It’s almost time for tens of thousands of people to flock to the fields of Heaton Park for this year’s Parklife festival, which is bigger than ever in 2024.
The huge festival brings together the biggest names in dance, house, hip hop, grime and electronic music for two days of partying.
This year’s line-up is arguably its biggest yet, featuring headline performances from Doja Cat, Disclosure, Becky Hill and loads more.
And even with the incredible European debut of Fisher and Chris Lake’s Under Construction now pulled from the line-up, it’s still set to be Manchester’s biggest party of the year.
If you can believe it, it’s been 14 years since the first-ever Parklife was held and since then it’s gone on to be not only a Manc music institution and rite of passage, but one of the most famous festivals around the world – we’re just lucky it happens to be right on our doorstep.
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With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know about Parklife 2023, from who’s playing and where to how you’ll be getting there and back.
Parklife 2024 line-up
Aitch performing at Parklife 2023. Credit: Sam Neill
The city’s biggest music event has lined up huge names like Doja Cat, Disclosure and J Hus to perform over the weekend of 8 and 9 June.
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Returning Parklife favourites Peggy Gou, Becky Hill, and Four Tet are also heading up the huge 2024 Parklife line-up.
The pop and R&B side of the line-up will be taken care of by names like Sugababes, Anne-Marie and Mahalia.
Also on the bill will be Kaytranada, Camelphat, Rudim3ntal, Nia Archives, Hybrid Minds, Patrick Topping, Barry Can’t Swim, Folamour, Dom Dolla, Casisdead, Wilkinson, Shy FX: Specials, Interplanetary Criminal, Sammy Virji b2b Interplanetary Criminal, Kenya Grace, ANOTR, PAWSA, TSHA, Girls Don’t Sync, Max Dean, Hedex, Bou, Uncle Waffles, Skream, Jyoty, Loco Dice, Sub Focus and loads more.
The good news if you’ve not yet booked your Parklife tickets is that there are still some available, whether you’re picking a day to go or want to take on the whole weekend.
How much is a VIP upgrade and what does it get you?
Having done a fair few Parklife festivals now, we can confirm that the VIP upgrade is well worth the money.
You’ll get fast-track entry to the festival (no queues for you!), and access to a whole separate area of the festival to relax in.
The VIP area at Parklife has exclusive DJs, a street food market, cocktail and spritz bars, lockers, fast-track loos, a make-up artist and glitter station, and even a streetwear stall by Suzy Loves Milo.
It’s £35.50 to upgrade a day ticket to VIP, or £34.50 for weekend ticket-holders – again, check here to book yours.
Parklife 2024 festival site map
The map of the Parklife festival site for 2024
Parklife 2024 dates and opening times
Saturday 8 June : 12pm – 11pm
Sunday 9 June : 1pm – 11pm
Last entry into the festival is 5pm
Stage splits for Parklife 2024 headliners
It’s always the eternal question for festival-goers – how am I actually going to see all this amazing music and one weekend, and who’s going to clash this year?
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Parklife has already confirmed the stage splits for its 2024 instalment, so we know exactly who’s going to be playing which stage.
Stage times aren’t out yet but usually drop a good few days before the festival – you can download the Parklife app (here for Apple, here for Android) for all you need to know.
How to get to and from Parklife festival 2024
As Parklife is a non-camping festival, getting home at the end of the night is always a question people ask.
Organisers make it as straight-forward as possible for people to get back home after the stages wrap up in Heaton Park.
The fastest and easiest way to travel to and from Parklife is with the official Parklife Travel Pass, a partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (Bee Network), Manchester City Council and Parklife, which allows you to travel on the direct Parklife Shuttle Bus and Metrolink service from Manchester City Centre.
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Buses will operate back into Manchester from the early evening, until the site is clear, and fans should use the NORTH EXIT of the site for the bus departure point.
Tickets are just £5.50 per day.
You can see more travel advice from Parklife here.
The Pussycat Dolls announce major comeback with huge global arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Global pop icons The Pussycat Dolls have announced a major global tour, with 50+ shows across Europe and North America.
