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The best festivals in the north west this summer – including tickets, dates and line-ups

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 16th April 2022

There are some massive festivals on the way to the north west region, as the nation gears up for its first restriction-free summer in two years.

From the family-friendly to the world-famous raves, from festivals that base themselves in ground-breaking science to ones who take over a barn, there really is something for everyone this year.

We’ve rounded up here some of the best and biggest events to look forward to now.

Keep reading to find out what you need to know, from locations to line-ups to how to get tickets.

Highest Point

What is it? Lancashire’s biggest open-air festival, Highest Point was set up in 2018 and attracts around 35,000 music fans every year. Expect a range of music across multiple stages, as well as new additions this year – including the Not-tober beer hall, which will feature an immersive bingo experience with rave intervals, dance-offs and audience participation, karaoke, drag acts and more.

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Who are the headliners? Richard Ashcroft, Clean Bandit, Kaiser Chiefs, Basement Jaxx, Example, The Lottery Winners, Reverend and the Makers, Sigala, and more. 

Where is it? Williamson Park, Lancaster, LA1 1UX

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When is it? 12-14 May

Tickets: skiddle.com/festivals/highest-point-festival/

Parklife

Parklife festival. Credit: Parklife

What is it? Manchester’s biggest party every year, attracting global talent and UK festival exclusives from across the worlds of dance, hip hop, grime, pop, rock, club and house music. The urban festival comes from the same team behind the Warehouse Project and pulls around 80,000 people to Heaton Park every summer.

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Who are the headliners? Tyler, the Creator, 50 Cent, Megan Thee Stallion, Lewis Capaldi, Arlo Parks, Chase & Status, Jamie xx, Four Tet, Jessie Ware and more.

Where is it? Heaton Park, Manchester M25 2GT

When is it? 11-12 June

Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk/parklife-tickets

Moovin Festival

Moovin Festival. Credit: The Manc Group

What is it? Billed as a weekend of ‘quirky, hedonistic madness’, Moovin has stages including The Barn, a converted cow shed with a massive bar and hay bales to sit on. Once ‘Manchester’s best kept secret’, the independent event has become a well-established staple on the region’s events calendar.

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Who are the headliners? Orbital, Shy FX, Roy Ayers, Jazzy Jeff, Louie Vega, Moodymann, Sugarhill Gang, Sister Nancy, and more.

Where is it? Whitebottom Farm, Stockport, SK6 5HZ

When is it? 26-28 August

Tickets: skiddle.com/festivals/moovin-festival/

Kendal Calling

What is it? Taking over a corner of the beautiful Lake District, Kendal Calling is celebrating its 15th birthday this summer after a three-year hiatus. It’s one of the biggest festivals in the north west and draws in some of the biggest names in rock, indie, folk, and comedy.

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Who are the headliners? Supergrass, Stereophonics, Bastille, Craig David, The Wombats, The Kooks, Tom Grennan, The Vaccines, The Cribs, Declan McKenna, Sea Girls, Sophie Ellis Bextor, and more. 

Where is it? Lowther Deer Park, Cumbria, CA10 2DY

When is it? 28-31 August

Tickets: skiddle.com/festivals/kendal-calling/

Y Not

What is it? Marrying incredible countryside views with a massive indie-rock line up, plus comedy, paint fights, carnivals, an in-house cinema, great food, and a lot of fancy dress, Y Not is the Peak District’s biggest party.

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Who are the headliners? Stereophonics, Courteeners, Blossoms, The Kooks, Manic Street Preachers, Nothing But Thieves, The Vaccines, Levellers, Jake Bugg, Sea Girls, Kelis, Pale Waves, and more. 

Where is it? Pikehall, Derbyshire, DE4 2PR.

When is it? 29-31 July

Tickets: kaboodle.co.uk/festival/ynotfestival

Lytham Festival

What is it? What started as a one-night-only, Proms-style concert has now swelled to a two week live music series on the banks of the Ribble Estuary. With space for up to 20,000 people a night, it’s previously been headlined by the likes of Stereophonics, Rod Stewart, and even Kylie Minogue.

