Neighbourhood Weekender has announced the first wave of acts for next year’s lineup, and there’s some huge names heading to Warrington.
The Victoria Park-based festival is always known to kick-off the summer with an incredible weekend of non-stop live music across three stages, and with the incredible roster of talent announced today, 2023 looks set to be no different.
Local northern legends Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, and popular indie band The Kooks have both been confirmed for huge slots at Neighbourhood Weekender 2023, alongside the return of Britpop superstars Pulp – who have also today announced they are reuniting for the first time since 2013 for a string of shows next year.
Pulp will headline the festival as part of their ‘What we do for an encore’ live dates.
LET’S GO! First wave of your Neighbourhood Weekender 2023 line-up is here!! 💥💥💥
Announcing the reunion tour and headlining slot, lead singer Jarvis Cocker said: “Three months ago, we asked, ‘what exactly do you do for an encore?’ Well… an encore happens when the crowd makes enough noise to bring the band back to the stage.
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“So we are playing in the UK and Ireland in 2023, come along and make some noise, and we’ll see you there.”
Alongside Pulp, after a second consecutive UK number one album, legendary duo Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott will return to Victoria Park to close out the main stage on Saturday night.
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The Kooks will also take to the main stage on the Saturday of the two-day festival.
Neighbourhood Weekender has unveiled its 2023 lineup / Credit: Neighbourhood Weekender | Graham Joy Photography
Those three huge names will also be joined by indie stalwarts The Wombats, The Enemy, and Ocean Colour Scene, alongside festival favourites Jamie Webster, Everything Everything, and The Big Moon.
Pop sensations Anne-Marie, Ella Henderson, and Sugababes have also been announced, as well as two of this year’s biggest breakthrough artists – the Mercury Prize-nominated Self Esteem, and Australian dance duo Confidence Man.
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A whole host of exciting newcomers have also been announced as part of the first wave lineup, with rising stars CMAT, Courting, English Teacher, and Slant all taking to the stage in May.
There’s some huge names heading to Warrington next May / Credit: Neighbourhood Weekender
Neighbourhood Weekender 2023 is taking over Victoria Park in Warrington on Saturday 27 & Sunday 28 May, with tickets officially set to go on general sale at 9am on Friday 4 November, and you can grab them from the NBHD website, or head on over to Ticketmaster or Gigs and Tours.
Coach packages are also available from official coach partner, Big Green Coach, here.
Olivia Rodrigo says ‘very inspiring’ Manchester is one of her favourite places in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Olivia Rodrigo has named some of her favourite places in the UK… and it’s good news for Manchester.
If you weren’t aware, the global pop superstar has a bit of an affinity for the UK, having spent a lot of time over here in recent years – particularly in London – and developing a love for some of our nation’s finest delicacies in the process, like M&S fan-favourite sweet treats Percy Pigs and Colin the Caterpillar, as well as Jaffa Cakes, Cadbury, sausage rolls, and plenty more.
And it’s fair to say that she’s once again proven herself to be a somewhat of an honorary Brit during the recent promotional tour for her third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love – which released to the world last Friday (12 June).
In a recent interview with Hits Radio UK, Olivia was asked where some of her favourite places in the UK are, other than London… and it was good news for our city.
I mean, not that ‘good’… she’s still not chosen to bring her upcoming ‘The Unraveled Tour’ over to us this next time around in 2027, opting to just stay in London for more than a dozen nights instead, but it seems she’s keen to show Manchester some love regardless.
When asked if she has a favourite area of the UK, Olivia said: “I spent some time in Manchester which was really nice. Very inspiring, so many great bands from there. I spent some time in Wales too, which was fun. I’ve been around but I need to go and see more things.”
She then went on to add: “I really want to go to Leeds this year. I think that’ll be fun. Just like as a spectator, I think that’ll be cool.”
It’s not the first time Olivia has publicly spoken about Manchester either, as in another recent interview with Dazed Magazine, she claimed she’s the ‘best version of [herself]’ in the UK.
“Maybe it’s because it rains so much that all you want to do is be inside with the guitar and write. I spent some time in Manchester a few years ago and it was so rainy I was like, ‘No wonder so many great bands come out of Manchester’,” she concluded.
Featured Image – Hits Radio UK
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Much-loved Manc music shop Tasty Records goes up for sale as owners calls on next custodians to take over local favourite
Danny Jones
Much-loved Greater Manchester record and music store Tasty Records has officially closed, and the current custodian is putting the Trafford institution up for sale in hopes that someone will take over as worthy successors.
What an opportunity for any budding entrepreneurs.
The Alty record shop in its current brick-and-mortar form has stood for some time now, but popular owner Ben Molesworth has been selling physical media from 2012 onwards, and now his time at the helm of the hailed south Manchester spot has come to a somewhat bittersweet end.
A bit of a local legend with regulars who frequent and flick through his coveted vinyl collection, not just on Record Store Day but throughout the year, the area will be sad to see him go – and so will we – but it doesn’t mean this has to be the end.
“The shop deserves more than I can give it, and I have sold records in Altrincham for 14 years”, he explains, before going on to add that “It’s time for me to concentrate on different things.
“What happens now?” he continues, “Keep following! I’m not sure yet. I have closed the doors, but everything is still there… A busy website, Discogs, socials, a strong set of accounts and £ks of great vinyl stock.”
You’d think with a sales pitch like that, it would be a no-brainer for audiophiles who’ve ever dreamt of spending their days cataloguing their favourite tunes and artists, whilst providing a still criminally unsung public service: delivering printed music to the masses.
With more than a decade and a half of experience to his name, we’re sure Ben has plenty of wisdom to impart about how to take good care of his baby moving forward – he just needs some to set up to the plate/turntable.
As saturated as the Manc music market and record store scene is, it was also comfortably on this list pretty much since day one.
All that being said, part of the challenge for any independent business is getting the word out, hence why we thought we’d help do our bit by shouting about it.
He signed off by adding: “Thank you to all of my wonderful customers, friends and supporters. Tasty Recordsisn’t dead, only sleeping. Lots of love, Ben.”
For anyone who might fancy taking over this “awesome little record shop” (his words AND ours), you can express your interest/table an offer over email via [email protected].
What an honour it would be to carry on this place’s legacy – here’s hoping someone takes up the mantle soon.
Emily Sergeant -
28th October 2022 
