‘It’s definitely a moment for me right now’
17:00, 21 Feb 2026
Josh Baker will play Manchester’s YES on February 25, and return for a slot at this year’s Parklife Festival at Heaton Park in June
When it comes to ringing in the new year in style, spending it above the golden curve of Burleigh Beach in Australia with a headline show is a pretty good way of going about it. For Manchester DJ Josh Baker, it marked the end of an impressive 2025 and the start of 2026 has already turned out to be just as monumental so far.
First up, the house producer will take part in the BRITs celebrations with a special BRITs Week show, at Yes on February 25, and following on from that, he’s got more big plans. He will play big shows at Coachella, Reading & Leeds Festival and Belfast’s Belsonic, he also will take part in his debut Ibiza residency, an upgraded set-up for his curated festival, and, of course, he also has a return to Parklife scheduled for this summer..
“It’s been a crazy few months,” Josh tells the M.E.N. “I mean, you couldn’t really write it. I’m just trying to take it all in my stride, but I’m having the best time. Hopefully the best is still to come, but it’s definitely a moment for me right now.”
Josh, who started making music at the age of 16 after being encouraged to give DJing a go, has become at the forefront of the recent wave of electronic music. His track with Omar+, Back It Up, went viral online and has racked up more than 30 million streams on Spotify alone. Other hits like Something To Me and You Don’t Own Me, with Prospa and RAHH, have both also surpassed the 15 million mark.
Last summer, Josh was just moments away from ticking off a momentous moment on his bucket list so far in the form of playing his first headline set at Parklife in Heaton Park. But, due to overcrowding, the gig got shut down and was never able to take place. So, this year, headlining the main stage when it returns to Manchester on June 20 and 21, he’s got unfinished business with the event.
Josh Baker has become an essential part of the recent ‘new wave’ in electronic and house music(Image: Shaun Peckham)
“We started from not even being on the flyer for my first set at Parklife to now playing on the mainstage,” he says. “It’s kind of crazy, there’s not really many words to explain the feeling. To me, the journey just shows that anything is possible. I remember going to Parklife when I was 16 and I remember just looking at the stage and thinking how great it would be to play there one day. To now be right near the top of the line-up, it feels unbelievable.”
“This year will be a moment, for sure,” I think people will know by now that I’ll be bringing something special to it. I’m already talking about the kind of production I want and I have a lot of music I want to include. I’ve got no doubt it will be a big highlight of 2026 for me, for sure.”
As an artist, producer and DJ, Josh has also played big sets at the likes of Creamfields, Higher Love, and Magazine, but he’s also an astute businessman. He fronts an education platform paving the way for the next generation of musicians, has his own party and events collective You&Me, his own record label and is also behind the popular Hide&Seek festival.
The event, known for being a pinnacle of the electronic music calendar, will take place at Weston Park in Shropshire for the first time on July 24-26 having spent the last six years at Cheshire’s Capesthorne Hall. As well as a headline slot from Josh himself, the festival will also feature names including Prospa, Rossi., L.P Rhythm, Kerri Chandler, Malugi, Across Boundaries and Enzo Siragusa. It was named DJ Mag’s Best Festival last year.
Josh Baker will play Manchester’s YES on February 25, and return for a slot at this year’s Parklife Festival at Heaton Park in June
“The big dream from the start was to go into multi-day camping and after a few years of building up the strong foundations for the festival, we feel like the time is now right for it,” Josh explains. “We’ve found the perfect site that allows us to just keep on growing and to book these big names across different genres. It’s super exciting.
“Capesthorne Hall definitely had some magic about it, so we always knew we needed to keep the standards up and we’ve just found this perfect spot with Weston Park. We just loved the idea of having something in this fantasy-style world where people can also embrace the British countryside too. We knew it would be tough changing locations further down south, but we’ve managed to pull off an incredible line-up in the summer when booking big names is not easy. I’m super happy about it, the reaction online has been incredible. It’s going to be a good one, for sure.”
Being an artist as well as a festival curator means Josh can take a look at things from both perspectives when it comes to setting up a show. And, because of this advantage, it means he’ll never cut short on promises. “We put a lot of effort into the sound and production,” he says. “It’s all about making sure it’s a great gig for the crowd. And I think because of how we go about it, they trust us. They know we’re doing it for the right reasons.”
Josh is behind the YOU&ME collective, as well as the popular HIDE&SEEK Festival
Another highlight for Josh will be his debut residency in Ibiza, where he will be bringing a weekly show to Amnesia – hailed the island’s ‘temple of electronic music’ – between July and October. “It might sound like a broken record at this point, but that really was always the dream from the start,” he says.
“You&Me was born in Ibiza, me and my friends have been going there since I was 18,” he said. “I’ve always been fascinated with the history of how different residencies form and how different DJs get to play these iconic shows and to now be a part of that history is a little crazy. I’ve never done something like this for 14 weeks, so it’s definitely going to be an experience. It’s certainly going to be a hectic summer with all these other amazing shows we have lined up, but it’s literally what we signed up for. Bring it on!”
In terms of how the island’s rave culture has changed from his days of going as a teenager to now, Josh says he’s certainly noticed some differences. “There’s the obvious trends and clichés of there being more phones on the dancefloor and more of a VIP culture nowadays,” he explains. “But the magic of the island still remains. If you go to the right places, with the right kind of people, you can feel it. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve always said you can smell it in the area. There’s a smell about it. There isn’t anywhere else that can capture that feeling.”
And, returning to the point of phones on the dancefloor, it’s a topic that has divided clubbers, promoters and artists, and everyone else in-between. It has led to the emergence of phone-free venues in Manchester like Amber’s, who encourage people to live in the moment rather than through a camera screen, with nightlife connoisseurs like the Warehouse Project having also adopted similar policies.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that when there’s no phones on the dance-floor, the vibe is better,” he explains. “There’s absolutely no question about it. But I do understand that it’s different for certain generations. So, you can’t really enforce a ban on phones, you just have to encourage people to put them down and enjoy the moment.
“Over time, people will start to realise that there’s more energy and a better experience for everyone involved when there’s no phones. But we must protect the dancefloor from ever being over taken by phones. It’s the place to go and escape all that, isn’t it.”
Being a multi-hyphenate, one of the questions Josh gets asked the most is how he manages to have all these responsibilities at the same time, whilst still finding a love and passion for what he does. He said he knows you have to work hard to build up a name for yourself, and he’s prepared to do that and play the long game.
Josh is also gearing up for his debut Ibiza residency, at legendary venue Amnesia, from July to October
“I get up very early in the morning, at about 5am, and I train for a few hours, and then I’ll head to the studio for the day and do a bit more work after that. So, yeah, the reality is that it’s a pretty intense routine. It does come at the cost of not sleeping the best, and struggling to find time to nurture relationships and spend time with loved ones, it can be quite hectic.
“But I think you just got to accept that there will be periods of intensity and that it won’t be all the time. I went to Australia for a tour in January and then had a week off in-between shows, so it’s just about picking the right moments to chill. But, if you want to do things at an exceptional level, you’ve got to make exceptional sacrifices.
“I know that this won’t be the way it is all the time, so I’m just getting my head down and sucking it up as I know it’ll all be worth it in the end. You’ve got to establish yourself, haven’t you. I think my aim is to keep my foot on the gas and to just be really intentional this year with everything that I do and to see what happens.”
Josh Baker is on Instagram here.