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Who are the headliners? Diana Ross, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Duran Duran, Lewis Capaldi, Snow Patrol, Simply Red, The Strokes, Elbow, Tears For Fears, Paul Weller, The Charlatans, Goldfrapp, Jack Savoretti, Kodaline, and more. 

Where is it? Lytham Green, Lytham St. Anne’s, Lancashire, FY8 5LB

When is it? 28 June – 10 July

Tickets: ticketmaster.co.uk/lytham-festival

Bluedot

Bluedot Festival. Credit: Lucas Sinclair

What is it? Bluedot blends the worlds of music, science and culture in a family-friendly four-day extravaganza, with the incredible 76-metre-wide Lovell Telescope as its backdrop.

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Who are the headliners? Bjork with the Halle Orchestra, Groove Armada, Mogwai, Metronomy, Tim Peake, Spiritualized, Working Mens Club, Kelly Lee Owens, and more. 

Where is it? Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, SK11 9DW

When is it? 21-24 July

Tickets: discoverthebluedot.com/tickets

Flashback Festival

Flashback Festival is the newest to join the north west

What is it? A haven for 90s kids, 00s lovers, dance floor heroes, and underground clubbers, brand new Flashback Festival will be bringing ‘timeless tunes and fresh vibes’ to Platt Fields Park this May. There’ll be more than 60 artists across multiple stages.

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Who are the headliners? Example, Tinchy Stryder, 2 Unlimited, Tulisa, Judge Jules, Ultrabeat, Artful Dodger, Lisa Mafia and Romeo, all hosted by Kevin and Perry. 

Where is it? Platt Fields Park, Fallowfield, M14 6LA

When is it? 21 May

Tickets: flashbackfestival.co.uk/tickets

Cheshire Fest

What is it? A four-day knees up over the June bank holiday weekend, bringing indie rock, a craft beer festival, big top bingo, a street food village, artisan markets, and family entertainment involving a giant bubble display and circus acts.

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Who are the headliners? The Zutons, Angie Brown, Rozalla, K-Klass, Peter Hook, Clint Boon, and more.

Where is it? The Lambing Shed, Moseley Hall Farm, Knutsford, WA16 8RB

When is it? 2-5 June

Tickets: cheshirefest.co.uk/buy-tickets

Sounds from the Other City

What is it? Taking over a host of small Salford venues, this underground music festival has built a reputation for bringing huge artists to the city whilst they are still at early points in their careers. A firm favourite with local music lovers since it launched in 2005, this year’s line-up will continue to champion local promoters and small independent venues.

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Who are the headliners? LayFullstop, LYR, Lovescene, GNOD, Hamish Hawk, Queer Latifah, Pip Blom, TYSON, Chande and Gracie T, Holy Other, and more.

Where is it? Various venues around Chapel Street, Salford

When is it? 1 May

Tickets: soundsfromtheothercity.com/tickets

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Watch Gary Neville join The Reytons and ‘play bass’ on stage in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Gary Neville joins The Reytons on stage in Manchester Aviva Studios

Remember when we kind of thought Gary Neville was joining The Reytons on tour? Well, turns out he sort of has – at least for one night, anyway.

The former footballer turned pundit and entrepreneur seems to crop up absolutely everywhere these days, be that in Greater Manchester or otherwise, and we know that he’s proven to be a bit of a jack of all trades since his playing days came to an end.

However, we never thought we’d put Gary Neville and ‘playing bass’ in the same sentence, let alone on stage with one of the fastest-rising Northern bands around, but Rotherham’s very own Reytons have turned that seemingly random combination of words into a reality.

Playing the incredible Aviva Studios venue on Saturday, 8 March, the Manc crowd were in for a treat when the Man United legend and ex-England defender popped up on stage, guitar in hand.

As you can see, not only did G Nev join for the cult favourite anthem ‘Low Life’ but he made quite the entrance and pyros blasted from the front of the stage.

