This morning the iconic Manchester party series The Warehouse Project (WHP) has revealed its final show for its 2023 season.
The final show is an absolute corker, seeing the series conclude with a curated show from Leeds-born, Manchester-bred record producer, DJ, and songwriter Nia Archives on Friday 8 December.
The BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year has put together a belting line-up, bringing together the likes of Shy FX, Skream, underground UKG and Asian revivalist Yung Singh, a debut Special Request B2B Clipz, and more for the series’ final show of the season.
Awarded BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year last year, Nia Archives is set to return this season with her very own debut curated show at The Warehouse Project, UP YA ARCHIVES.
Image: Nia Archives
Image: Nia Archives
No stranger to the Depot Mayfield domain, Nia Archives released a spooky ‘Off Wiv Ya Headz’ remix of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s ‘Heads Will Roll’ earlier this year which was born out of her Halloween set at The Warehouse Project last season.
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A true champion of the DIY spirit and one of dance music’s most exciting prospects, Nia Archives is set to bring her unique sonic palette to the warehouse – taking over the three stages of Depot, Concourse, and Archive.
Joining Nia on the nightwill be the UK’s finest and freshest talents across DnB, jungle, dubstep, and UKG – including the likes of Shy FX, Skream, Yung Singh, Interplanetary Criminal, salute, a special debut b2b set from Clipz and Special Request, and more announced below.
Commenting on her first UP YA ARCHIVES at The Warehouse Project, Nia Archives, said: “Am so buzzin to curate ‘UP YA ARCHIVES’ at The Warehouse Project in December!!
“Manchester is a special place to me and am so gassed I’ve got to book so many of ma favourite artists + DJ’s to play alongside me, can’t wait! Tickets on sale Friday @ 10am!!”
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The Warehouse Project and Sports Banger collaboration
Image: Sports Banger
The Warehouse Project has also announced this morning that it has joined forces with London’s independent label and provocateur Sports Banger, which has taken the party and fashion scenes by storm since its conception in 2013.
This 2023 season marks an exciting collaboration as founder, curator, and raver Jonny Banger has designed a capsule collection for WHP23 merchandise.
The Sports Banger x WHP23 merchandise will drop as a limited run featuring heavyweight hoodies and crewneck t-shirts.
Clothing will be available to purchase on-site from this weekend, Friday 29 September, at WHP merchandise stall across the remaining shows this season. Some proceeds from the sales will go to charity partners – Manchester South Central Foodbank and Mad Dogs Homeless Project.
This year also sees Sports Banger embark on a new project as the genre-defying, boundary-breaking fashion collective is set to publish an illustration book Sports Banger: Lifestyle of the poor, rich & famous to celebrate the irreverent brand’s first ten years featuring archive images and essays. The book is due for release on October 26.
Commenting on the collaboration, the man behind Sports Banger, Jonny Banger, said: “This is an exciting project for us, to collaborate with one of the UK’s long-standing club series.
“We look forward to launching the first capsule collection for WHP23 which features some core Sports Banger designs with a nod to The Warehouse Project and its home city Manchester.”
Featured image – Nia Archives
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DJ at centre of Parklife cancellations speaks out over ‘unsafe’ crowds
Daisy Jackson
A rising DJ whose set was cancelled due to ‘safety concerns’ at Parklife festival has now spoken out on his side of events.
Josh Baker is a popular Manchester-born DJ who was set to perform on the brand-new Matinee stage on the Sunday night of the local music festival.
He had the second-highest billing of the day, followed by Chris Stussy as headliner of that particular stage.
But despite being booked onto one of the festival’s smaller stages, Josh Baker’s popularity quickly saw the space becoming overcrowded.
Videos shared on TikTok show fans clambering over the safety barriers that Parklife security had installed as a queue system, desperate to get inside for Josh’s set.
The young talent has now spoken out again about the incident, saying he could see from his vantage point it ‘quickly became unsafe’.
Josh Baker said that ‘the organisers made the right call’ despite the show ‘meaning a lot’ to him.
He detailed that he has been going to Parklife since the age of 16, and playing such a big slot in the festival ‘felt like a proper full-circle moment’.
