Five iconic performances at Highest Point Festival

Highest Point Festival kicks off this weekend! To celebrate the official start of festival season, we took a look at just five iconic sets the festival has hosted over the years.

Skiddle Staff

Last updated: 11th Apr 2024

Highest Point Festival has welcomed some huge artists to its stages at Lancaster's Williamson Park over the years. From indie legends to icons who defined the disco scene, DnB titans and beyond, the fest has seen some truly incredible performances.

And as we all look forward to Tom Odell, Busted, Cat Burns, Caity Baser, Sam Ryder, Gok Wan, Mozey, Sarah Story, and many more next month, we thought now would be the perfect time to reflect on some of the incredible performances that have gone down at the festival.

Here are just five of the many iconic performances the festival has seen over the years.

Richard Ashcroft’s indie takeover

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The Manchester icon behind hits, including 'Sonnet', 'The Drugs Don’t Work', and, of course, 'Bittersweet Symphony', seemed to be loving the dozens of people sitting on their mate’s shoulders to get closer to the indie king. With the crowd singing every word of the timeless classics he penned over the years, it was impossible not to get warm shivers. A setlist packed with tracks by himself and The Verve, it was destined for greatness. And that it was.

Richy Ahmed blowing the roof off the place for the final set of the night

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Let us set the scene. It’s a warm May evening. Wilkinson has just finished a wild, super energetic drum and bass set on the main stage, with the whole crowd going wild from start to finish. The stage has closed and everyone’s asking around to see if there’s another performance they can head to.

Word gets out that Richy Ahmed is taking over The Dell for one final dance and everyone immediately sets off to the stage. You thought the night couldn't get any better after Wilkinson, but Richy smashes it out of the park with a blinder of a tech house set in the woods. Each track better than the last. There wasn’t a single soul who wasn’t going mad his entire performance. It was beautiful.

Hacienda Classical bringing the hits to Highest Point’s debut

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Highest Point started as a one-off event in 2016 before becoming the weekend-long bash it is today. Hacienda Classical headlined that event and then returned in 2018, and again in 2023 to bring revitalised club classics to party people young and old at the idyllic Williamson Park.

With all the timeless bangers from yesteryear we all know and love, to say the set was welcomed with open arms would be a colossal understatement. Picture thousands of people singing, dancing, laughing, and some reminiscing about the antics they got up to back in the day, it was a stunning performance, and the whole crowd relished every second.

Sister Sledge playing a lush extended version of 'Lost in Music'

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In 2021, the beloved funk and disco group took to the stage to shower the festival with sunny vibes. And the extended version of the timeless banger went down as well as you would imagine it did. The crowd united in grooving and letting their troubles ascend up through the stratosphere and beyond as those choppy, funky guitars brought unrivalled, healing energy. And that infectious hook seemed to put the crowd in a trance, singing every single word.

The crowd singing like their lives depended on it at Becky Hill

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After a show-stopping intro perfectly suited for a festival, Becky Hill took to the stage before performing plenty of hits that the crowd clearly knew like the back of their hands. With a full band, wild visuals, and plenty of hits, she was almost guaranteed the warmest of welcomes. And when she launched into 'Wish You Well', honestly, she could’ve taken a seat and had a rest. That’s how loud the crowd sang. Every single word was belted at the top of their collective lungs. It was a real goose bumps moment.

With lots of mind-blowing artists on the lineup for Highest Point's 2024 edition, we’ll definitely have more iconic sets at this year’s event. And there are still tickets left! Secure your tickets for Lancaster’s biggest music festival now at the bottom of this page.

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.