Highest Point festival has just added a raft of new artists to its line-up for its 2023 festival in the grounds of Williamson Park.
Joining already-announced headliners Bastille, Anne-Marie and Hacieenda Classical will be the likes of Sub Focus, Sigma, Friendly Fires and Freya Ridings.
Half of the Highest Point tickets have already sold even before the Lancashire music event dropped the full line-up for its weekend of music, food and activities.
Set to take place between 11 and 13 May, the festival will bring together more than 100 artists and some of the biggest names from pop, indie, funk and soul.
Joining the line-up this week was Lost Without You singer Freya Ridings, just in time to debut her new album Blood Orange.
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Dance floor icon and Coronation Street legend Craig Charles is also joining the Highest Point bill with his Funk and Soul night, headlining The Woods stage.
Also added to the festival’s list of artists are indie band Friendly Fires, British drum and bass DJ duo Sigma, drum and bass legend Sub Focus, DJ Mag Breakthrough winners Girls Don’t Sync alongside the legend that is Skream, plus Manchester-based indie band, The Lottery Winners, known for their top 40 hits Young Love and Hawaii.
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Hacienda Classical will open the festival on the Thursday night, with their first live performance since their sold out performance in 2018.
Bastille will also be taking to the main stage performing their hit singles like Pompeii and Happier on the Friday night.
Saturday night will be headlined by ten-time BRIT-Award nominee Anne-Marie, known for her chart-topping singles CiaoAdios and 2002.
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Highest Point Festival. Credit: Robin Zahler
Other acts joining the festival line-up include Radio 1’s Danny Howard & Charlie Tee, DJ Paulette, Gok Wan, House Gospel Choir, Elvis Fronted Nirvana, Toploader, General Levy and The Cuban Brothers with Guilty Pleasures taking over The Woods on the Saturday. Chris Hawkins (6 Music) will be hosting The Dell Inn, a pub in the woods, in collaboration with Manchester Union Brewery.
The Dell Inn, soon to be everyone’s favourite festival pub, will be the home of comedy, poetry slams and acoustic sets across the weekend, as well as opening its door, or branches, to some well-known stars. This is one of the many changes the festival has made this year as part of its ambitions to become bigger and better, as well as Bushrocker Hi-fi roots reggae takeover at the Waterfall and a new look to the much-loved Sundial stage.
Highest Point spans across six stages in the beautiful 54-acre grounds of Williamson Park, with music running alongside a premier regional street food and craft beer offering.
Festival Director, Jamie Scahill, said: “We are always looking for new ways to make Highest Point bigger and better every year so there will definitely be a few changes this year. The team behind the festival are working really hard to make this year the best one yet with new and exciting experiences added to the festival, as well as a much more diverse lineup of acts.”
Tickets for Highest Point festival are available via Skiddle’s website, costing £145 per adult. Day tickets are also available from £39.50 per adult for Thursday, and Friday and Saturday tickets each costing £69.50 per adult.
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HIGHEST POINT 2023 LINEUP
Hacienda Classical / Bastille / Anne-Marie Arielle Free / A Little Sound / Charlie Tee / Chris Hawkins / Craig Charles / Cuban Brothers / Danny Howard / DJ Paulette / Elvana / Freya Ridings / Friendly Fires / General Levy / Girls Don’t Sync / Goddard / Gok Wan / Guilty Pleasures / House Gospel Choir / K-Klass / Lottery Winners / Skream / Sigma (DJ set) / Sub Focus (DJ set) / Toploader / Turno / AMA / Beth / Bklava / Buckrocker Hi-Fi / Eldon / Emily Makis / Funkademia / Ki Creighton / Matt Thiss / Matrefakt / Mike Garry / Murphys Law / Nathan X / Nico Balducci / Phoebe Hall / Pirate Copy / Sam Redmore with many more…
Courteeners to play legendary intimate venue in Manchester THIS weekend
Daisy Jackson
Courteeners have just announced an incredibly intimate show in Manchester, taking to the stage at the legendary Night & Day this weekend.
The indie rock legends, and proud Mancunian export, have just confirmed they’ll be playing a very special one-off show in their hometown on Saturday 11 April.
