Hacienda Classical confirmed as first headliners at Lancaster's Highest Point Festival

They will play the opening night at the Williamson Park festival on Thursday May 11.

Hacienda Classical sees Tim Crooks from Manchester Camerata lead a collective of artists and musicians on stage in performing well-known favourites and new versions of club classics, all mixed continuously into one non-stop set, with some very special guests to be announced.

The remainder of the line-up for the rest of the weekend is set to be unveiled in January.

Organisers first brought Hacienda Classical to the A Wing festival at Lancaster Castle in 2016, and they returned to close Highest Point’s debut year in 2018.

A Highest Point spokesman said: ‘’We’ve all come a long way since that fateful Sunday afternoon, and what was once a sideways step from the cells of A Wing at Lancaster Castle to the rolling hills of Williamson Park is now a weekend extravaganza of music, arts and all-round entertainment for 10,000 people a day.

‘’The highlight for us all that day was of course the magnificent Hacienda Classical, their first outdoor show, where the Manchester Camerata orchestra alongside Graeme Park, Mike Pickering, Peter Hook & Friends recreated the magic of acid house and indeed the records that defined a generation.

"Staging a show which the Lancaster Evening Post described as ”The best thing to happen to Lancaster since The Stone Roses played The Sugarhouse 27 years ago” certainly gave us something to be proud of, especially as the last event we were able to work together with Chris on, who sadly we lost later that year.

"It’s easy to understand then why we are still constantly asked for the return of Hacienda Classical to Williamson Park, and it gives us great pleasure to announce that on Thursday 11th May 2023 the wait is over, as Hacienda Classical returns to Williamson Park for Highest Point 2023.

‘’We’ll see you down the front! With more bars, a huge food court and a pre-party in the woods then this is set to be a triumphant return for Hacienda Classical in the shadow of the mighty Ashton Memorial."

Tickets go on sale at 10am today, Wednesday November 30, at www.skiddle.com.

Organsers have announced that the first 1,000 tickets will be sold at 2016 prices - just £35 for an adult with 13 to 17-year-olds paying £20 and 12 and under being free.

Anyone aged 17 and under must be accompanied by their parent or an adult aged at least 30.

To help further, Skiddle have partnered with Paypal to allow people to spread the cost of tickets over three months using Paypal’s 'Pay in 3' facility.