Parklife 2023 review: stellar edition cements festival’s status as one of the top in the UK

This month, UK festival favourite Parklife descended once again onto Heaton Park in Manchester, bringing with it tens of thousands of music lovers of all genres. For two days on 10-11 June, the good vibes, good memories and even better sets flowed, and we were there to witness all of the action.

The lineup

It’s no secret that Parklife consistently delivers some of the most impressive lineups year after year, but in terms of electronic acts they outdid themselves this year. Whether you like techno, drum & bass, tech house, or any other genre in between, you could feel catered to. Some of the standout names included Skrillex, Fred again.., The Prodigy, Sub Focus, Peggy Gou, Carl Cox, Charlotte de Witte, and the list just goes on and on. Although a lot to pack into two days, it was made manageable with the variety of stages on offer. Also not forgetting the non-electronic acts, headliners and other standouts included The 1975, Wu-Tang Clan, Little Simz and many others. 

The stages

With nine different stages, naturally, attendees could experience slight sound bleeding whilst hopping from one stage to another, which went away as soon as they went further into the crowd/stage of their choice. Utilising every area of the festival grounds, you didn’t have to walk too far to find the stage you wanted to be at. With a mixture of open air and covered stages, each had its own unique look and stellar production.

On Saturday, The Valley was the place to be, with up-and-coming popular acts early in the day such as Piri, Jyoty and Jamz Supernova, with the stage then seeing triple whammy with Skrillex, Peggy Gou and Fred again.. all following on from each other. With such a lineup and many stage options, there were some harsh clashes to choose from, with headliners on Sunday night including The Prodigy, The 1975, I Hate Models and FISHER. Spoiled for choice to say the least, there was a stellar flow of huge artists from one hour to the next, with a strategically planned out set time schedule to manage the crowd flows. 

The organisation

Praise also has to be made for how Parklife handled an unexpected turn of weather on Sunday afternoon. With a thunderstorm coming in quickly and forcing the production to be paused, communication was quick and effective and the event managed to get back underway within the hour, with last entry times being pushed back to accommodate ticket holders’ plans. With clear, marked entry points and maps posted all over the festival site itself, it made navigation easy enough. Food and drink options weren’t scarce either, with plenty of different food stalls with enough range to suit everyone, and many bars to fit in all the attendees. 

THANK YOU FOR AN INCREDIBLE PARKLIFE 2023 ?

LIMITED PARKLIFE 2024 TICKETS ONSALE NOW ?

Secure yours early today with a £15 deposit & pay the same every month over the next year, we can’t wait to do it all over again ? https://t.co/48Wh6GZbLT pic.twitter.com/NQ1kgsgXcv

— Parklife ? (@Parklifefest) June 13, 2023

Sunshine, good vibes and good people: we couldn’t have asked for a better weekend, and we can’t wait to be there again next year to replicate our experience. All in all, Parklife was a great start to the early festival season in the UK, cementing its status as one of the top multi-genre and electronic festivals that the country has to offer.

Also wasting no time in making fans start their preparations for the next edition, tickets are already on sale for Parklife 2024 via their website, so be sure to snatch up one of their super early bird ticket options now.

Featured Image Credit: Rory Barnes / provided by Parklife press