NEWS
EVENTS
PARKLIFE WEEKENDER 2013: REVIEW
Other | Friday 14th June 2013 | Osh
Manchester’s leading music festival Parklife celebrated its fourth year in the sun with a jam-packed line-up featuring the best in drum and bass, hip-hop, EDM, dubstep and indie! The infamous Manchester rain held off long enough for almost 20,000 music lovers made their way down to Heaton Park for a day of fun and festivities! With bumper cars, bungee rides, water slides, food provided by Nando’s and Almost Famous, Parklife provided a great atmosphere but of course it was all about the music…
Saturday saw Hospitality and Metropolis tents representing dubstep and drum and bass in typically larger than life fashion featuring artists such as pioneers Goldie, Fabio, Benga, High Contrast and Roni Size alongside Netsky, Camo and Krooked, London Elektricity, Dismantle and many others! A stand-out set from High Contrast really set the bar high with ravers from all over the country losing it to the hypest sounds around.
The main stage in association the with the i newspaper, was headlined by singer/rapper Plan B who held the crowd in suspense as he performed some of his greatest hits to date. Also on the main stage were the much lauded band The Maccabees, whose indie sound permeated the entire park inspiring everyone to find somebody’s shoulders to sit on and enjoy the view from the top.
Britain’s latest pop/house sensation Disclosure headlined the WHP & Now Wave arena which was the highlight of the first day with their trademark sound following the release of their highly rated Settle album and their set was one of the best of the whole festival. Four Tet’s live show was hard to fault as was Baauer’s (of Harlem Shake fame) who kept the crowd jumping, with a high-powered trap infused set. Lapalux, signed to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, and Cyril Hahn also provided great chill sounds as well as raving anthems to keep the crowd moving.
The Hot Natured arena was also one of the busiest of the whole festival, partially due to Manchester’s love of the house scene and partially due to the unmistakable Jamie Jones, who inspired a whole load of screaming fans to completely lose it at once. Heidi’s Arena as well as the Circo Loco arena kept the house going with Maya Jane Coles, David Squillace and Heidi playing the best in bouncy anthems. Drop the Mustard presented a strong line-up also, with Bondax, Ben UFO, Huxley, Redlight and James Zabiela causing a ruckus with their futuristic sound. All in all the first day of the Parklife weekender could only be outdone by its second day and indeed it was!
The second day of Parklife saw the main stage headlined by Example alongside Roc Nation signee Rita Ora, Rudimental, Wretch 32, Iggy Azalea and hip-hop legends Jurassic 5! The performances on the main stage were an improvement on the first day with great presence, light shows, dancers and live bands causing many a crowd surf!
Erol Alkan, Boys Noize, Simian and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs played brilliant sets as well as house favourites Boddika and Julio Bashmore. The highlight of Sunday was the Eats Everything and Justin Martin back to back set with the two DJ’s spinning well-known anthems as well as unknown smashers.
Joey Bada$$ performed some of his newest material at the Ape arena representing hip-hop in a true form. Drum and Bass heavyweight Andy C took the crowd to unprecedented levels of hype and there was plenty of dubstep for all provided by Benga, Joker and Breakage.
The hip-hop continued with a fantastic performance from Action Bronson who brought out Danny Brown on stage after having mingled in the crowd with the microphone in a manner reminiscent of the pied piper. Danny Brown’s set was typically aggressive as well as the Hudson Mohawke and Lunice’s closing set as TNGHT which could only be accurately described as bassline anarchy.
With Rodigan himself alongside Zinc, Toddla T and Shy FX most musical tastes were catered for by the Parklife organisers. Despite the inevitable teething problems of moving the venue of such a large festival (transport to and from the festival was a task of minor difficulty) the Parklife weekender continues to be the jewel in the crown of Manchester music events! Roll on Warehouse Project and the fifth year of Parklife Festival!
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words by Cory Walker-Eastman @kwamecory
