New Manchester festival Outwards reveals stacked electronic lineup

A new electronic music festival is heading to Manchester in May, with Orbital, Moodymann, Josey Rabelle, and A Certain Ratio leading the lineup.

Date published: 19th Feb 2026

A new electronic music festival will launch in Manchester this summer. Outwards Festival, an open-air gathering based in the city centre, will transform the 5,000 capacity Progress Centre in Ardwick, backed by a lineup of electronic pioneers and emerging voices on Saturday 2nd May 2026. 

Outwards Festival’s inaugural lineup features live performances from Orbital, Octave One, Paranoid London, The Orb, A Certain Ratio and Black Grape, alongside DJ sets from Moodymann B2B Carl Craig, DJ Pierre, Midland, Josey Rebelle, Pearson Sound, OK Williams and Suze Ijó. 

Festival director Olli Ryder said of the new festival: “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. We hope it becomes a moment of reflection, inspiration and connection that celebrates the full breadth of electronic music - open, inclusive and shaped by many voices, while opening the door to what is still to come.”

Sign up now for tickets on Skiddle, which go on sale at 10am on Thursday 26th February. 

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