Parklife, the biggest party in Manchester, has announced its 2025 festival line-up, with massive headline performances from Charli XCX, 50 Cent, Jorja Smith, Peggy Gou and Confidence Man.
Now celebrating its 15th year, Parklife will be back at Heaton Park between Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June.
They’re promising a weekend packed with jaw-dropping live shows and the best global talent across dance, electronic, house, hip-hop and more.
Since originating in Platt Fields in 2010, Parklife has grown to become one of the biggest events in Manchester’s cultural calendar every single year since.
And for 2025, Parklife is going bigger than ever, looking forward and bringing some of the globe’s hottest names to our city.
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There’ll be some big changes on the actual festival site too – Parklife will have a brand-new stage, Matinee, featuring a 360° DJ booth, and both VIP and Backstage will move to a more central location.
The festival’s headliners this year are BIG – the iconic rapper 50 Cent will be back in Heaton Park with his hits like In Da Club, P.I.M.P and Candy Shop.
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The woman who dominated dancefloors and charts (and our hearts) last summer, Charli XCX, is also turning Heaton Park back into a Brat summer, with her floor-filling hits like Apple, 360, and Guess.
The beautiful, incredible voice of Jorja Smith will be on the Parklife stage this year – expect to hear spell-binding tracks like Blue Lights, Be Honest, and Little Things.
Interplanetary Criminal will perform at Parklife 2025 as line-up revealed. Credit: Jody HartleyPosters teasing Charli XCX as a Parklife 2025 headliner. Credit: The Manc Group
Firm Parklife and Warehouse Project favourite Peggy Gou will be back behind the decks, and PAWSA will be continuing the massive scenes seen at Parklife 2024 with another appearance this summer.
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BICEP will be soundtracking Heaton Park with their Chroma AV DJ show, and chart-topping artist of the moment Lola Young (she’s the one who did that Messy song you can’t get out of your head) will take to the stage for her biggest-ever festival slot.
The Parklife 2025 line-up also includes Confidence Man, Chris Stussy, Steve Angello, Hybrid Minds, Andy C, Hedex, Bou, RUDIM3NTAL, Girls Don’t Sync, Ewan McVicar, Skream & Benga, Flo, DJ Heartstring, salute (presenting their True Vision show), Marc Rebillet, Interplanetary Criminal, MOCHAKK, Rossi., Partiboi69, and Prospa, alongside many others.
There’ll be more than 100 names across multiple stages, some of which are hosted by the likes of WHP & Teletech’s XXL Techno, DnB heavyweights Worried About Henry, Manchester’s beloved venue YES and forward-thinking crew Ghosts Of Garage.
Now we just wait for Aitch to make his annual ‘surprise’ appearance…
Rockstar Energy presents Parklife 2025 tickets will go back on general sale at 10am on Friday 31 January, with a limited Parklife sign-up pre-sale at 10am on Thursday 30 January.
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Weekend tickets start from just £135 plus booking fee, with day tickets from £85 plus booking fees.
Rockstar Energy presents Parklife Festival 2025 – Full Lineup
Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit concert dedicated to the one and only Queen, with a spectacular West End Cast and a talented live rock band, is coming to Manchester city centre in January.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
Daisy Jackson -
28th January 2025 
