Parklife, the biggest party in Manchester, has announced its 2025 festival line-up, with massive headline performances from Charli XCX, 50 Cent, Jorja Smith, Peggy Gou and Confidence Man.
Now celebrating its 15th year, Parklife will be back at Heaton Park between Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June.
They’re promising a weekend packed with jaw-dropping live shows and the best global talent across dance, electronic, house, hip-hop and more.
Since originating in Platt Fields in 2010, Parklife has grown to become one of the biggest events in Manchester’s cultural calendar every single year since.
And for 2025, Parklife is going bigger than ever, looking forward and bringing some of the globe’s hottest names to our city.
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There’ll be some big changes on the actual festival site too – Parklife will have a brand-new stage, Matinee, featuring a 360° DJ booth, and both VIP and Backstage will move to a more central location.
The festival’s headliners this year are BIG – the iconic rapper 50 Cent will be back in Heaton Park with his hits like In Da Club, P.I.M.P and Candy Shop.
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The woman who dominated dancefloors and charts (and our hearts) last summer, Charli XCX, is also turning Heaton Park back into a Brat summer, with her floor-filling hits like Apple, 360, and Guess.
The beautiful, incredible voice of Jorja Smith will be on the Parklife stage this year – expect to hear spell-binding tracks like Blue Lights, Be Honest, and Little Things.
Interplanetary Criminal will perform at Parklife 2025 as line-up revealed. Credit: Jody HartleyPosters teasing Charli XCX as a Parklife 2025 headliner. Credit: The Manc Group
Firm Parklife and Warehouse Project favourite Peggy Gou will be back behind the decks, and PAWSA will be continuing the massive scenes seen at Parklife 2024 with another appearance this summer.
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BICEP will be soundtracking Heaton Park with their Chroma AV DJ show, and chart-topping artist of the moment Lola Young (she’s the one who did that Messy song you can’t get out of your head) will take to the stage for her biggest-ever festival slot.
The Parklife 2025 line-up also includes Confidence Man, Chris Stussy, Steve Angello, Hybrid Minds, Andy C, Hedex, Bou, RUDIM3NTAL, Girls Don’t Sync, Ewan McVicar, Skream & Benga, Flo, DJ Heartstring, salute (presenting their True Vision show), Marc Rebillet, Interplanetary Criminal, MOCHAKK, Rossi., Partiboi69, and Prospa, alongside many others.
There’ll be more than 100 names across multiple stages, some of which are hosted by the likes of WHP & Teletech’s XXL Techno, DnB heavyweights Worried About Henry, Manchester’s beloved venue YES and forward-thinking crew Ghosts Of Garage.
Now we just wait for Aitch to make his annual ‘surprise’ appearance…
Rockstar Energy presents Parklife 2025 tickets will go back on general sale at 10am on Friday 31 January, with a limited Parklife sign-up pre-sale at 10am on Thursday 30 January.
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Weekend tickets start from just £135 plus booking fee, with day tickets from £85 plus booking fees.
Rockstar Energy presents Parklife Festival 2025 – Full Lineup
Johnny Marr announces huge hometown show at Castlefield Bowl
Danny Jones
Johnny Marr is the latest act announced for next year’s Sounds of the City (SOTC), with the Manchester music legend set for a massive hometown show at Castlefield Bowl.
Not that we’re getting carried away or anything, but the SOTC 2026 lineup is already shaping up to be arguably one of the best ever.
With The K’s confirmed as the first band playing the annual outdoor festival in the city’s stunning amphitheatre, and other names now starting to fly in, the iconic Manc musician becomes number three on the roster.
Detailing his huge homecoming gig on Monday, 13 October, the legendary guitarist and songwriter is coming to Castlefield Bowl next summer.
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be performing a hometown show at Castlefield Bowl on Thursday, 9 July 2026.
Presale begins Wednesday, 15 October at 10am BST, with general on sale from Friday, 17 October at 10am BST.
While he might be best known for his time with The Smiths, Johnny Marr has remained a noteworthy session player and featured artist alongside various artists ever since.
