Festival Preview: 5 Must-See Bands at Parklife Festival 2015

By: Daniel Gerichter (@ZenDonut) –

Manchester’s Parklife Festival features one of the UKs most simultaneously eclectic and energetic lineups, curating hip-hop, pop and EDM genres from around the world to entertain a crowd that seems that gets bigger every year. This year’s lineup includes headliners like Disclosure (almost an annual tradition at Parklife), Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Fatboy Slim and Mark Ronson. Also notable is the festival’s Cancon representation, with acts like Polaris and Juno nominees Mac Demarco and Caribou. All in all, there are hundreds of acts to see at Parklife, but only one you. So what’s a turnt festivalgoer to do? Making these 5 artists a part of your weekend is a good start.

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Nas
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Last year, Nasir Jones (aka Nas) celebrated the 20^th anniversary of one of hip-hop’s most treasured albums, Illmatic with the release of Time is Illmatic, a documentary about his life and the album’s creation. He also took the album on tour, performing it in its entirety. Lucky for you, Nas is keeping that tour alive – for how long is anyone’s guess, so take this opportunity in while you can.

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Roni Size Reprazent
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Roni Size’s reputation for an utterly gigantic drum-and-bass experience elevated him beyond the club, and into festival headlining slots. His 1997 album New Forms (which beat out Radiohead’s OK Computer for the Mercury Prize) goes beyond the traditional loops-and-samples EDM experience and sounds fresh and innovative 19 years later. This is your chance to see one of the most accomplished and talented DJs in history.

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BadBadNotGood
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Canada’s love affair with homegrown jazz heroes Badbadnotgood is well documented. We’ve watched the Toronto trio grow from tiny club residencies to the backing band for Ghostface Killah on their incredible new album Sour Soul. As a matter of fact, Ghostface will be in attendance at Parklife, performing with the Wu-Tang Clan, which means a surprise appearance could very well be in the cards.

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Jessie Ware
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You probably saw Jessie Ware’s spellbinding album Tough Love on numerous best-of lists in 2014. There’s a good reason for that. The 30-year old Ware’s vocals run the gamut from huge R&B jams to haunting, sweeping epics. Her sound is so versatile; she’s been a regular collaborator with both SBTRKT and Nicki Minaj.

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Action Bronson
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Action Bronson’s time is now. In just a few short years, the Queens emcee has made an international reputation for himself as having one of the best hip hop sets going today. Bronson’s Coachella performances were among the weekend’s most talked-about, while he will also enjoy headliner status at this year’s NXNE in Toronto.