PARKLIFE 2025 | Who To See?

Parklife 2025 Lineup — Parklife 2025 is only around the corner

We’re heading back to Heaton Park for Parklife 2025! And this time, we’ve come prepared. After the buzz around our feature video from last year’s festival (check it out if you haven’t already!), we’re returning with sharper gear, fresh energy, and even bigger plans. Filming as part of our ongoing music documentary Made in Manchester, we’ll be capturing the vibes, the voices, and the moments that make Parklife more than just a festival. Will and Alyssa are back on the ground, talking all things Parklife 2025. From interviewing artists, meeting festival-goers, to spotlighting the best of Manchester’s music culture, we will be there right at the heart of it!

W: Time is a circle and it leads us back once again to Heaton Park...

Parklife!

This June will mark our second ever Parklife and also our second time covering it for Acid Rain. You can read all about our first impressions as well as some info on the festival grounds from last year's coverage and prepare with us to get stuck in again at Parklife 2025. Let's talk line up!

For me, I'm already happy by the top of the sheet. It's rare for any festival to have triple headliners that I'm 100% there for as it usually attempts to cater for wider needs than my own taste. 50 Cent, Charli XCX and Jorja Smith are all artists that I would be chomping at the bit to see. I've never had the chance to see 50 Cent and Jorja Smith but I did miss out on the chance to see Charli at the Co-op last year. I'm still wounded to this day but luckily I know someone that did go! How was it, Lys?

L: Oh it was unreal! I managed to snag tickets for the Co-op arena show and she was just transfixing. There's this energy to her performances that is simply magnetic and it's something I feel like we're in dire need of these days. If what I saw was anything to go by, Parklife is going to explode when she hits the stage. Noise complaints pending.

W: Say less. BRAT was an album of the year contender for me (GNX took it) and I'll definitely be there at Parklife.

It's safe to say we're buzzing for Charli but I'm at least as excited for 50 Cent. A legend of the contemporary music scene who's legacy has survived in a time when so many artists of his generation cannot say the same. This will be great, no doubt dripping in nostalgia for many and I'm leaping at the chance to be there soaking it in. Are you gonna be at Fiddy, Lys?

L: 100%. You couldn't pay me to miss it. “In Da Club” Live? That's bucket list stuff. You’re spot on about the nostalgia of it all and it feels rare to get an artist with that kind of cultural weight in a festival slot like this. It’s going to be loud and sweaty and I’m so here for it.

W: I adore Jorja Smith and she deserves a spot on this headline next to two great artists. Lys, have you ever met anyone that doesn't like Jorja Smith?

L: Literally never. I’m not sure they even exist. She just cuts through - one of those voices that can carry so much emotion. I’m curious to see which tracks she’ll run with but I'm definitely rooting for “On My Mind”, I feel like the crowd will absolutely eat it up so fingers crossed it makes the cut!

W: There are two types of people in the world. Jorja Smith fans and those who haven't heard her yet. She takes the best of a grass roots music scene that was finding its feet as I was growing up and brings it forward into the future.

L: I need to bring up Lola Young. She’s one of the most exciting voices coming up right now - she's gritty, soulful, and completely unfiltered. There's this rawness to her that I think lends itself to the same crowd as the Charli fanatics (me).“Conceited” is easily one of my top songs of the year. It's bold, honest, and disgustingly catchy - hearing it live might actually end me.

Now is as good a time as any to give props to the women on this year's lineup in general - there’s a wave of female talent that's bringing completely different flavours to the same stage and they’re not just holding their own, they’re dominating.

W: Couldn’t agree more.

As we make our way down the Parklife poster we're going to shout out the acts we're most excited for. Towards the top you'll see a few headliners on any other day that I doubt need much introduction. Peggy Gou, Bicep, Overmono, Hybrid Minds and Rudimental are all phenomenal live acts that we've crossed paths with before and you'll find plenty of recommendations for them out there. The first act I'd like to explore a little more in depth is:

Marc Rebillet

W: Marc is an excellent showman and a rare talent. His live looping performances are charismatic, personable and down right groovy. I remember commuting home on the bus and seeing people wearing dressing gowns walking away from the O2 Apollo and knowing before I even looked it up that Marc was playing! He has a deserved and dedicated following and I would put money on at least one person attending in a dressing gown. If you're not familiar with Marc, go check out his viral live and often public performances, I think you'll deem him worth checking out. I'm hoping we'll get him at a more intimate stage to fully exploit that signature charisma.

