A huge virtual reality festival from Glastonbury’s Shangri-La team is happening this weekend
Users will be able to navigate their way through four stages of music via PC, VR or mobile app (iOS and Android), diving onto dancefloors, discovering secret headliners, and wandering into art performances.
An enormous, interactive virtual reality dance music event is streaming across the globe this weekend.
The team behind Glastonbury’s legendary Shangri-La, in partnership with VRJAM and Sansar, have announced the launch of Lost Horizon – the world’s largest VR music and arts festival.
Taking place on July 3 and 4, Lost Horizon features an line-up of superstar DJs, underground acts and visual artists – with proceeds going to The Big Issue and Amnesty International.
Users will be able to navigate their way through four stages of music via PC, VR or mobile app (iOS and Android), diving onto dancefloors, discovering secret headliners, and wandering into art performances.
Guests can even interact with fellow festival attendees as they explore the site.
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Alan Fitzpatrick, Carl Cox, Eats Everything, Fatboy Slim, Francesco Mami, Jamie Jones, John Digweed, Mella Dee, Nastia, Pete Tong, Sasha, Seth Troxler and Skream will all feature on the bill, among many others.
The SHITV (Shangri-La International Television) stage will be showing films, documentaries, theatre, live art, comedy, animation and talks, along with a special Nomad stage featuring artists from 24hr Garage Girls, Amen4Tekno Records, Born on Road, Critical Records, Hospitality, Hold Tight Records, Kaotic Kartel, Run Tings Records and UnCommon Records.
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More than 200 visual art pieces will also be on display at the festival, whilst Design Manchester has curated an exhibition around the main music stage.
Further billboard art based on the Lost Horizon artwork will be contributed by Manchester’s Instruct Studio, which created Lost Horizon’s brand, campaign and website.
Creative Director, Kaye Dunnings, said: “Shangri-La has brought many world firsts since its creation in 2008, from the first to use video mapping in a festival environment and an immersive storyline, to the first woman only space or Heavy Metal area at a mainstream festival, incorporating creativity at its core and as a direct response to the world we live in.
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“Our mission is to pioneer new ways of sharing culture and creating a global community that we feel defines us and our ethos.
“We need unity more than ever right now, in an industry that is falling away in front of us. By creating a digital platform to experience art and music in a new way, we are at the forefront of defining the next generation of live entertainment and creative communities as we know them.”
Sheri Bryant, President of Sansar, added: “Now more than ever, fans are looking beyond traditional live shows to connect with the artists they love. They’re online, they’re savvy about streaming, they’re eager to experience music unconstrained by where they live, and there’s a clear demand for events that transcend old boundaries.
“With Shangri-La presents: Lost Horizon, we’re delivering the music festival of the future: deeply immersive, fully online, accessible to anyone and anywhere with a PC or phone at their disposal. Shangri-La presents: Lost Horizon exists at the vanguard of something truly incredible, and we couldn’t be more excited to turn this page.
“The future of live events is virtual and we’re incredibly excited to be bringing it to fruition.”
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Lost Horizon tickets are free but if you can afford to contribute, you can purchase a ‘premium’ ticket with proceeds going to charities.
Role Model at O2 Apollo, Manchester – a night where everyone wanted to be Sally | Review
Clementine Hall
The O2 Apollo was a sea of cowboy hats and gingham for Role Model’s return to Manchesteron his No Place Like Tour.
If you don’t know who Role Model is, then you’re probably not a 20-something year old girl addicted to TikTok and strawberry matcha like me – and that’s absolutely fine, but Role Model, aka Tucker Pillsbury, is more than just a social star with a couple of viral hits.
His steep incline to stardom, especially through his latest album Kansas Anymore released last summer, and the follow-up deluxe Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye), earlier this year, has recently seen him perform on SNL with Charli XCX, as well as this week featuring in People’s Magazine Sexiest Man Alive 2025 edition in the centrefold spot, no less.
So it’s safe to say, he really is the man of the moment.
Role Model on stage at O2 Apollo Manchester in November 2025 / Image: The Manc Group
The all-American heartthrob wasted no time getting into his catalogue of hits, kicking things off with ‘Writing’s On The Wall’, before transitioning smoothly into ‘Look At That Woman’ and ‘Scumbag’, all taken from his 2024 album.
Guitar firmly in hand, Role Model shimmied across the stage effortlessly as a sea of adoring fans sang every single word back without fail.
The highlights from the show are never-ending, like taking a seat and singing the beautiful ‘Something, Somehow, Someday’ from a leather notebook – which he tells us is “my favourite song I’ve ever written, and I’m going to read it to you like a story”.
His vocals are identical to the studio recordings, and the energy in the room was just how you wanted it to be, especially during the iconic bridge in ‘Some Protector’.
Presuming you’re not familiar with the Role Model lore? Well, allow me to fill you in.
Each night during the undeniable smash-hit, ‘Sally, When the Wine Runs Out’, Tucker brings out a special guest to be that night’s so-called ‘Sally’ and dance on stage with him.
On the European tour so far, London were treated to Lewis Capaldi and Niall Horan back to back, so it’s safe to say we were waiting with baited breath to be introduced to our very-own Sally.
Although we didn’t get anyone famous (we were hoping he’d go super meta and get Sally from Corrie, but alas), what did get was arguably better. A lovely, smiling fan who held Tucker’s hand and had the absolute time of her life for that one-minute where all eyes were on her – this is what it’s truly all about, at the end of the day.
If anyone in that crowd went home without feeling a bit in love with Role Model, then I’d be very surprised.
His effortless charisma oozed throughout the performance, and we can’t wait to welcome him back in Manchester again.
Maybe next time, I’ll be Sally.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Clubland Live is returning to Manchester with an arena show that will be ‘the biggest night of your life’
Daisy Jackson
Clubland will be back with a live arena show in Manchester next year, following massive success and feel-good parties for the last few years.
There’ll be five cities on the newly announced tour, which will fill arenas with classic dance tunes and the full Clubland experience.
As well as Manchester, the tour will visit Leeds, Glasgow, Newcastle and Aberdeen in May next year.
The three-hour action-packed show will bring together some big names from as far back as the 90s in the dance music world, along with some of the biggest new names on the scene.
Each city will have a slightly different line-up, but for Manchester it includes Cascada, Ultrabeat, and Ben Nicky.
The new Clubland show at the AO Arena will be reliving the times where dance music produced the best tunes, energy and feel-good factor from throughout the generations.
Clubland started life as a series of compilation albums in 2002, and become the umbrella brand for an entire movement of commercial dance music, spawning countless classic hits over the years.
That’s included artists like Cascada, Scooter, BassHunter and Ultrabeat amongst many, many more – selling 30 million albums.
And Clubland TV remains one of the most popular music channels on UK music TV, bringing a mix of the both the classics and new tunes to thousands of people every day.
Clubland Live launched in 2008 and played to tens of thousands of people across the UK, in a landmark moment for the dance music industry.
And now it’s back again for a live show at the AO Arena.
Clubland Live will be at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday 2 May 2026, with tickets on sale from 10am on Friday 7 November HERE.
The Manc -
30th June 2020 
