Audio

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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

ADVERTISEMENT

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

ADVERTISEMENT

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

ADVERTISEMENT

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

ADVERTISEMENT

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

ADVERTISEMENT

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

ADVERTISEMENT

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

The Pogues announce Manchester gig on first tour since death of frontman Shane MacGowan

Danny Jones Danny Jones The Pogues announce first tour since the death of Shane MacGowan

The Pogues have announced their first UK tour since the death of former frontman, Shane MacGowan, with Manchester one of just half a dozen cities chosen.

Nearly a full year on from his death at just 65, the Anglo-Irish favourites best known for their eternal Christmas classic, ‘Fairytale of New York’, are gearing up for their first outing since their iconic lead singer’s passing as a celebration of his life and their seminal second album.

It’s been 13 years since their last headline tour shortly before their split and it will be 40 years since the release of Rum Sodomy and the Lash by the time they hit the road along with special guests.

Safe to say it’ll be an emotional series of shows for everyone involved.

Revealing just six shows here in the UK, the long-standing band are set to play their sophomore release in full as well as a selection of their greatest hits.

The tour will feature remaining original members James Fearnley, Jem Finer, and Peter Richard ‘Spider’ Stacy, as well as a series of support that are yet to be confirmed.

Speaking on the upcoming dates, The Pogues said: “After the uproarious bash which was the 40th anniversary of our first record, Red Roses for Me, in 2024, we wanted to do it again, but with Rum Sodomy & the Lash.”

The music veterans are remaining tight-lipped about who they’re bringing along but they have promised their selections have been “thoughtfully chosen”.

With MacGowan, lead guitarist Philip Chevron (2013), bassist Darryl Hunt (2022) and long-time collaborator Kirsty MacColl (2000) now having passed away, the band will be roping in plenty of help on vocals and instrumentation.

Read more:

Even though the gigs themselves will be coming at the of next spring, you can rest assured you’ll get to hear your beloved festive ballad.

Kicking off the tour in Leeds, The Pogues will play their first Manchester show in over a decade – and without Shane MacGowan front and centre – at the O2 Apollo on Wednesday, 7 May 2025.

General admission will be available from 9:30am on Friday, 22 November but you can access pre-sale by registering via their website by 5pm this Tuesday (19 November).

Get ready to grab your tickets HERE.

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

Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)/Mordac (via Flickr)

Audio

Khruangbin at the O2 Apollo Manchester – a masterclass on how to be really, really cool

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

Khruangbin, meaning ‘airplane’ in Thai, is a rather fitting name for a group who take their fans on a voyage across genres and styles through their funky, melodic tones.

Their second night in Manchester was no exception, as the first snow of the season began to fall outside the audience was psychedelically transported to sun-soaked places with Khruangbin’s celestial and enchanting melodies.

The set was laid back and minimal, featuring three arched windows and a white staircase that the band members travelled up and down smoothly throughout.

It’s fair to say that bassist, Laura Lee Ochoa, might just be one of the coolest people we’ve ever laid our eyes on.

Khruangbin in Manchester
Khruangbin in Manchester. (Credit: The Manc Group)

Sporting sequin black trousers that twinkled under the stage lights and a matching sequin headband, we’ve already started planning our Christmas party looks accordingly.

Accompanied by guitarist Mark Speer, both were of course wearing their iconic chunky black fringed wigs that shimmied side to side with every key change and with every understated, choreographed movement.

The first half of the evening was dedicated to their latest album, A La Sala. It’s a chilled album that features Ochoa’s soft vocals drifting over soothing drum work and ambient guitar.

With every track, the colour scheme of the windows behind them changed and Ochoa pinpointed each bass line with a point of the toe, a dip in her step, a quick turn of the head. The entire audience were left completely mesmerised, united in a syncopated head bop from the start.

Khruangbin’s psychedelic tones left us in a magical trance, and so the second half which featured more funky tracks from the trio was very much welcomed.

Playing fan favourites such as ‘White Gloves and People Everywhere (Still Alive)’, the audience couldn’t help but throw a few shapes and so did Ochoa and Speer.

@milliem142 Khruangbin Manchester 🌟 #khruangbin #manchester #gig #concerts ♬ original sound – Millie

Their choreography was so carefully considered and in synch, even their sips of water were in perfect harmony.

Encore songs ‘Evan Finds the Third Room’ and ‘Maria Tambien’ showed off quintessential guitar-driven Khruangbin melodies, providing the perfect end to their final night in Manchester.

Seeing Khruangbin live is a very unique experience, let alone in a venue like the O2 Apollo; I entered with an amateur knowledge of their songs and left eager to deep-dive into their vast catalogue.

Read more:

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

Featured Images – Press image (supplied)/The Manc Group

More Audio

Rizzle Kicks Castlefield Bowl tickets

Affiliate

Rizzle Kicks announce massive Manchester comeback show at Castlefield Bowl

Blossoms Manchester gigs support acts

Audio

Blossoms’ ‘Five Nights in Manchester’ residency – everything you need to know

Jamiroquai Manchester gig tickets

Affiliate

Jamiroquai announce huge gig at impressive venue next year in Manchester

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches