Artist of the month: Ben Hemsley

Every month on Skiddle we pick an artist of the month, someone who we feel as though has made a big impact recently and will continue to do so for the rest of the year. This time around, we've picked Ben Hemsley, a DJ whose stock has been rising rapidly for over a year now. 

For those unfamiliar with Hemsley, he's a Newscastle-based producer who grew up inspired by his mum's passion for 90's dance music. Creating his trademark sound that relies on melody and throws it back to old-school rave stylings, he quickly became a favourite of Radio 1 and was even nominated for their Breakthrough Artist of the Year award.

In 2022, he was our second-highest searched artist of the year and in 2023 his momentum has built and built ever since. This month saw him announce that he was headlining The Warehouse Project in October of this year, the first event announced for this year's calendar of the Manchester clubbing behemoth.

Not only was the announcement a success but his popularity was exemplified by the fact that all of the tickets were gone within five minutes of the general sale. It is a venue that Hemsley admitted on Instagram that it was a dream of his to headline a show at The Warehouse Project.

Hemsley has had such a busy schedule in April that is has seen him hop across the world from location to location playing in Austria, New York, Washington, Texas and Ibiza and that was just in the span of ten days. From spending summers in Ibiza to now headlining shows there earlier in the year, Hemsley seeing himself on billboards over there now is a signifier of just how far he has come.

It is brilliant to see an artist clearly ticking off achievements on his bucket list and this April has consolidated Hemsley's reputation as a sought-after name in dance music and as a seriously impressive live performer who is only getting better and better, with bigger venues affording him space to try new things. 

The full line-up for his Ibiza Rocks shows have been announced and you can catch Ben Hemsley at FLY Open Air, Parklife, Creamfields South and plenty of other festivals this year. To find where you can catch him live next take a look here. If you're in Ibiza over the upcoming season he's a name you can't miss.

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.