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Parklife’s acts look towards the festival
We chat with MK, Donae'o, Lauren Lane, Barely Legal, and Alan Fitzpatrick ahead of Parklife 2018.
Celebrating its eighth edition, Parklife 2018 promises to be an unmissable weekend in the summer calendar.
There’ll be 16 arenas to experience along with a VIP arena offering exclusive attractions and special guest DJs, plus a new theme across the whole event.
The line-up sees Liam Gallagher, The xx, Skepta, Lorde, N*E*R*D, and Justice lead the charge, joined by Bonobo, A$AP Rocky, Jamie xx, Giggs and many, many more.
More recently, organisers revealed the addition of their new Valley Stage, promising a immersive production and groundbreaking visuals inspired by the Tokyo cityscapes of Blade Runner to bring a full city to Parklife.
Since the festival’s inception, Parklife has built a solid reputation as one of the UK’s leading summer festivals.
With the gates set to open in less than two weeks, we caught up with some our favourite names to find out more about things to come.
What are you most looking forward to about performing at Parklife?
Donae’o: Connecting with my fans.
MK: I’m really looking forward to coming back to Parklife and playing to the great crowd Manchester always brings, and I am lucky to be on an amazing stage as well. Hopefully I get to stay awhile to see friends i have not seen in a while.
Lauren Lane: Playing The Temple stage Sunday with the rest of the amazing lineup WHP & Kaluki put together. It’s going to be wicked!
Barely Legal: Playing in my favourite city to my favourite UK crowd! I’m aware there will be ravers from all over but I love my Mancunians with a passion.
Alan Fitzpatrick: This year I am going to be playing on the Temple stage which I am really excited about. The sheer size and scale of that stage is so impressive with a huge sea of ravers stretching out as far as you can see. I can’t wait!
What’s your favourite thing about performing, specifically at festivals?
Donae’o: I love the energy, everyone has gone to see a performance and react in a free way it’s like bonding with a stranger for the first time.
MK: Festivals are awesome, they give you a chance to take your music to new audiences and it is always a great occasion to see new and old faces.
Lauren Lane: Connecting with people who are really enthusiastic about music and ready to enjoy themselves.
Barely Legal: Festivals are an environment where people feel free, forget about their day to day lives and go all out. You’re always guaranteed to see some next amusing activities going down – there’s never dull moment, and the crowd are always open minded, music wise, so I love testing the waters and not feeling restricted with what I want to play… within reason.
Alan Fitzpatrick: For me performing is all about sharing in special moments with the crowd. Feeling that connection that comes through the emotion and feeling of the music. To be able to create those vibes on a large scale with a massive festival crowd is the ultimate buzz.
What’s your favourite festival memory, either at Parklife or elsewhere?
Donae’o: The first time I played with a band. The place was empty and then by the end of the set the place was jammed.
MK: This should be an easy question to answer, but honestly for the most part each one of the festivals has its own sort of vibe and identity.. If I have to pick one.. Parklife 3 years ago when I had my own stage was one I wont forget.
Lauren Lane: I’ve never been to Parklife before but an amazing memory for me was playing the closing beach party at The BPM Festival a couple years ago. A lot of memories close to my heart are from The BPM Festival.
Barely Legal: I have so many, so I’ll focus on a Parklife memory. Levelz played on the same stage as me two years ago and I got to witness Black Josh crowd surfing on an inflatable boat into the crowd whilst still holding it down on the mic.
Alan Fitzpatrick: Way too many to mention from festivals I have played at or been at as a fan, but thinking of Parklife in particular I have very fond memories of playing the El Row arena in 2016. The weather was truly awful which meant the covered arena was totally packed and properly going off. It felt like, despite the weather, everyone made a massive effort to create a party vibe that was absolutely electric.
What’s the one thing you can’t be without at a festival?
Donae’o: Friends.
MK: A portable phone charger! And for me especially, my USB.
Lauren Lane: VIBES… the right friends, the right music – when you’ve got good vibes everything else just falls into place.
Barely Legal: The right people. It’s all about having a partner in crime, I’m not about waiting around with big groups of friends and missing acts because someone needs the loo every minute or friends keep bumping into other people they know and having a catch up. Keep it moving, I’ll just go off on my own if necessary.
Alan Fitzpatrick: A solid crew of mates to share the experience with. That’s what its all about.
What other artist on the Parklife 2018 line-up will you be catching live?
Donae’o: Shy FX and Skepta.
MK: That’s a tough one where do I begin… Parklife have gone over and above this year! You have Jamie XX in one corner and then on the other side you have Seth Troxler b2b Jamie Jones, then you have Liam Gallagher, The XX, Solomun, Nina Kraviz, Black Madonna, Green Velvet, Hot Since 82, Joseph Capriati, Bicep… too many to mention.
Lauren Lane: Soul II Soul.
Barely Legal: The last time I saw NERD perform I was 16, draped head to toe in Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream [Hypebeast from early -not proud] so I’m dead excited to see them again after all these years. I didn’t manage to catch Liam Gallagher at Snowbombing as I had another show so I had to fly back to the UK the day before his set so he’s on my list too.
Alan Fitzpatrick: Ive got to see Liam Gallagher. Our set times better not clash!
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Parklife 2018.
Who is playing Parklife 2018?
The line-up is absolutely huge, topped by The xx, Liam Gallagher, N.E.R.D, and Skepta. There are also appearances by the likes of Lorde, Bonobo, Jamie XX, Giggs, Justice, Chvrches, Sampha, Jessie Ware, Everything Everything and loads more.
There’s a huge range of emerging and established talent, including our fab five who answered our questions above.
Check out the full line-up below:
When and where does Parklife take place?
Parklife calls Manchester home, and is one of the city’s musical staples. It takes place at Heaton Park from the 9 – 10 June 2018.
How much are tickets for Parklife 2018?
There are a few ticket options, from weekend options to day tickets. General admission is priced at £65 per day, plus fees. VIP tickets are available at £85 per day, plus fees . Weekend options are available at £109.50 plus fees for general, and £145 plus fees for VIP.
Travel passes, car parking and coach travel are also available, as are VIP upgrades for general ticket holders.
What is the Valley Stage at Parklife?
The stage is inspired by the Tokyo cityscapes of Blade Runner, promising a immersive production and groundbreaking visuals to bring a full city to Parklife. The experience will welcome the likes of A$AP Rocky, Carl Cox, Annie Mac, Stefflon Don, Bicep and many more in June.
Check out concept art of the stage here.
Remaining tickets for Parklife Festival in Manchester’s Heaton Park from 9 – 10 June 2018 are available now through Ticketmaster.co.uk.