Night & Day is a venue Courteeners played several times at the start of their career, and now they’re heading back to the 250-capacity institution.
The news comes alongside an announcement for a best-of album, God Bless The Band, as well as several new arena shows across the UK.
Courteeners will be playing the Leeds First Direct Arena, London’s Alexandra Palace, Cardiff Utilita Arena, Liverpool M&S Bank Arena, Glasgow OVO Hydro and Birmingham Utilita Arena this autumn.
That comes in addition to their existing live shows this summer, which include an almighty outdoor summer show at Wythenshawe Park.
Courteeners have also released a new single, The Luckiest Man Alive.
Speaking of Courteeners’ return to Night & Day in Manchester, the venue wrote: “Night & Day are thrilled to announce that seminal Manc band THE COURTEENERS will be coming back to where it all started on Saturday 11th April.
“From their formative years practicing in our cellar, crucial early shows upstairs in the venue proper, to supporting us through threats of closure, The Courteeners have played a huge part in the history of Night & Day Café, and we can’t wait to welcome them back to the venue this weekend.”
As for that new tour – £1 + VAT from every ticket sold will be donated to the newly launched LIVE Trust, a new funding initiative from LIVE that will offer much-needed financial support to those working across live music.
“It’s fantastic to see Courteeners supporting the LIVE Trust with a £1 per ticket contribution on their upcoming tour, building on their commitment for the Wythenshawe Park show in August,” said Jon Collins, CEO of the LIVE Trust. “This donation will directly benefit the full grassroots ecosystem – from venues and artists to promoters and festivals – helping to protect, expand and support grassroots music across the UK.”
Speaking about the release, Liam Fray says “In October it’s 20 years since our first gig, so with a couple of new songs fresh from the studio, the timing just seemed right for a Best Of. If we mean half as much to people as they have done to us over the years, then we’ve not done too bad. We look forward to seeing you down the front God Bless The Fans x”
Newly Announced Courteeners Arena Dates
Fri 06 Nov Leeds, First Direct Arena
Sat 07 Nov Cardiff, Utilita Arena
Fri 13 Nov Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
Sat 14 Nov London, Alexandra Palace
Fri 20 Nov Glasgow, OVO Hydro
Sat 21 Nov Birmingham, Utilita Arena
Pre-sale tickets go on sale Wednesday 15 April. General sale from Friday 17 April from ticketmaster.co.uk and gigsandtours.com.
Additional Summer Shows already announced:
Thu 23 Jul Stoke-On-Trent, Victoria Hall (sold out)
Sat 25 July Sheffield, Tramlines (festival headline, sold out)
Thu 27 Aug Leicester, O2 Academy (sold out)
Sat 29 Aug Manchester, Wythenshawe Park (sold out)
Noah Kahan has just announced TWO huge gigs in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Noah Kahan has just announced details of two massive arena gigs here in Manchester.
The Stick Season singer is heading back to UK shores, two years after his last appearance in our city when he played to a packed-out Co-op Live.
This time, Noah Kahan is doing the double and will play two nights at the legendary AO Arena.
He’s set to perform here in November as part of a newly-announced tour, in support of his upcoming fourth studio album, The Great Divide.
Noah Kahan is a two-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, originally from Vermont, and has become one of the biggest and most recognisable voices on the planet.
His music has now amassed almost 15 billion streams worldwide, with nearly 12 million albums sold.
Noah’s star rocketed in 2022 with the release of his acclaimed third album, Stick Season, which sat in the UK album chart for three years.
The album featured collaborations with top artists including Hozier (Northern Attitude), Post Malone (Dial Drunk), and Sam Fender (Homesick).
In 2023, Kahan launched his mental health non-profit, The Busyhead Project, which has raised over $5.5 million to date in support of its mission to increase awareness around the importance of mental health.
His upcoming fourth album, The Great Divide, is said to ‘build on Kahan’s signature storytelling while pushing his sound into more expansive, anthemic, and sonically adventurous territory’.
He will embark on The Great Divide Tour this summer, headlining stadiums across North America for his biggest tour to date.
Noah Kahan will be at the AO Arena in Manchester on 9 and 10 November 2026, with tickets on sale from 10am on Friday 17 April.
Daisy Jackson -
9th February 2023 