For anyone needing a bit more context, this all came about following a humorous stunt back in September of last year where the band made it look like the Manc might be standing in as replacement bassist after full-time member Lee Holland broke his arm.

The 50-year-old filmed a skit of him going through a fake audition process as other candidates were ignored and he ended up being selected.

It was pretty funny, to be fair, especially when the final punchline was that he had absolutely no idea how to play bass.

Still didn’t stop him from going ahead and doing a whole photo shoot though, did it? Now they’ve gone even further and brought him out in front of a massive hometown crowd.

Credit: Graham Noble

Speaking on the cameo, frontman Jonny Yerrell thanked Neville for his support, telling the crowd: “He is honestly one of the most down-to-earth and nicest people we’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”

Yerrell also went on to highlight their Grassroots Foundation initiative, explaining how they provided full football kits to 50 different grassroots teams in 2024, as well as applauding the Reytons fan base and the wider music community for rallying behind young mum Sophie White in a truly touching tale.

The 22-year-old Rotheram native, who has seen widespread support across Yorkshire, is currently battling a brain tumour; with that in mind, the band raffled off the stage sign from their flagship sell-out performance at Clifton Park performance.

With Sophie in attendance, Jonny announced to gig-goers that over £10,000 had been raised in just two days to help her undergo potentially life-saving treatment in Germany, which finally starts this week (Monday, 10 March 2025). Incredible stuff.

If there’s one thing we love more than a band with a sense of humour and who don’t mind a stunt or two, it’s the kind that does important stuff for their region like this.

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And, as Jonny puts it, this is just the start; “We’re planning to do even more this year!”, he says, so don’t expect this to be the last time you hear about these Northern trailblazers doing something brilliant.

Who knows, maybe we’ll see Gary Neville joining The Reytons for their headline set at Tramlines Festival this summer too?

After all, we’ve seen similar before…

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Reytons/Graham Noble (supplied)

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A new art trail celebrating the city’s music scene will take over Manchester this summer

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Music for the Senses

A new art trail celebrating the city’s iconic music scene will be taking over Manchester city centre this summer.

It’s no secret that Manchester is a musical hub, with countless well-known artists getting their start here or calling our city home over the years, and in a fitting way to celebrate this incredible lineup of musical talent, an all-new multi-sensory art exhibition will be taking over the streets of the city centre this summer.

The new exhibition, which is titled Music for the Senses: an art arrangement for a musical city, is a collaboration between global art producer Wild in Art – the creators of the famous Bee in the City project – and Manchester City Council.

It’ll be running across the city centre from early July until the end of August.

At the heart of the exhibition will be an interactive installation called ‘Guitar Street’ created by Manchester artist Liam Hopkins, known as Lazerian, which will lovingly repurpose 100+ broken guitars, all donated by members of the public.

On top of this, more than 50 additional ‘unusable’ guitars will be painted or adorned by professional artists, turning them into individual artworks to be displayed in shop windows and venues around the city.

A guitar amnesty is now open for the people of Manchester to contribute instruments to become part of the trail.

As well as the amnesty, some celebrated Manchester musicians will also be loaning their precious instruments to display in windows across the city too.

Any guitars donated that are thought to be in ‘very good condition’ or of ‘significant value’ will instead be donated to a music charity where they’ll get a second life in the hands of aspiring musicians and the next generation of artists.

“Guitar music is a huge part of the sound of Manchester,” commented Councillor Garry Bridges, who is the Deputy Leader Manchester City Council

“Music for the Senses promises to be a fabulous and unique celebration of an iconic instrument, of fantastic music, and of amazing art, with something for everyone to enjoy and get involved in, whilst at the same time supporting the next generation of music talent in the city.”

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When the art trail draws to close at the end of August, all the guitars featured will be auctioned off for charity, with the funds raised going to support grassroots music projects and venues across Greater Manchester.

Music for the Senses: an art arrangement for a musical city will run from 7 July – 31 August.

Featured Image – David Oates Photography

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