Moovin Festival has released its line-up for its 2023 festival, back in the fields of Whitebottom Farm.
The boutique festival is set to take over the beautiful countryside in Etherow Country Park once again this August bank holiday weekend, with a line-up of returning favourites and some hotly-tipped newcomers.
Widely considered one of the region’s best music events, Moovin has gone from being ‘Manchester’s best kept secret’ to a staple in the calendar every year.
This year’s line-up includes headline performances from Laurent Garnier, house music mainstay Toddy Terry, plus local legend Mr Scruff.
The bill also includes Mungo’s HiFi feat Eva Lazarus, David Holmes, Massive Attack’s Daddy G performing a DJ set, Craig Charles, plus hip hop royalty Big Daddy Kane, Goldie live with his orchestra, Sister Nancy, Chali 2Una from Jurassic5, Children of Zeus, Gilles Peterson, Stanton Warriors, Plump DJs, Jaguar Skills, Krafty Kuts, Freestylers, DJ Paulette, Graeme Park and many more.
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Moovin Festival is famed for its bespoke and friendly atmosphere, and for its stunning setting in the Stockport countryside, just a stone’s throw from both Manchester and Sheffield.
The site is transformed into an ‘adult playground’ with world-class sound systems across several stages, including the Barn Stage – a large open-sided cow shed where festival-goers can relax on actual bales of hay.
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Moovin Festival 2023. Credit: SuppliedMoovin Festival 2023. Credit: Supplied
Moovin also brings an ethically-sourced food and cocktail offering to the site, plus yoga classes, live performers including magic and circus, and plenty more surprises along the way.
This will be the first year that techno pioneer Laurent Garnier plays the festival, with an extended set that will celebrate his 30-year career DJing at major clubs and festivals across the globe.
There’ll be a strong drum and bass presence too, with Metalheadz founder and scene pioneer Goldie playing a special show with a full live orchestra.
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The Moovin Festival line-up. Credit: Supplied
Moovin said on announcing its line-up: “One of the best mic men in the game in Manchester’s DRS will also be on stage to drop his deeply profound bars with a full band in support. He has been on records with all the greats such as Calibre, Marcus Intalex, Lynx, LTJ Bukem, Icicle and LSB so do not miss.
“Hip hop legend Big Daddy Kane is one of the most requested and talked about acts to perform on the Barn Stage so makes a welcome return to do it all again this year. Other hip hop royalty to play include Chali 2Una from the iconic US outfit Jurassic5, plus local heroes and new school innovators Children of Zeus.
“Funk fans will be glad to hear that 6 Music tastemaker Craig Charles is back again this year, while anything goes when Mr Scruff digs deep into his vast collection. Expect on point world music, jazz and broken beat from the one and only Gilles Peterson, while Massive Attack’s Daddy G also drops plenty of beat-based knowledge and the hugely influential New Yorker Todd Terry serves up one of his house masterclasses.
“Then there is the unequalled David Holmes who is famed for his left of centre mix of trip hop, big beat, electronic and rock, plus breakout Manchester star Anthony Szmierek who is a firm 6 Music favourite and introspective poet /hip-hop talent is certainly a name to watch out for plus the turn of Mungo’s HiFi with Eva Lazarus and the one and only Jamaican dancehall DJ and singer Sister Nancy.
“Breaks are well represented by pioneers Stanton Warriors, Plump DJs, Jaguar Skills, Krafty Kuts and Freestylers, and old school house comes from Hacienda Graeme Park while DJ Paulette, who also played the famous club and recently got a lifetime achievement award from DJ Mag, also lines-ups for an irresistible day of music.”
Government to introduce price cap on ticket touts and launch consultation on dynamic pricing
Danny Jones
The UK government are finally set to install a price cap on re-sale tickets for touts and open an official consultation on the growing trend of dynamic pricing.