More importantly, he’s been releasing solo material for well over a decade now, with his recent Look Out Live! compilation record – made up of recordings from his London best of show – having only just dropped this past September.
Better still, he’s bringing fellow native indie and alternative band, Everything Everything, along for an all-Mancunian evening under what we hope will be sunny skies.
As big fans of both here at The Manc, we cannot wait for this one.
In case you missed the previous reveal, number two on the multi-date Sounds of the City lineup is another genre-defining name, as The Streets are set to play Castlefield Bowl once again, having last played the bucket list venue back in 2021.
As for ‘Moz’, the 61-year-old will be coming to the 10-day live event on 9 July, in between The K’s and Mike Skinner’s entourage.
Fans can land early access by signing up for presale via the official Johnny Marr mailing list from 10am this Wednesday, 15 October BST, while general admission tickets will be available from the same time on the following Friday (17 Oct).
Katy Perry at AO Arena Manchester – A nostalgic explosion of musical and visual vomit
Kristen MacGregor-Houlston
Katy Perry is here and you’re going to know about it. Like a punch in the face she’s blasted through Manchester on her The Lifetimes Tour and has three more dates to go including at the Utilita in Sheffield.
The wonderful team at the AO Arena kindly invited us down to experience (and it was an experience…) Katy Perry, whilst enjoying their premium offering at The Mezz, which is worth a visit in itself. More on that later.
Ahead of the show beginning there’s a mega buzz in the bowl, with Perry fans dressed up in an array of outfits matching an album ‘era’. I’m surprised there are so many young fans of Katy as she’s someone I grew up with, but perhaps that’s just me showing my age.
The stage takes the shape of a huge infinity sign, with a vast number of television screens adorning the back. The ‘theme’ of the show is meant to be video games, the purpose of which goes over my head and apparently many of the gig-goers too.
We are blasted with a visual cacophony of random animations, lights, acrobatics and structures that leave half the audience bewildered. It almost felt like Katy had asked ChatGPT to design her a show and she just said yes to everything it suggested. The storyline was bizarre and so many people around me were asking each other what was going on. In Katy’s defence though, she did describe herself as crazy and odd, so perhaps the whole show is reflective of this.
Madness aside, Perry still stuns with brilliant vocals and gets the whole crowd absolutely bopping to her classics like ‘Teenage Dream’, ‘Hot And Cold’ and ‘I Kissed A Girl’ – the audience went wild, and so did I.
There’s quite a lot of chat during the show too, which if you’re a die hard KatyCat you’d probably enjoy more than I did, who just wanted to sing and dance. Perry picked random fans from the audience to come on stage with her, and we shared some sweet moments with people who were absolutely besotted with her. One fan had even flown from Shanghai and had a custom coat with a huge train and message on for Katy.
As the show starts to come to a conclusion, Katy rides around the bowl on a giant (ugly) butterfly which also didn’t make much sense but it was exciting when she flew so close – she might be chaotic, but she is still a superstar.
The show closes on ‘Firework’, an absolutely sensational crowd pleaser that had every single person out of their seats singing and dancing which was a real sight to see. Her fans really really love her.
If you want to hear some nostalgic tunes, have a great song and dance whilst also feeling completely confused and bewildered, then this is the show for you.
About The Mezz at the AO Arena
The Mezz is the AO Arena’s new VIP bar and restaurant, unveiled last year as part of the arena’s £50m redevelopment.
The luxurious new space elevates the gig-going experience with five-star hospitality before, during and after every show at the huge venue.
For our Katy Perry visit, we had a fantastic host who took great care of my guest and I. We tucked into a delicious five course tasting menu, with the vegetarian options having been carefully considered rather than feeling like an afterthought.
If you’ve not been to the AO Arena recently, the whole concourse has had a facelift, giving an expensive and upmarket feel with an expanded food and drink offering and a smart layout. There’s a reason it is the home of great music and shows and acts love to come back here.
Daisy Jackson -
28th January 2025 