The pop icons will be performing a massive show here in Manchester as part of the tour, which kicks off this summer.
The Pussycat Dolls have been teasing their return this week, plastering hints on venues across the UK – including the Co-op Live, which displayed a pink digital ad reading ‘Don’t cha wish you knew who we’re announcing tomorrow??’
The multi-platinum pop supergroup will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut record, PCD. They’ll be supported on the European leg of the tour, which will bring them to the UK in September and October, by Lil’ Kim.
The PCD Forever tour will span a whopping 53 dates, where they’ll perform their chart-topping hits including the 5x platinum Buttons, plus Don’t Cha, and Stickwitu.
The Pussycat Dolls were pop heavyweights in the 2000s, known for their electrifying choreography and live performances.
The Pussycat Dolls have announced a major global tour with a Manchester date. Credit: Rankin
Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts will be back together once again this year for what will be their biggest international run in years.
They’ll be releasing a new song for the first time since 2019 – Club Song is produced by Mike Sabbath (RAYE, Jade) and written by Nicole Scherzinger with Sabbath, Caroline Ailin (Dua Lipa) and Solly (Teddy Swims).
General tickets will go on sale from 10am on Friday 20 March, but fans can sign up for pre-sale at pcdforever.com by Monday to access tickets early.
Country 2 Country music festival is coming to Manchester next year
Danny Jones
Hold on to your cowboy hats, country fans: the smash-hit Country 2 Country music festival is coming to Manchester.
The massive live music festival specialising in all things country, folk, bluegrass, Americana and more has slowly been expanding its presence across the UK and Ireland over the last decade or so.
Starting in London at the O2 Arena, before hitting the Emerald Isle in 2015 and debuting in Scotland just three years later, it has seen some of the biggest acts from the world of country music cross the Atlantic to show off the Stateside genre, plus plenty from around the globe already immersed in the culture.
We’ll confess, even prior to the official announcement, we had a feeling this was coming when we spotted these posters dotted about in town:
Like so many of those buzzing in the comments, we cannot wait for this to come around.
With this year’s respective events taking place simultaenously place over the coming weekend, Friday, 13 to Sunday, 15 March, it’s fair to say they’ve timed the news perfectly.
Everyone from established names such as Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, to up-and-coming bands as well as fast-rising artists working in and around the genre, like Nate Smith, Lainey Wilson and, of course, the now well and truly massive Luke Combs.
For instance, the likes of Keith Urban, Noah Rinker, Alana Springsteen – no relation – Zach Top and many, MANY more, are playing across London, the OVO Hydro in Glasgow and Belfast’s SSE Arena for the 12th edition of the now annual celebration.
Set to arrive in our city centre for the very first time, Country 2 Country (C2C) will be making its Manc debut at none other than the legendary AO Arena, where so many of the biggest names and current generation of stars alike have played.
You only have to look at recent examples like Darius Rucker last year and the ever-growing Tyler Childers, helping kick off this season of country gigs here in Manchester.
Meanwhile, as you can see for Country 2 Country music fest’s Manchester debut, it’s coming in March 2027, and they’ll be teaming up with other local gig venues and bars to turn 0161 into a little slice of Broadway – we just hope we get a bit of Austin weather to boot.
It’s fair to say that this particular part of the music industry is definitely enjoying a big boom right now, with lots of different acts dipping their toes into the bayou, if you will.
However, C2C have been flying the flag for country music over here for ages now, and with it being hailed as remaining “one of the UK’s most spectacular annual festivals” by the likes of The Express and countless, among countless other reviews, we think it’s time you give it a go.
Better still, let’s show everyone that we can do it even better up North, and here in what everyone knows is Britain’s real musical home: Greater Manchester.
Tickets will be available from 10am next Friday, 20 March, and you can sign up to get early bird pre-sale access right HERE.
Credit: Niko Moon/Luke Dyson Photography (supplied)
Daisy Jackson -
31st May 2024 
