Manchester’s annual Parklife Festival has announced its biggest lineup to date ahead of the event’s return to Heaton Park on 11-12 September.
Across the two days, there’s a jaw-dropping selection of artists set to play, featuring some familiar faces back to finish what they started after being booked to play the cancelled 2020 edition last June.
Headlining the bill on Saturday 11 September is Brit Award-winning rapper Dave, in an exclusive UK festival appearance for 2021.
Meanwhile, “WAP” star Megan Thee Stallion will make her Parklife debut and will be joined by some of the finest grime, rap and hip-hop artists including Skepta, AJ Tracey, slowthai, Burna Boy, Mist and DaBaby.
In true Parklife style, we also have a stellar selection of world-class DJs providing the dance soundtrack this year. Over the weekend, Jamie XX, Disclosure, Four Tet, Carl Cox, The Blessed Madonna, Annie Mac, Jamie Jones, Skream and Solardo are all confirmed to play, plus Bicep will spin a special live set.
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For the bass heads among you, Andy C will be joined by Wilkinson, Sub Focus, Dimension, Friction, My Nu Leng, along with the CruCast lads for one massive reunion.
Presale begins at 10am on Wednesday 24 March. Only those who have signed up in advance will be able to access presale tickets – the link should land in your emails soon.
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Organisers have warned that the presale list is massively oversubscribed, with more 250,000 people signed up to it. So, tickets are in extremely high demand.
General Sale will begin at 10am the following day (Thursday 25 March) for everyone else.
Back in December, organisers announced that the long-awaited return to Heaton Park would take place on 11-12 September, instead of their usual June dates, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Up to 80,000 festival-goers are expected to descend on Heaton Park each day, making it one of the UK’s biggest metropolitan festivals.
This year’s much-anticipated edition has been two years in the making and with a lineup like this, we know the organisers will make sure it’s one to remember.
Now, all you need to do is set your alarms!
Stay up to date with Parklife on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for full lineup details, further announcements and festival info.
Music
Rising heavy metal band Spiritbox announce biggest-ever Manchester gig
Danny Jones
Rising rock band Spiritbox have just announced their first-ever Manchester arena gig, which will be their largest show to date in the city.
Listing a number of UK shows on their upcoming European leg, which is set to be the biggest headline tour of their career thus far, the British Columbians are on fire right now.
As one of the hottest heavy, progressive and metalcore outfits on the planet at the moment, Spiritbox were founded back in 2017 and have gone on to generate one of the fastest-growing global followings in the alternative scene.
Now nearly a decade into their career, they’re returning to Britain for some truly massive dates – including a fair few maiden visits to some huge venues.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Spiritbox Wednesday 16 September
They bring their biggest UK headline show yet to Co-op Live.https://t.co/LNtmWDYoYT@coopuk members get first in line for tickets. Co-op Member Presale: 10:00 Wednesday 25 February General Sale: 10:00 Friday 27 February pic.twitter.com/Hvos7mfqEa
Fronted by the incredibly versatile vocals of lead singer Courtney LaPlante, Spiritbox started out as a duo – after Courtney and guitarist Mike Stringer left their former band, ‘Iwrestledabearonce‘ – but have now doubled in terms of personnel.
Now flanked by bassist Josh Gilbert and drummer Zev Rose, the pair have turned the group into an absolute powerhouse, with a big fan base not only in North America but across mainland Europe as well.
The ferocious four-piece finally dropped their second studio LP, Tsunami Sea, last March, following the success of their hugely popular first album, Eternal Blue, back in September 2021.
It’s been a whirlwind journey since that breakout record, having since gone on to play some of the biggest festival stages around, including Reading and Leeds, Download and the Rock am Ring (Nürburgring) in Germany.
Being joined by Ukrainian contemporaries Jinjer and their US metalcore cousins Dying Wish throughout the run, it’s going to be an absolute rager.
Set to support their most recent release, there’ll be a lot of their sophomore outing in the setlist, but you can guarantee all of their biggest hits on the night, too.
Coming to Co-op Live for an inaugural performance on 16 September, Co-op members get early access as usual, but Spiritbox fans can also sign up to presale via their dedicated mailing list.
As for general admission tickets, as you can see above, they will be made available from 10am this Friday, 27 February.
Oh, and speaking of Canadian artists, they’re not the only big rock band making their Co-op Live debut -only this lot have been around for more than five decades…
‘Hefty’ Foo Fighters ticket prices for surprise Manchester gig divide opinion
Danny Jones
Foo Fighters fans, gig-goers and all-round music lovers in general have been left up in arms after the legendary American rock band announced some surprise shows in the UK and Ireland – including here in Manchester – as ticket prices have labelled ‘shameful’ by some.
In case you missed the news that sent us here in Manchester and all over the nation into bedlam, Foo Fighters recently revealed they would be playing just a handful of shows up and down the country, all at smaller venues than their usual arena tour dates.
Sharing the news fairly last-minute over the weekend, with tickets going on sale this past Sunday and (shock) selling out almost immediately, many have taken issue with the band’s and/or promoters’ approach to the event.
While lots have revelled in the excitement of a show scheduled for this week being dropped on our laps in the eleventh hour, lots of others feel the price point for the tickets is ‘ridiculous’.
Although they’re not quite on the level of the controversial Oasis/Harry Styles sagas, at £99 including all fees, they’re still up there with the most expensive gig tickets venues like these will ever charge.
Most poignantly, the tickets were sold strictly in person via the box office, with fans queuing up outside a trio of venues.
Taking place at the O2 Ritz, which has a capacity of roughly 1,500, the Foo Fighters’ Manchester date is not only one of the most in-demand gigs, but also promises to be one of their sweatiest – and, apparently, most divisive.
For some, this is a very cool bit of marketing and at least an attempt to curb online ticket touts, plus helping support live music spaces directly; on the other hand, the significant fee remains a sticking point they refuse to move past.
Responding in the comments underneath the post by the Ritz, one person wrote: “That ticket price is f****** disgusting. It’s not costing them f*** all to play there, if Harry Styles can play the Co-op Live for £20 then they should”; another simply added, “99 quid is wild, do better.”
Safe to say it has split opinions across the board.
i really want to know who is paying £100 to see foo fighters at o2 academy ritz and what they do for work to justify that
Big fan of the foo fighters but having only in person tickets and then still charging £100 is a joke. Then to move other bands earlier to slot them in isn’t fair
As you can see, it’s also affected other acts set to play these same rooms this month, too.
Others have also doubted whether the ‘face value exchange’ tactic really works all that much, as a few people on social media reported having already found a number of tickets being listed on resale on certain platforms.
What do you make of artists charging these kinds of prices for exclusive one-off shows like this, or the cost of gig tickets in general these days?
Better yet, did any of you succeed in grabbing tickets to see Foo Fighters at the Ritz here in Manchester this Friday, 27 February?
Hannah Starkie -
23rd March 2021 
