MoshMag’s 2023 Festival Preview Part I
United Kingdom and Ireland//Summer 2023
Get a little action in // a Moshmag preview by Stanley D Kippax
As the New Year begins and my new office chair groans under the weight of an outwardly mobile gut here at Mosh Mag we felt it was time to look towards summer with MoshMag’s 2023 Festival Preview Part I. So away with you mince pies, brie be gone and empty those last drops of Baileys, It’s time to settle in for some summertime dreamin’.
Manchester Punk Festival // Manchester // 7 – 9 April
140 Punk Acts playing over 7 of Manchester’s best punk venues Manchester Punk Festival is sure to be an ideal way to dust of those festival cobwebs. Off With Their Heads, the Flatliners, The Beltones, No Fun At All, Discharge et al are the headliners however I’m particularly looking forward to Durham band Onsind who I’ve found are a great accompaniment to being perennially pissed off at the Conservative and Unionist Party.
Super Early Bird and Early Bird tickets are sold out however Standard and Charity tickets are available and can be found at the website below.
Line-up – Manchester Punk Festival
Creamfields South // Hylands Park, Chelmsford // 26 – 28 May
Now before you close your laptop in huff screaming “there’s no moshing at Creamfields” consider this. Yes, there is no moshing at Creamfields however in my book some of last years wildest crowds were at dance acts. Pendulum’s set at Leeds was one of my favourites. Who here amongst us would we not have The Prodigy down as a dance act?! And any festival that has Fatboy Slim headlining is surely worth a second glance.
Slam Dunk Festival // South Hatfield Park Herts – 27 May // North Leeds Temple Newsam – 28 May
Like all good things Slam Dunk Festival began up North in 2006 before adding its shandy drinking cousin in 2010. There’s plenty to like about this split site one day affair, though I’ve got hold my hands up and say I’m not wild about the name. It’s my fault really. Whenever anyone says “Slam Dunk” I immediately think “Da Funk”. It seems those 5ive bad boys still have the power to rock me 26 years later, or at the very least piss me off at infrequent intervals. Enter Shikari and The Offspring headline with Mosh Mag favourite Flogging Molly also on the bill. Travel, tickets and after party available below.
Slam Dunk Festival 2023 Tickets and Dates 2023 (seetickets.com)
Neighbourhood Weekender // Victoria Park Warrington // 27 – 28 May
Here at MoshMag we’ll always give local festivals a shout and with Neighbourhood the clues in the name. There’s something endearingly familiar about Neighbourhood. Reasonably priced tickets, big names on the bill (Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbot as well as Pulp headline this) and for those out of town folk easy to get to from Liverpool and Manchester. Just ask local lads The K’s (link to the Leeds K’s article please Pepsi) making the bill on the Saturday. The ideal festival for people who don’t like camping…so everyone really.
Buy Tickets – Neighbourhood Weekender -Neighbourhood Weekender (nbhdweekender.com)
Download // Donnington Park // 8 – 11 June
Arguably the biggest of all metal festivals in the UK Download celebrates its 20th birthday in 2023 with a huge 4 night, 60 act line up headlined by Bring me the Horizon, Slipknot and Metallica. The later last played the hallowed Donnington Park in 2012 and are offering up something pretty pretty special for this years return, two completely unique sets on Thursday and Saturday night. A monumental treat for fans, but frankly a pain in the arse for this journalist. I’m going to have to ration my best puns over two days, but I suppose as long as the fans enjoy it, ultimately nothing else matters. There’s a billion different types of tickets and packages to suit every pocket so you best get to work.
Download Festival | Tickets – Download Festival
Parklife // Heaton Park Manchester // 10 – 11 June
Its always amused me that the biggest festival in music Manchester is named after a Blur hit. Does it irritate the Gallagher’s do you think? They should move it to a house, a very big house in country one year, just to check. No news on the line up just yet but for the youth of Manchester Parklife seems to have become the event on the social calendar as much as about the music, and best of luck to them. I got caught on the “met” with them once and I’ve never seen a group of people enjoying public transport so much. If you want to join them you can sign up for the final set of tickets released along with the line up any day now.
Isle of Wight Festival // Newport Isle of Wight // 15 – 18 June
I realise referencing Isle of Wight 1970 is a little “Boxing Day fixtures from 1963” but come on! That line up never ceases to amaze. It’s fair to say that those counter-culture days are gone, Robbie Williams headlines this years Sunday night for pity’s sake, but it’ll take more than one former member of Take That to take the shine off the name. Weekend tickets are still available and there’s some incredible bargains to be had for families.
Tickets – Isle of Wight Festival
Glastonbury Festival // Pilton Somerset // 21 – 25 June
Here at MoshMag we cannot claim to have any kind of insight into the coming and goings of ol’ Reg but I can’t help but feel booking Elton John to close is a missed opportunity, surely he should be playing on Saturday, Satuuuurday, Saturday, Satuuuurday…no?
There’s not a huge lot else to say about Glastonbury. It is a behemoth of a festival so huge it’s becoming almost a measurement of size. Soon people will measure the size of Wales in “Glastos”. An event so difficult to get tickets many will eventually resort to seeking election to the Houses of Parliament as the easiest method by which to gain access (isn’t it mad how many MPs go, I can barely find time to watch the TV coverage most years!). However to those lucky few with tickets we sincerely hope you have the time of your lives, you’ve certainly earnt it. For everyone else, there’s always the red button.