He added that he’s been looking into doing free follow-up shows, but has been unable to find a venue that would hold ‘anywhere near the amount of people who were trying to get in to see me play’.
Josh wrote on Instagram: “I’m honestly so sorry to everyone who didn’t get to see the set. It was completely out of my hands, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Just know I’ve felt every bit of frustration with you.”
He then said he’s planning ‘something ridiculous’ for his Creamfields appearance to make it up to fans.
Josh Baker said in his full statement on Parklife: “I’ve taken a few days to process what happened at Parklife last weekend, and I wanted to share a few words.
“This one was always going to mean a lot. Growing up in Manchester, I’ve been going to Parklife since I was 16, so to be booked for such a big slot felt like a proper full-circle moment. But just as I stepped on stage, the music had to be cut. When I came on there were too many people trying to get into the arena and it quickly became unsafe, and therefore the stage had to be closed for the rest of the day.
“It’s gutting, but I want to be clear – the organisers made the right call. Safety has to come before everything. After seeing a few of the videos from the crowd, I’m just relieved the situation did not escalate and everyone remained safe.
“Still, it’s hard to explain how much it hurt not being able to play. I know so many of you were excited for that set and it honestly blew me away seeing that many people turning up.
“Over the last few days, I’ve been trying to figure out how to make it right. I looked into doing a free follow-up show in Manchester, but the reality is, there are no suitable or possible venues which would hold anywhere near the amount of people who were trying to get in to see me play.
“The last thing I’d want is to announce something and end up disappointing even more people who couldn’t get tickets. After a lot of conversations and digging behind the scenes, we’ve had to accept that there’s no realistic way to do something that feels fair right now.
“I’m honestly so sorry to everyone who didn’t get to see the set. It was completely out of my hands, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. Just know I’ve felt every bit of frustration with you.
“I really hope to see loads of you at Creamfields because I’m already planning something ridiculous to try and make this up to you in some way.”
Legendary funk and soul act Kool and the Gang are finally coming back to Manchester
Danny Jones
In case you hadn’t heard already, iconic funk, soul, and R’n’B artist Kool and the Gang are finally coming back to Manchester after far too long away from our musical city for a massive arena gig later this year.
Coming back to 0161 ‘For One Night Only’, the award-winning US supergroup and industry giants are set to make their first appearance here in over 15 years.
With a rich back catalogue and a career spanning six decades, not to mention multiple genres including funk, soul, disco, jazz (how they first began as an ensemble) and more, it’s only fitting they be given the top billing at the one and only AO Arena.
After Manc fans have had to wait for long, this is sure to be a night of ‘Summertime Madness’.
Though they need no real introduction if you know your music history, specifically African-American and Black music culture, Kool and the Gang are arguably one of the most influential acts to ever make it.
Having performed together longer than other R’n’B outfit on the planet, stood as one of the most sampled artists of all time and released a staggering 34 studio albums to date, they’re nothing short of foundational.
While, sadly, there is only founding member Robert ‘Kool’ Bell left from the original lineup formed back in 1964, the various iterations of the surviving live band have captured that same effortless cool, charisma, and effortless control of a crowd on the road that made the OG Gang such a toue de force.
As well as touring with everyone from Elton John and the Dave Matthews Band to The Roots and even a 50-city tour alongside equally legendary rock group, Van Halen, they have no shortage of accolades to their name.
How does two Grammys, seven American Music Awards (AMAs), a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award; a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a place in the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine top ten hits in the pop charts, as well as 31 gold and platinum albums, strike you?
— Melodies & Masterpieces (@SVG__Collection) May 27, 2025
Best known for beloved tracks like ‘Celebration’, ‘Get Down On It’, ‘Cherish’ and ‘Jungle Boogie’, just to name a very small few (again, their discography is huge), you’ve most likely heard their songs or at least one of their serially sampled beats more times than its possible to count.
Yep, if there’s anyone that deserves the ‘icon’ moniker, it’s these lot.
Kool and the Gang come to the AO Arena in Manchester next month on Friday, 11 July and will have fellow British soul counterparts, The Real Thing, who looked to mirror their success throughout the ’70s, along for the ride.
General admission tickets are already on sale as we speak – you can grab yours HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
27th September 2023 
