Joining Charli as a headliner is hip-hop legend 50 Cent – the American rap star previously headlined Parklife in 2022, in a grand performance that saw him backed by a live band and DJ, revisiting hits such as “What Up, Gangsta?” and “Candy Shop”.

Also high up on the bill is Jorja Smith. The MOBO-nominated soul singer will be making her Parklife debut. Adding some more R&B flavours will be ‘Messy’ singer Lola Young and British girl-group FLO.

50 Cent, who will also be headlining Dublin festival Longitude this year, recently completed a residency in Vegas at PH Live in Planet Hollywood. The NY rappers shows received mixed reviews. The Daily Mail reports that one Vegas blogger, Jennifer Gay, labelled it one of the “worst” performances she’s ever seen.

After criticizing the sound quality, as well as lack of enthusiasm from 50, Jennifer wrote, “I understand that he’s successful and doesn’t need a residency, so why do it if he doesn’t want to put any effort into it?” Let’s hope 50’s Parklife performance can do more to please the crowd.

Meanwhile, Jorja Smith has tour dates scheduled this year in support of her 2023 album ‘Falling Or Flying’. She has gigs booked in the UK, US, Europe and South America. She’ll be performing in Manchester and Wolverhampton in May, and Dublin and London in June.

Fans of dance music will feel surely satisfied with some of the names on the line-up – South Korean house hitmaker Peggy Gou will grace the stage as she did in 2021. Multi-genre musician Joy Orbison will also bring his eclectic electronic sounds to the festival. Legendary dubstep duo Skream & Benga will perform a set, as will drum ‘n’ bass group Rudimental.

There will be stage takeovers from various outfits, curating a range of different sounds. XXL will be providing hard techno sounds, Worried About Henry will give some high-energy DnB, Ghosts of Garage will bring UKG, and Manchester venue YES will also cover a stage.

There will be some new changes brought to this year’s festival. A brand-new stage, Matinée, will open featuring a 360° DJ booth. There’ll also be a new location for VIP & Backstage areas, to be centred within the heart of the park itself.

There were some mix-ups last year with the lineup, with two massive headliners J Hus and Fisher both dropping out. Hopefully it’s a full house this year.

The prices for this year’s Parklife will start from £85 day tickets, before booking fees. Weekend tickets will begin from £135. Tickets will be available from Ticketmaster and Skiddle. You can see the full line-up below.

The raucous weekend first came about in 2007 after a group of students decided they wanted to put together their own rave, aptly named the Mad Ferret Festival. The event kicked itself into gear in Platt Fields Park, Rusholme, but by the early 2010s it had relocated to Heaton Park and christened as Parklife. Since then, the event has witnessed a huge surge in popularity and has been crowned the UK’s largest metropolitan music festival, growing from a one-day event in a field to over 160,000 ticketholders rushing to north Manchester every year.

After today’s announcement, superstar rapper Doja Cat has no doubt cemented herself as the queen of the 2024 festival season, boasting headline slots across the globe for Coachella, Rock in Rio and Open’er Festival. The polarising singer and internet personality is most certainly set to bring the heat ahead of her European leg of The Scarlet Tour.

Festival-goers can also expect performances from powerhouse vocalist Becky Hill, DJ and singer Peggy Gou and Canadian producer Kaytranada, as well as unmissable sets from Anne-Marie, Nia Archives, Fourtet, Barry Can’t Swim, ANOTR, Camelphat, Rudim3ntal, Digga D and Sugababes.

Welcoming a multitude of different genres, the festival has since steered away from indie bands headlining in recent years, predominantly featuring dance, electronic and hip-hop acts to cater to its everchanging audience. This year is predicted to mark a new era for the festival, showcasing a brand new stage, jaw-dropping production, state-of-the-art tech and fewer line-up clashes.

Early Bird tickets sold out rapidly in December 2023, but an exclusive 2024 presale will be open from 10am on Thursday 25th January to anyone who has registered. Registration closes the night before at 6pm on Wednesday 24th January. Three Mobile customers will be able to purchase Saturday and Sunday tickets or full weekend tickets 24 hours before other customers on Wednesday here. Tickets including VIP access and coach travel are also available.

All remaining tickets will go on general sale from 10am on Friday 26th January which you can purchase from Ticketmaster. Both day and weekend tickets will be available either to pay in full or by deposit and signing up to a payment plan.

For those not wanting the party to end, Parklife’s official afterparties, ‘Afterlife’ have been unveiled, including an after-hours set from Kaytranada. You can grab tickets here.

LONDON! It’s going down Friday June 10th at the SSE Arena, Wembley. We’re going to have a good time! Don’t Miss Out • https://t.co/HDHrnuGB3Z pic.twitter.com/VXU44Ljl1p

— 50cent (@50cent) January 26, 2022

The hitmaker is set to play London’s The SSE Arena on 10th June 2022; the upcoming arena show will be the artist’s first performance in the capital since his 2018 show at The O2 arena. After his appearance at the Manchester festival, the “Candy Shop” rapper will perform at Dublin’s 3Arena on 12th June 2022. 50 Cent also shared information concerning the upcoming show on Twitter.

Dublin, Ireland! It’s going down Sunday June 12th at 3Arena! We’re going to have a good time! Don’t Miss Out • https://t.co/6zoKoANax4 pic.twitter.com/J7pbfneWYr

— 50cent (@50cent) January 26, 2022

In other news, the American artist is set to star in the upcoming fourth instalment of The Expendables franchise. The hotly anticipated sequel will mark the rapper’s twenty-eighth feature film. The action film is scheduled to be released this year and features a cast full of the genre’s most sought-after actors including Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. Otherwise known as Curtis James Jackson, the artist appeared in the second and third instalments of the series. Last December the actor-musician shared an Instagram post announcing the forthcoming motion picture.

