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?
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. 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, .
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.
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
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
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Elbow teams up with Co-op Live to donate equipment to Manchester grassroots venues
Thomas Melia
Bury band Elbow have joined forces with Manchester’s biggest indoor arena, Co-op Live, in aid of supporting local grassroots venues.
The funds will help improve the already incredible music scene in Manchester, benefitting staples likes Night and Day Café, Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, SOUP and more.
All of the donations will be distributed across six independent music venues and will be used for various instruments, PA equipment, backline technology and other necessities depending on the requirements of each site.
Elbow have teamed up with Co-op Live in aid of supporting Manchester grassroots venues.Credit: Supplied
This initiative has been keeping Manchester’s Northern Quarter in the forefront of people’s minds when it comes to live music as well as the impressive Co-op Live.
Alongside providing vital resources for these local institutions, Elbow teaming up with Co-op Live also helps cement the North West as one of the main powerhouses in relation to live music.
The latest efforts from the largest indoor arena in Manchester fall in line with celebrating one year of bringing some of the best live music to the city, being officially open for 12 months in May.
Co-op Live have made a commitment to the people and the planet, promising to donate £1 million annually to the Co-op Foundation.
The stunning Co-op Live venue, Manchester’s largest indoor arena.Elbow performing at Co-op Live, marking history as the first act to grace the venue.Credit: Audio North/Supplied
Manchester’s latest live music venue also contributed significantly to selected charities, including Happy Doggo – chosen by Liam Gallagher and Eric Clapton’s addiction recovery centre, Crossroads.
As Elbow teams up with Co-op Live, even more money is making its way to necessary resources, this time in the likes of crucial live music establishments.
Elbow front-person Guy Garvey says: “Playing Co-op Live’s opening night will stay with us for a lifetime, not least because of how incredible the room sounded.”
“When the venue donated funds in our name to support the city we love, it made complete sense to carry that through to the Northern Quarter and to venues that have meant so much to my bandmates and I throughout our career.”
Guy Dunstan, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Co-op Live, adds: “In the past year, I have been proud to see Co-op Live become an integral part of such an incredible city.”
“Teaming up with Elbow to directly support the venues that first put Manchester on the map, and to share something so intrinsic to us as venues – proper sound – is something truly special.”
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist, and more for tour
Thomas Melia
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe are bringing their Together At Home tour to Manchester, here’s everything you need to know for their AO Arena gig.
The boys are back in town, and by the boys we mean multi-million selling vocalists Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, who are heading to Manchester this month.
This duo are no stranger to each other’s company making six collaborative albums since 2016 covering songs from The Greatest Showman, The Lion King and New York, New York.
Their latest release ‘Together At Home’ which doubles as the name for the tour sees the pair back to their good old tricks covering hits like ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ and ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’.
These two powerhouses know how to sing in style and that’s why they’ve chosen the impressive AO Arena to host their brand new show.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe UK tour dates
Sat 29 March – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
Sun 30 March – Bournemouth, UK – International Centre
Tue 1 April – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
Wed 2 April – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
Fri 4 April – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Sat 5 April – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
Mon 7 April – Aberdeen, UK – P&J Live
Tue 8 April – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Thu 10 April – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
Fri 11 April – Birmingham, UK – BP Pulse Live
Sun 13 April – London, UK – The O2
Mon 14 April – Brighton, UK – Brighton Centre
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe tickets for AO Arena gig
Anyone looking at tickets for Michael Ball and Alfie Boe’s upcoming tour have plenty of opportunity to see these two singing their hearts out.
Fans of the duo better act fast as these tickets are very limited, starting from a reasonable £47.75 and reaching £98.75.
If you want to go all out on this occasion tickets are also available for The Mezz, which is the arena’s fine dining experience covering you before and throughout the show at a fixed price of £206.25.
What are the stage times for Michael Ball and Alfie Boe in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm meaning you’ll still be able to make it home and pop the kettle on before you get your forty winks.
Their support act comes in the form of another duo, however these two mighty performers are magicians rather than singers.
The Conjurors are a worldwide renowned act famed by audiences and A Listers for their talents which they will be showing off in Manchester on the night.
How to get to AO Arena
Tram
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily it’s in Manchester Victoria Station and its integrated Metrolink stop.
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 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 have their own official parking partners CitiParkwith 958 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, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Daisy Jackson -
10th May 2023 
