Manchester DJ Josh Baker had his act suddenly cancelled at Parklife
16:18, 21 Jun 2025Updated 17:29, 21 Jun 2025
Manchester DJ Josh Baker said he was ‘gutted’ not to be able to perform his set at Parklife this year
Last Sunday was set to be a monumental moment for DJ Josh Baker. The Manchester-based house producer was set to perform a huge homecoming slot at Parklife in Heaton Park. Then, just moments after stepping onto the stage, everything shut down.
Parklife organisers said the Matinee stage had faced ‘over-crowding’ and had been shut down and closed off to attendees as a health and safety risk. It never reopened meaning Josh’s set, and the following headline slot from Danish DJ Chris Stussy, both got cancelled. In a statement moments later, Josh said he ‘can’t really put into words what today was going to going to mean to me’.
“I didn’t even get to perform – I put my USB stick in and then they just told me they were shutting it down,” Josh, 29, tells the Manchester Evening News.
“I was gutted, man. I’ve been going to Parklife since I was 16, and it was the first time I had a proper headline slot there.
“I was mentally ready for that moment – I feel like it was going to be one of the highlights for the summer, for sure, but ultimately, it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Josh said, at the time of the announcement, he didn’t realise the extent of the situation and was initially frustrated at the decision. “Looking back on it now, I think the right decision was made,” he explained.
Josh said he hopes his ‘contributions to the scene are really going to be a positive thing for the city’
“It was easy for me to say ‘oh, let’s just play’ but I didn’t realise the severity of what was happening outside the tent. It is what it is now, now. I’m just glad to see that nobody got hurt.”
Despite the decision being out of Josh’s hands, he says he has still received some backlash from fans over the situation.
“I’ve had some messages of disappointment, but I’ve also had some aggressive and hateful ones,” he says.
“I actually really understand their anger – when I was just starting to go out raving, I don’t think I’d even be able to comprehend if my favourite DJ wasn’t able to perform. So, I do get where they’re coming from.”
But Josh has no time to dwell on the Parklife set that could have been. Just this week alone, he’s performed in Mexico and Texas, with big shows in Croatia and at Glastonbury lined up for next week. It’ll mark his debut performance at the huge festival after 13 years in the game.
‘I just ended up having a go’
Josh, who is originally from Wilmslow, started making music at the age of 16 – but it’s in the last twelve months that he’s really hit a stride – earning a place as an instrumental member of the new wave of British house acts taking clubs by storm around the world.
His recent single Back It Up also just hit the 10 million mark on Spotify alone, having gone viral on TikTok.
“I had some friends who were already DJing and I just ended up having a go myself,” Josh says of starting out in music as a teenager.
“It just became something I realised I wanted to do more of. As a passion, I wanted to learn more about it and I found it fascinating.
Josh Baker is a big name in the British house scene right now
“Ultimately, DJing is just like sharing the music you’re passionate about with your friends. I realised I was pretty decent at DJing straight away and, organically, it just grew from then.
“It’s never felt like a chore, it’s just something that I’ve always done for the right reasons – with a lot of patience and waiting for the right time.”
On Friday, Josh released his latest collaboration with Leeds-based electronic duo Prospa. Titled You Don’t Know Me, the track features vocals from RAHH. It’s set to be another summer scorcher of a house hit – right as the genre seems to be having a real moment.
“There’s a real buzz, for sure,” Josh explains of the British house scene right now. “It feels like every week there’s a new big hit. People are getting better at producing because there’s more information online, but it also feels like we’re all just pushing each other to get better and better.
“There’s Max Dean, his cousin Luke Dean, Prospa, and LP Rhythm, and we’re all friends. We’re all looking out for each other, making big tunes, playing similar festivals and playing each other’s music.
“I think this could be looked at as a golden period for British house music producers. Minimal tech, tech house is blowing up – there’s just so many big artists in this period. I do think people will look back on this as an exciting time for music one day.”
Josh’s recent single Back It Up has just surpassed ten million streams on Spotify alone
As well as being a producer, Josh is also one of the founders of Hide&Seek Festival – which will be returning to Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire on July 5. Celebrating house, disco and techno, the festival is now in its sixth year – and will see Josh headline proceedings with Prospa.
“It was perhaps pretty ambitious and potentially delusional to think we could pull off a festival,” Josh laughs. “We definitely took a lot of risks but we’re now in our sixth year, sold it out within the first day and it’s just going from strength to strength.
“I love DJing, I love making music, but I’m also passionate about business and growing things, so Hide & Seek sort of fits both sides of things for me. When festival organisers moan about DJs, I kind of now get to see things from both sides.”
Josh is also part of label and party brand YOU&ME – which will be hosting a 10th anniversary party at the Warehouse Project this September. It also happened to sell out right away.
Josh is also the founder of party outfit YOU&ME and Hide&Seek Festival, as well as running his own Baker’s Dozen record label
“To me, that show feels like it’s going to be the completion moment of Manchester for me,” Josh explains. “It’s six rooms, it’s one of the fastest shows to sell out at Warehouse Project, it feels like we’ve completed Manchester – which is a really good feeling when you’re from the city.”
And with that, Josh says he is ‘super proud’ to be representing this part of the country on a global level. Whilst he may have ‘completed it’ come September, he will always be ready to represent the city.
“I think it’s so cool to be from a city that has such a great musical heritage,” he explains. “ The Hacienda and Sankeys both had such a big impact on me as an artist. I’d like to think that I can hopefully give back to the city in some way by bringing more people into the music space.
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“I like to think that my contributions to the scene are really going to be a positive thing for the city and for the next big generation of artists.”
Asked what he would say to any artists trying to make a name for themselves, Josh says it’s all about ‘geeking out’ and knuckling down. “Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons,” he says.
“I think a lot of people do it because they think they’d love the lifestyle but aren’t prepared for the hard work that is required to make it. You basically have to geek out in a room and dedicate yourself to learning how to make music. It’s not for the faint-hearted.
“Because of that sort of hard work, I’m able to do the sort of gigs which I have dreamt of doing for the last decade. I’m in a very fortunate position and I’m so privileged to be doing something which I love.”
Josh Baker is on Instagram here.