Last weekend, Manchester lived up to its reputation of the "rainy city" as sky-shaking thunderstorms saw sheets of rain snatch away the sun. Despite the downpours, which saw a temporary show stop on the second day of Parklife, the festival reached new peaks, promising a bright future.
The second weekend of June is always an event in the north of England. Each year it's reserved for Parklife, a two-day festival that sees Heaton Park transformed into a multi-stage, cross-genre experience that calls on some of the biggest names in the industry.
This year, the weekend was even bigger for a multitude of reasons. While organizers had promised ahead of time that this would be Parklife's biggest event yet, with more acts, more stages, and even more surprises (yes, there was a McDonald's on-site), the weekend also played host to The Weeknd's tour, Manchester City's Champions League final and subsequent winner's parade, and Soccer Aid for UNICEF at Old Trafford.
While the city enjoyed characteristically rare hot peaks of up to 31 degrees, it was the thunderstorms raging across Sunday and Monday that made one thing abundantly clear – no matter what, Manchester's, and by extension, Parklife's vibe can't be dulled.
From Saturday to Sunday, Parklife welcomed its richest array of talent to date, with everyone from Prospa, Skrillex, Fred Again, and DJ EZ to Jyoty, Hedex, Bou, Hybrid Minds, The Prodigy, Nia Archives, and more, bringing their very best.
While the previous year's show had been somewhat marred by issues with sound clashes across stages due to their proximity, such issues were left a distant memory thanks to the increased space allotted within Heaton Park, as well as varied stage design across the event.
In every way, Parklife 2023 was the festival's biggest show yet. Thanks to the pull of the diverse roster of talent that filled the line-up, there's no doubt that it's only due to get bigger – perhaps one day even outgrowing the bounds of Heaton Park; but no matter what the future of Parklife may be, it's certainly going to be a bright one.
