Held over the weekend of June 6th and 7th, Parklife sees a change of venue this year, with Heaton Park replacing its former location at Platt Fields Park. Situated a short drive north of Manchester city centre and spread over 600 acres, Heaton Park is one of the largest municipal parks in Europe and is ideal for hosting a festival of this size.
Last year saw rapper Snoop Dogg and indie rockers Foals headline and this time round the line-up is of equal distinction, boasting the likes of Rudimental, Disclosure, Fatboy Slim, Mark Ronson, Wu-Tang Clan, Ben Howard, George Ezra and James Blake.
Other notable names set to entertain the Manchester masses include new wave icon Grace Jones, soul-pop songstress Jessie Ware and folk-pop singer-songwriter James Bay. The festival will also feature a number of artist-curated arenas from Kaytranada, drum and bass veteran Andy C’s RAM label and MK’s Area 10 brand.
Furthermore, the DJ line-up is shaping up to be just as enticing, with celebrated disc-spinners including legendary electronic music pioneer Richie Hawtin, Hot Creations label head Jamie Jones and Radio 1 host Annie Mac all appearing.
As for victuals, there will be a number of food stalls onsite offering a range of culinary options, including organic, vegetarian and vegan food, along with several bars selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks
Those who purchase VIP package are also in for a treat, with Manchester’s crowd-pleasing street food pop-up party ‘Friday Food Fight’ preparing to serve up their delectable grub to VIP revellers throughout the event. Appearing in the VIP village, the foodie line-up includes renowned Manchester restaurants Almost Famous, Tampopo and Crazy Pedro’s Part-Time Pizza Parlour, along with the soon-to-be-opened Burger and Lobster and street food favourites Viet Shack, Hungry Hombres and Love from the Streets. Expect everything from lobster rolls to tasty Vietnamese fare.
Also featuring in the VIP village will be cocktail bars, a craft ale bar hosting local breweries and a frozen margarita shack.
VIP packages are available for £85 a day and £145 for the weekend, offering visitors fast-track entry and access to the street food market, as well as to viewing platforms, chill-out areas and luxury toilets.
A number of transport options are available for reaching and departing the festival. A shuttle bus will be operating from Manchester city centre, with frequent services to the festival site from 9am to 5pm both days, including return services from 6.30pm until late. Parklife’s official coach partner Big Green Coach is also operating day return services direct to the festival gates on both days from a number of cities across the UK, while there are also several bus and tram routes.
Parklife was launched in 2010 by the team behind Manchester clubbing institution The Warehouse Project.
Festival opening hours are 11am to 11pm each day, with last entry at 5pm.