Parklife’s blend of DJs and live acts separates it from the band-centric Reading and Leeds and rap-heavy Wireless in the youth-cultural big leagues, but this year the headliners are a band and a rapper: the 1975 and Aitch, raised in the region and with Manchester dear to their hearts.
Rave culture, though, remains at Parklife’s core – everywhere you go, artists address the crowd as “ravers”. The Rinse FM stage hosts quality UK garage from aficionados such as Girls Don’t Sync, Interplanetary Criminal, Conducta and Salute; Jaguar, Melé and more loosen hips in house venue Magic Sky; and on the Eat Your Own Ears stage, Yung Singh spins a blistering mix of Punjabi garage and bassline, and Nia Archives whets appetites for the Prodigy’s set with remix-heavy jungle exhilaration.
