Highest Point Festival has unveiled its official lineup for 2021.
Rag’N’Bone Man, Rudimental, Clean Bandit, Becky Hill, Hybrid Minds, and The Futureheads have all been confirmed for headline slots at the North-West’s biggest open-air music festival.
Taking place on the 54-acre grounds of Williamson Park in Lancaster, Highest Point has revealed more than 50 acts will play across the first weekend of September (3 & 4) – including Ella Eyre, Wilkinson, Crazy P Soundsystem, Gentleman’s Dub Club, General Levy, Hannah Wants, Sam Divine, Dimension, The Lottery Winners, The Cuban Brothers, The Lovely Eggs, Monki, 3D (Dave Seaman, Darren Emerson & Danny Howells), Charlotte OC, Graeme Park, K-Klass and many more.
The festival’s original May date has been rescheduled in anticipation of relaxed COVID measures by autumn.
75% of tickets have already been purchased ahead of the line-up announcement – and a crowd of 20,000 is expected over the weekend.
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Festival Director Richard Dyer said: “We’re going to throw the biggest, most outrageous party of 2021. We cannot wait for you all to see how we plan to transform the beautiful Williamson Park once again, into an amazing, sensory overloading festival site”.
Director Jamie Scahill added: “We’re delighted that all of the artists that were due to join us last year have agreed to perform at the festival in 2021, and we’re super proud to have continued to add to this to create an even more incredible experience for our guests.
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“This is by far the biggest and best bill of artists we’ve ever brought to Lancaster.”
The line up for Highest Point Festival 2021 is as follows:
FRIDAY LINE UP:Rudimental (DJ set) / Wilkinson (DJ set) / Becky Hill / Ella Eyre / Richy Ahmed // General Levy / 3D (Dave Seaman, Darren Emerson & Danny Howells) / Crazy P Soundsystem / K-Klass / Monki / Sam Divine / Jess Bays / PBR Streetgang / James Holroyd & many more
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SATURDAY: Rag’N’Bone Man / Clean Bandit (DJ Set) / Hybrid Minds / The Futureheads / Hannah Wants / Ms Banks / Gentleman’s Dub Club / Dimension / Friction / The Lottery Winners / The Lovely Eggs / The Cuban Brothers / Emerald / Charlotte OC / Graeme Park / Anton Powers / Matt Thiss / Funkademia / Lovedose / Demented Disco / The Hiphopalipz / Gareth Brooks / Juice Box & many more
Highest Point has also announced a partnership with Big Green Coaches – offering pickup from many areas across the North-West including Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Carlisle, Kendal, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Wigan.
Festival tickets are available exclusively via Skiddle, with the final release tickets for Friday at £45, and final release tickets for Saturday costing £55.
What's On
Stretford’s free neighourhood festival returns this weekend
Danny Jones
Stretford’s still fledgling and completely free all-day festival is BACK for 2026 and is happening this coming weekend.
So, if you didn’t have plans this Saturday, you do now.
Simply named StretFest, this is the third edition of the now annual celebration in one of Manchester’s fastest growing neighbourhoods – and an increasingly up-and-coming one at that.
Kicking off in the morning and running right into the wee small hours thanks to a healthy dose of varied daytime activities, evening events and de facto afterparties, there’s plenty on the cards.
🎉 It's the big one on Saturday! Stretfest is back & we're thrilled to have a fab selection of LIVE Music on from 3pm – 8pm for it!
We can't wait to greet loads of faces, old and new. #Stretford will be buzzing with activity so come on down & make a day of it ! 🍻 pic.twitter.com/16Rnn5w1qj
StretFest only started back in July 2024, but it has quickly grown into a cult favourite not only among locals living in and around the Trafford town, but also among plenty of people from all over Greater Manchester, with last year seeing more visitors than ever.
Based not just over at Stretford Mall but the surrounding parks, Public Hall, across the bridge and an area they dub ‘The Beach’, there are several distinct but equally vibrant hubs, all offering something different.
For instance, venues like Longford Tap, Head Bar and Stretford Canteen are all involved, as are the likes of the Library and Martin Luther Church, but also recently opened cafes like Swig and Cuppello’s, as well as many, many more.
To be honest, we’ll probably be popping over for all the food and drink alone.
And, of course, there’s going to be plenty of live music, DJ sets, other bits of entertainment, and all-around fun to be enjoyed; there’s even going to be everything from arts, crafts and workshops, to pirates and boat rides.
Getting underway from as early 9am – thanks to the likes of the regular Stretford parkrun crew teaming up with the festival, and Mr & Mrs hosting a coffee morning for their first birthday – there really is going to be something for everyone from start to finish.
You can see the full StretFest schedule or build your own personal day-into-night programme HERE.
As for what else is on the cards for the final few days of March (give or take a couple), you can find out what else is on in and around the ten boroughs down below.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures/Adrian Michael (supplied)/The Manc Group
What's On
Embrace announce intimate live show in beloved Bury music venue
Danny Jones
British alternative veterans Embrace have announced another intimate show here in Greater Manchester, only this time it’s over in Bury at a stunning small-cap arts venue.
It’s not often you get to see such a long-standing band play outside of the city centre so far into their career, especially in gorgeous grassroots spaces like this one.
A fellow Northern outfit, they’ve often been lumped in with that ‘post-Britpop’ era of music, and plenty throw around the so-called ‘dad rock’ label, but honestly, we couldn’t care either way: they remain among the UK’s perennially underappreciated underdogs that never get old, as far as we’re concerned.
Revealing a handful of new live dates for their album launch this summer, they’ll be making just two appearances in the North West on the run.
Writing in the post, the group said: “We’ve lined up a run of exclusive UK dates in venues that are some of the smallest we’ve played in years. It’s going to be special, but capacity is extremely limited.”
As you can see, besides the Jacaranda Baltic in Liverpool, the only other place in this region where they’re set to play for this mini tour is The Met over in Bury.
One of the most beautiful gig spots, not just in the town but in all the 10 boroughs, for our money, the room only holds around 400 standing and roughly 250 seats.
For seasoned artists like this lot, who are more used to playing big festival stages and big domestic headline tours – which they’re also doing later this year – it’s sure to be a special night.
Toasting the release of their ninth studio LP, Avalanche, this spin-off on the tried and tested in-store format wouldn’t be possible without the help of local record store, Wax and Beans, who are promoting and hosting the show.
But we can’t lie, there’s something about the idea of seeing them decades on from when they first tightly-packed out crowds of this size.
If you want to be part of the Embrace album launch tour, you can get ready to grab your tickets at 10am this Friday, 27 March, right HERE. And speaking of great record shops…
The Manc -
1st April 2021 
