Get ready to grab tours HERE.

They’re not the only throwback we’re looking forward to catching this year.

Scouting For Girls announce stacked UK tour with Manchester date
Elvis ain’t dead and neither are Scouting.

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

Featured Images — Nina Zimmerman (via Flickr)/Resident Music

Audio

Loyle Carner announces THREE massive Manchester gigs to follow Glastonbury headline slot

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Loyle Carner has announced three Manchester gigs

Loyle Carner will perform three huge gigs in Manchester as part of a newly-announced UK tour, chasing his headline Glastonbury slot.

The groundbreaking British artist will be heading to the O2 Victoria Warehouse later this year alongside shows in cities including London, Glasgow, Newcastle and Birmingham.

Loyle Carner has also confirmed today that a brand new album is on the way – hopefully! is set for release on 20 June.

It’ll give fans a week to listen and love his new music before he headlines The Other Stage at Glastonbury festival on 27 June.

He’s already released two surprise new songs – ‘all i need / in my mind’, as his new chapter sees him explore fatherhood, childhood and alternative music.

Loyle Carner has sung, produced and ‘accidentally’ formed a band for this latest release, which includes audio clips of his son.

Loyle Carner first emerged in 2013 with his A Little Late EP, followed by his debut album Yesterday’s Gone in 2017, with plenty more releases in the years since.

He’s been shortlisted TWICE for the Mercury Prize and has scored BRIT and NME Award nominations too, as well as 1.1 BILLION streams.

You’ll recognise his face from campaigns with global brands like YSL, New Balance, and Nike, not to mention his sold-out shows including Alexandra Palace, Wembley Arena and the Royal Albert Hall in his beloved London hometown alone.

Loyle Carner will perform at the O2 Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on 23, 24, and 24 November 2025.

Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday 2 May – you can get tickets HERE.

Loyle Carner UK tour dates in full

  • 02.11.25 || London || O2 Academy Brixton
  • 03.11.25 || London || O2 Academy Brixton
  • 04.11.25 || London || O2 Academy Brixton
  • 05.11.25 || London || O2 Academy Brixton
  • 07.11.25 || Cardiff || Utilita Arena
  • 12.11.25 || Glasgow || O2 Academy
  • 13.11.25 || Glasgow || O2 Academy
  • 14.11.25 || Glasgow || O2 Academy
  • 18.11.25 || Newcastle || O2 City Hall
  • 19.11.25 || Newcastle || O2 City Hall
  • 20.11.25 || Birmingham || O2 Academy
  • 21.11.25 || Birmingham || O2 Academy
  • 23.11.25 || Manchester || O2 Victoria Warehouse
  • 24.11.25 || Manchester || O2 Victoria Warehouse
  • 25.11.25 || Manchester || O2 Victoria Warehouse

You can get tickets HERE.

Read more

Featured image: Publicity picture

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