Said fans are treated to a Stormzy cameo as the pair rap Clash and hug each other jubilantly.
An emotional Dave closed the day by charming the Parklife stage crowd, declaring that it was the only festival he would play this year because of the dedication Mancunians show him via streaming.
Megan Thee Stallion wowed crowds with thot-friendly hits such as WAP phones lit up to capture footage as her twerking bum cheeks troubled the Richter scale. The self-styled African Giant performed in a Manchester United shirt and even brought out Paul Pogba, who was surely still knackered from the 4-1 win against Newcastle a few hours earlier. Saturday gifted the crowd with sunny spells and pleasant temperatures as Burna Boy’s Afro-fusion sound lifted spirits further. And as an elated boy turned to me during Bicep’s set to hoarsely tell me “I feel so happy even though I sound like Shrek”, in between sniffs from an emptying baggy, I was clearly witnessing a delayed rite of passage. Sartorially the festival is somewhere between a bucket hat convention and the “ avant basic” aesthetic that now dominates Gen Z. Parklife is therefore a cathartic release for a city’s youth who have been robbed of the chance to gather and revel in their thousands. The nation watched as Andy Burnham passionately battled for more money as the city bore the brunt of the Covid-19 tier system disgruntled Mancunians spent more of the last 18 months living under restrictions than London, prompting graffiti around the city declaring: “The North is not a petri dish.”ĭave performing at Parklife. The prospect of being sandwiched between hordes of drug-enhanced teenagers could have been enough to trigger an existential crisis, but while even 27-year-olds could feel like fossils here, the bracing euphoria of Manchester’s premier music event returning after a year away is palpable. The lifeblood of the festival, though, is arguably dance music, with the BPM of stages including The Valley – which has excellent production values, modelled like a block of flats with a fake ad billboard for dystopian food gels declaring “food is boring” – or The Temple soaring throughout each of the two days for a baby-faced, happy crowd. This year’s edition boasts one of the UK’s most ambitious lineups, mixing blockbuster international acts such as Burna Boy and Megan Thee Stallion with domestic talent in the form of Dave, the soulful sounds of Celeste, on-the-rise acts such as Shygirl and pop favourites Mabel.
Originally published by Manchester Evening News on 7th December 2020.H osting 80,000 rain-resistant punters each day, Parklife festival encapsulates the energy of Manchester as an enclave of rave. “Trust us when we say it’s going to be worth the wait. “A huge lineup is almost ready, that we can’t wait to show you in January. “It’s why with that in mind that we have decided to move next year’s festival to the new dates of 11th-12th September, so we can be sure of the good times coming.
“It’s a party 2 years in the making that we all deserve. “With all the good recent news, we’re now looking ahead to 2021, and a return to the fields and good times we all love.
#PARKLIFE 2021 UPDATE#
The good news dropped this afternoon, with a statement that said: “Hello Parklife team, we wanted to update you all on the latest plan for Parklife 2021. Now taking place between September 11 and September 12, festival bosses are finalising the finer details of the party that’s been two years in the making. Parklife 2021 will now take place in September, promising a huge lineup and a festival that will be ‘worth the wait’. The huge festival, which sees tens of thousands of music fans flock to Heaton Park, usually takes place in mid-June.īut with so much uncertainty still swirling as to when life will be able to return to normal, the massive event has pushed back its normal dates. Parklife has revealed new dates for the festival’s 2021 edition, with a shift away from its usual early summer weekender.