Skream & Benga

W: Constant Acid Rain readers will know of my love for Skream & Benga. If they're on a line-up, I will be there. Some things remain constant! Skream was at Parklife last year playing his housey stuff which I did enjoy but is not what I would describe as the top of his discography. Skream & Benga together means one thing - dubstep. Their boiler room in Liverpool was one of my favourite gigs ever and those two are lightning in a bottle. I'm desperate to hear a couple of Skream's live-only mixes that have been in rotation since then, namely his Skeng and Baddadan remixes. Yes, I know that Baddadan in particular is getting tired at this point but just trust me that these two are monstrously heavy remixes. I got the chance to hear just the latter again at the most recent Warehouse season and I hope I'll hear them again at Parklife.

L: I’ve known Will for a while now and if there's one thing I've learnt, it's that Skream & Benga do in fact, slap. I wasn’t fully converted until the Overmono WHP, where they dropped that Von Dutch remix. I swear it changed my brain chemistry. No doubt we’ll be hearing that one again with Charli on the lineup, and honestly? I couldn't be happier.

Interplanetary Criminal

W: Criminal has been blowing up since last year and he was already a guaranteed good time back then. I've lost count of how many times I've seen him now and it's always a blast. We actually briefly ran into Criminal on the street outside of Parklife but unlike last year he won't be B2B with anyone this time around. I think he's the DJ I've seen most in a B2B format but I'm more than ready to see him fill an end to end festival set. He's coming off the back of a spot at Coachella and I've no doubt he's got an excellent set planned for Parklife.

L: At least we can guarantee the crowd will be a bit more alive at Parklife. Did you see the robots at Coachella? Embarrassing. Criminal deserves a crowd that’s actually moving, and if history tells us anything, Heaton Park will deliver.

Girls Don't Sync

W: The stars often conspire to align perfectly to make me miss out Girls Don't Sync. I've just missed them more often than I've seen them! Hopefully I'll be there this time around to soak in their signature blend of modern club classics and garage. If you're unfamiliar, check out the Mixmag Lab Liverpool set! It's a quality performance.

L: Manifesting no scheduling clashes please because I am dying to catch them this year. They know how to work a crowd and I’m here for it.

PARTIBOI69

W: If you're in the mood to horse around to some outrageous and not particularly subtle dance music then you'll want to head over to see the PARTIBOI(69). This will be a fun set and it will no doubt command a fun atmosphere. This is another one I'd like to see at a smaller stage, just for the chance to get stuck in with a crowd that will surely be up for it. If you're looking to check out PARTIBOI69, he dropped a boiler room two years ago which shows his style off well and his B2B with KETTAMA is a great one to watch as well.

4AM KRU

W: First introduced to me at Beatherder last year, 4AM KRU has become a welcome sight for me on any line up. They're a top tier Jungle duo and well worth making time for. I am sadly yet to catch them at 4am which I imagine to be a sort of magical witching hour for them but I'm hoping it'll happen one magic morning. Make time for them!

L: As we start to reach the bottom of the poster we've got a few more artists to list that we'll be trying to fit into what will surely be a busy schedule. Conducta, Bakey, Oppidan and Y U QT will all be on the list in an ideal world! Check them all out if you're still not sure how to prioritise your Parklife schedule.

W: Before we sign off, I want to mention the Manchester regulars returning this year. After Sacha Lord's sale of Warehouse and Parklife, it's encouraging to see the continuation of lifting up fresh Manchester talent and the return of our usual rogue's gallery. Thanks to Rich Reason, the LEVELZ alumni and all the rest of the established Manchester based artists for holding down the Worried About Henry and Ghosts of Garage stages, we will see you soon. Shout to Ghoulish, Larishka and Butchaboi who we were lucky enough to talk to recently! We're excited to see them make their Parklife debut and you can see what they had to say about their upcoming Parklife appearances in our Crop Radio x Parklife interviews.