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The “21 Questions” performer was first seen on the silver screen in the film Get Rich or Die Tryin’, released on 9th November 2005 the film was the rapper’s acting debut. The feature was advertised as a loose biopic of the artist’s life, despite receiving somewhat negative critical reception Jackson’s performance was praised and he was heralded as a multi-talented artist.

50 Cent burst into the charts with his debut solo album Get Rich or Die Tryin, the album was released on 6th February 2003 and catapulted the American rapper into stardom. The album sired five singles including the top-five hit “In Da Club”, the track was era-defining and received many nominations and awards including a Grammy Award nomination for best rap song.

Jackson is well known for his industry-wide talent; the artist has found success in all avenues of the entrainment industry including TV. Last December the rapper expressed interest in creating a modernised version of The Cosby Show. In an Instagram post, Jackson wrote, “I have had a crush on @phyliciarashad for forever. I don’t know, she can talk with her eyes. she was just it, I think it was The Cosby Show it was the only representation of Black love on TV. I gotta make us a new one.”

Tickets for 50 Cent’s headlining appearance at Parklife Festival went on sale this morning, ticket sales for the artist’s London show open on Friday 28th January at 9:30 am.

Click here to purchase tickets.

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The headlining acts confirmed include Tyler The Creator, 50 Cent, Megan Thee Stallion, Lewis Capaldi, Arlo Parks, Jamie XX, Headie One, Caroline Polachek, PinkPantheress. The announced headliners also include Chase & Status; the electronic duo join a long list of DJs and producers also set to perform live sets, including Bicep, Annie Mac and Peggy Gou, Joy Crookes, Kojey Radical, Jessie Ware, Bay Boy Chiller Crew and Mahalia.

Joining the headliner acts is a platter of musical acts including Eric Prydz, Loyle Carner, Central Cee and Joy Crookes. The festival will also feature stage takeovers from Defected, London based promoters Eat Your Own Ears, Fuse, Kaluki, Metropolis, Repercussion and radio stations XXL, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra.

The registration to purchase tickets via the event’s pre-sale has now closed, those who have registered were given access to the pre-sale today. The general sale for tickets will commence on Thursday 27th January from 10 am, however, the tickets are subject to availability as general sale tickets are leftover from the pre-sale. The tickets are available to purchase as Weekend tickets and for each separate day, all ticket options include the four tiers of VIP, General admission, travel pass valid with event ticket and VIP upgrade.

The British festival was co-founded by music business entrepreneur Sacha Lord, and before moving to its current location in Heaton Park in 2013, the festival was initially held in Manchester’s Platt Fields Park. The festival was previously called Mad Ferret Festival and held its first event in 2010, headlined by Friendly Fires, Booka Shade and Calvin Harris.

Through the years the festival has grown in size and popularity and continues to attract ticketholders with impressive lineups. The festival is partners with Livenation and The Warehouse project, a club night series also co-founded by Lord which orchestrates live music events within Manchester. The events have been a staple of the city’s nightlife since 2006 and have organised performances from Aphex Twin, Basement Jaxx and hometown heroes Happy Mondays.

Music fans who are unable to attend will still be able to experience the festival from the comfort of their own home, Parklife Festival 2022 will be broadcasted by BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra.

Click here to purchase tickets.

The 2020 edition which was cancelled in March, was due to host performances by musical talent such as Lewis Capaldi, Skepta, Robyn and Tyler and The Creator. NME reported that after the festival was cancelled, organisers promised a return in 2021 to be ‘Stronger than ever,’ before releasing the June 2021 dates this August.

Music Week have noted the statement given by the festival organisers saying, “With all the good recent news, we’re now looking ahead to 2021, and a return to the fields and good times we all love,” said a statement on the festival’s website. “It’s a party two years in the making that we all deserve. It’s why with that in mind that we have decided to move next year’s festival to the new dates of 11th-12th September, so we can be sure of the good times coming. A huge line-up is almost ready, that we can’t wait to show you in January. Trust us when we say it’s going to be worth the wait.”

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The CEO of Live Nation, Michael Rapino told NME in a recent interview that he expects a “robust, outdoor Summer season,” for the live music industry upon it’s return next year. He mentioned that the ‘Download Festival’ and ‘Isle of  Wight Festival’ were already ahead in their ticket sales than the previous year.  “Importantly, we remain confident that fans will return to live events when it is safe to do so,” he wrote. “Our strongest indicator of demand is that fans are holding on to their tickets, even when given the option of a refund.” He added, “Our expectations for a robust outdoor summer season in 2021 are also reinforced by the two-thirds of fans keeping their tickets for cancelled festivals so they can go to next year’s show, along with strong early ticket sales for festivals in the UK next summer,” 

Manchester Parklife is a independent music festival that began in 2010 and was co founded by Sacha Lord. It began in Platt Fields Park in Rusholme, but as the numbers increased with the festivals popularity in 2013, the festival moved to Heaton Park In North Manchester. It is now jointly organised by other groups which include ‘Live Nation’ and ‘The Warehouse Project.’

As the return of 2000 spectators at outdoor sports events is now in place, festival organisers will be keen to know the governments plans for outdoor music events next Summer so that they can begin to put measures in place, to allow a safe environment for the festivals to go ahead. With ticket sales still booming for live music events, it is clear that the public are eagerly waiting for this news, along with those that work in the live music sector.