{"id":203281,"date":"2025-06-21T19:32:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T19:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/203281\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T19:32:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T19:32:18","slug":"i-put-my-usb-stick-in-and-then-they-just-told-me-they-were-shutting-it-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/203281\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I put my USB stick in and then they just told me they were shutting it down’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manchester DJ Josh Baker had his act suddenly cancelled at Parklife<\/p>\n

16:18, 21 Jun 2025Updated 17:29, 21 Jun 2025<\/p>\n

\"ManchesterManchester DJ Josh Baker said he was ‘gutted’ not to be able to perform his set at Parklife this year<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. Then, just moments after stepping onto the stage, everything shut down.<\/a><\/p>\n

Parklife organisers said the Matinee stage had faced ‘over-crowding’<\/a> and had been shut down and closed off to attendees as a health and safety risk. It never reopened<\/a> meaning Josh\u2019s set, and the following headline slot from Danish DJ Chris Stussy, both got cancelled. In a statement moments later<\/a>, Josh said he ‘can’t really put into words what today was going to going to mean to me’.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even get to perform – I put my USB stick in and then they just told me they were shutting it down,\u201d Josh, 29, tells the Manchester Evening News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was gutted, man. I\u2019ve been going to Parklife since I was 16, and it was the first time I had a proper headline slot there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019t meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josh said, at the time of the announcement, he didn\u2019t realise the extent of the situation and was initially frustrated at the decision. \u201cLooking back on it now, I think the right decision was made,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh said he hopes his ‘contributions to the scene are really going to be a positive thing for the city’<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was easy for me to say \u2018oh, let\u2019s just play\u2019 but I didn’t realise the severity of what was happening outside the tent. It is what it is now, now. I\u2019m just glad to see that nobody got hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the decision being out of Josh\u2019s hands, he says he has still received some backlash from fans over the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had some messages of disappointment, but I\u2019ve also had some aggressive and hateful ones,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually really understand their anger – when I was just starting to go out raving, I don\u2019t think I\u2019d even be able to comprehend if my favourite DJ wasn\u2019t able to perform. So, I do get where they\u2019re coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Josh has no time to dwell on the Parklife<\/a> set that could have been. Just this week alone, he\u2019s performed in Mexico and Texas, with big shows in Croatia and at Glastonbury<\/a> lined up for next week. It\u2019ll mark his debut performance at the huge festival after 13 years in the game.<\/p>\n

‘I just ended up having a go’<\/p>\n

Josh, who is originally from Wilmslow, started making music at the age of 16 – but it\u2019s in the last twelve months that he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

His recent single Back It Up also just hit the 10 million mark on Spotify alone, having gone viral on TikTok.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some friends who were already DJing and I just ended up having a go myself,\u201d Josh says of starting out in music as a teenager.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Baker is a big name in the British house scene right now<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, DJing is just like sharing the music you\u2019re passionate about with your friends. I realised I was pretty decent at DJing straight away and, organically, it just grew from then.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s never felt like a chore, it\u2019s just something that I\u2019ve always done for the right reasons – with a lot of patience and waiting for the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, Josh released his latest collaboration with Leeds-based electronic duo Prospa. Titled You Don\u2019t Know Me, the track features vocals from RAHH. It\u2019s set to be another summer scorcher of a house hit – right as the genre seems to be having a real moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a real buzz, for sure,\u201d Josh explains of the British house scene right now. \u201cIt feels like every week there\u2019s a new big hit. People are getting better at producing because there\u2019s more information online, but it also feels like we\u2019re all just pushing each other to get better and better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s Max Dean, his cousin Luke Dean, Prospa, and LP Rhythm, and we\u2019re all friends. We\u2019re all looking out for each other, making big tunes, playing similar festivals and playing each other\u2019s music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this could be looked at as a golden period for British house music producers. Minimal tech, tech house is blowing up – there\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Josh'sJosh’s recent single Back It Up has just surpassed ten million streams on Spotify alone<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was perhaps pretty ambitious and potentially delusional to think we could pull off a festival,\u201d Josh laughs. \u201cWe definitely took a lot of risks but we\u2019re now in our sixth year, sold it out within the first day and it\u2019s just going from strength to strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love DJing, I love making music, but I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh is also the founder of party outfit YOU&ME and Hide&Seek Festival, as well as running his own Baker’s Dozen record label<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, that show feels like it\u2019s going to be the completion moment of Manchester for me,\u201d Josh explains. \u201cIt\u2019s six rooms, it\u2019s one of the fastest shows to sell out at Warehouse Project, it feels like we\u2019ve completed Manchester – which is a really good feeling when you\u2019re from the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with that, Josh says he is \u2018super proud\u2019 to be representing this part of the country on a global level. Whilst he may have \u2018completed it\u2019 come September, he will always be ready to represent the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s so cool to be from a city that has such a great musical heritage,\u201d he explains. \u201c The Hacienda and Sankeys both had such a big impact on me as an artist. I\u2019d like to think that I can hopefully give back to the city in some way by bringing more people into the music space.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what he would say to any artists trying to make a name for themselves, Josh says it\u2019s all about \u2018geeking out\u2019 and knuckling down. \u201cMake sure you are doing it for the right reasons,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people do it because they think they\u2019d love the lifestyle but aren\u2019t 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\u2019s not for the faint-hearted.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of that sort of hard work, I\u2019m able to do the sort of gigs which I have dreamt of doing for the last decade. I\u2019m in a very fortunate position and I\u2019m so privileged to be doing something which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josh Baker is on Instagram here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n