If you’ve bought a ticket to a live music show over the past year or so, you’ll have noticed that ticket prices in general are on the up – particularly if purchased from a reseller, in which case you might have paid through the nose for the privilege.
Not only does ticket touting remain a prevailing problem in the industry, with tonnes of tickets for big shows, especially, being snapped up in bulk or by bots and listed for re-sale before you’ve even added them to your basket, but the advent of this new dynamic pricing lark has made things even harder.
You only have to look at the controversy and chaos surrounding Oasis’ reunion tour, which ultimately saw some fans paying significant amounts more for practically the same ticket just a few days later in what many dubbed as ‘fraud’ and even ’emotional blackmail’.
Justin Timberlake at Co-op Live Manchester was one of countless gigs where ticket prices fluctuated. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Tackling resellers head-on
Knowing full well that people will go to extreme lengths to try and see the musicians and artists they love so dearly – in some cases being backed into a corner as the final figure displayed on the screen when they checkout suddenly jumps up – the modern ticketing industry is severely broken.
With all that in mind, the government are now looking to enact more stringent measures on resellers, by announcing a new price cap on tickets put back up for sale which is set to be introduced (hopefully) in the very near future.
Targeting sites infamous for inflating re-sale costs such as Viagogo, StubHub and others, the bill published on Friday, 10 January proposes a price cap of face value plus 10-30% but no more, with an obvious aim to keep that number as low as possible.
According to the current figures, touts reportedly cost music fans alone more than £145 million in extra re-sale fees when purchasing tickets every year – a frankly ridiculous sum. There will always be tickets ending up on re-sale sites, that’s unavoidable, but a price cap could seriously improve the situation.
The Manc music legends themselves claim they had little control over the situation.
Down with dynamic pricing
Labour, who were voted into power back in July, are also set to try and combat dynamic prices, which essentially sees gigs and events set people back more or less depending on how the popular ticket sales have been up to that point, market trends and general demand. An initial review was called for last year.
Put simply, the more people want to attend a gig, platforms like Ticketmaster feel they are able to jack up their margins even after the initial price point has been established. The European Commission has been investigating these methods since September 2024.
Although it is still unclear as to the exact time scale of when these changes will come in, Labour MP Chris Bryant told NME that although they are still in the early stages, it is “now just a matter of how the government takes action.” And that’s where you come in.
The consultation is also crucially public, with the calling for people to submit their evidence on current pricing practices and continue engaging in the discussion throughout the progress. New Year’s Resolution: let’s curb ticket touts as much as we possibly can.
The AO Arena is giving away FREE tickets for a year to celebrate 30 years in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
The AO Arena has announced it’s giving away free tickets for a year to celebrate its 30th anniversary in Manchester.
The iconic music venue has welcomed the biggest names in the world in its three decades, with millions of us making memories for life inside its huge space.
And now you could win VIP tickets for an entire year, simply for sharing those memories with the AO Arena.
Fans who submit their old photos, videos and tickets will be in with a chance to win tickets to all the shows coming up in 2025 – which already includes massive gigs like Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry and Busted vs McFly.
AO Arena wants to dig deep into ‘first gig’ nostalgia territory, using fan-submitted snaps to build a collection of Manchester memories.
Were you in the same room as Taylor Swift, did you party like it was 1999 (because it was) with Spice Girls, did you cry over the sight of Gary Barlow or cry laughing with Peter Kay?
Britney Spears and Beyonce are among the names who have performed at AO Arena in its 30 year history. Credit: Supplied
Whatever your AO Arena memories are, you can share them before the end of the month to be entered into the competition to win VIP tickets for the year.
One overall winner picked at random will get the ultimate VIP experience, including access to a premium suite and The Beautiful North, as well as access to The Mezz with panoramic views of the main stage.
The 30th birthday campaign has been inspired by Adele’s monumental When We Were Young performance at Glastonbury, and all these memories will be projected around the arena before every performance.
You can submit your footage and enter the competition via the AO Arena website HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd February 2023 
