A Huge New Music festival is Coming to Manchester This Summer

Manchester is already home to some of Britain’s greatest music festivals. The city’s festi roster includes the likes of Parklife, Outbreak and Manchester Psych Fest (which are all on Time Out’s list of the best music festivals in the UK to book for 2026) – but in May there’ll be a new kid on the block: Outwards.

Outwards will be a brand-new music festival in Manchester, with the first edition taking place on May 2 – that’s the Saturday of this year’s early May Bank Holiday.

The event will take place in Ardwick’s Progress Centre, which is just to the southeast of the city centre. It’ll have space for 5,000 punters across five open-air spaces, with the day-into-night event running from 12pm all the way through to 5am.

Outwards presents itself as ‘a gathering for electronic music culture past, present and future’, and its lineup certainly fits that bill. The poster features classic artists like Orbital, DJ Pierre, Tom Middleton (of Global Communication fame), The Orb and Factory Floor – as well as a massive b2b set from Moodyman and Carl Craig.

There will also be sets from Manchester legends A Certain Ratio and Black Grape (which features Happy Mondays members Shaun Ryder and Bez). Trendier, current names include Midland, OK Williams, Danielle, Pearson Sound and Josey Rebelle. The lineup spans both DJs and live acts.

Outwards 2026 lineup

Here’s the full list of names confirmed for Ardwick on May 2 so far (listed A-Z)

• A Certain Ratio (live)
• Annabel Fraser
• Black Grape (live)
• Danielle
• DJ Pierre
• Factory Floor (live)
• Josey Rebelle
• LTJ Bukem
• Midland b2b
• rRoxymore
• Moodyman b2b
• Carl Craig
• Natalie Robinson
• Octave One (live)
• OK Williams
• Paranoid London (live)
• Pearson Sound
• Phil (Orbital DJ set)
• Suns of Acid
• Suze ljo
• Tarzsa
• The Grid (live)
• The Orb
• Tom Middleton (live)
• Urbi

During the festival there will also be artist talks and workshops, as well as indie record fairs, exhibitions, a hi-fi listening bar and food/drink options. Outwards will partner with Manchester venues to put on afterparties.

Commenting on the announcement, Outwards festival director Olli Ryder (who’s the son of Shaun Ryder) said: ‘Electronic music has always been about more than nightlife. It’s about the music, the communities, the places and the people who carry culture forward.

‘Outwards is an attempt to create a space where the past, present and future of that culture can exist together, in Manchester, where so much of this story began, and where there is still so much to be written.’

Tickets go on sale on Thursday February 26 at 10am – sign up for updates on the Outwards website here.

Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.