Music Festival Review - The Party in the Park Poynton Park

The Party in the Park celebrated its twentieth anniversary with this year’s offerings, having become something of an institution in the Cheshire village of Poynton, located on the southern border of Stockport in Greater Manchester. The park itself boasts a picturesque lake with hills of the Peak District in the distance, the open area where the party takes place neatly surrounded by a 360 degree vista of high trees; as nice a setting for a one-day music festival as one might wish.

People started arriving from around 2.00pm, many walking in the from close-by housing estates but ample parking was available, right next to the entrance to the festival (in sharp contrast to many festivals where a long walk separates the carpark from the events). An added bonus to the Party in the Park was that visitors can freely wander in and out to visit the nearby village; an important bonus given the exorbitant price of food available (£14.00 for a single burger and fries with a small can of beer  costing £6.00!).

There was certainly a party atmosphere with many visitors bringing their own chairs as well as picnics and their own drinks (perhaps not surprisingly, the bar tent appeared to few customers throughout the day). People had clearly come to have a good time with many dressed in party outfits and ready to dance. It was nice to see a very wide age range, so that no single demographic could really claim to ‘own’ the festival. Added to this were the numerous stewards in ‘Rotary’ high-viz vests; a reminder that this was a village event organised not just to have fun but to support local charities.

Unless visitors paid extra to rent one the many gazebos arching the festival or were fortunate to have a pass for the ‘VIP’ marquee, there was absolutely nowhere for anyone to take shelter should it rain and rain it did, for around half the afternoon and for much of the evening. This was not helped by a distinct fall in temperature, although fortunately there were no winds. Most party goers were determined to have a good time regardless of the weather and as the afternoon wore on and numbers increased, the party atmosphere steadily grew, in the true British spirit of ‘barbeques in the rain’. By late afternoon, there was a sizeable crowd constantly swelling in front of the stage.

The party itself, aside from people eating, drinking and chatting essentially consisted of two elements. Firstly, a fun-fair essentially aimed at small children with trampolines, rides in swirling tea-cups and the like, although there was nothing available which was free of charge. The main element was the single stage which had a total of eight acts starting shorting after 2.00pm and continuing with intermittent  breaks until after 10.00pm. In essence, this was a celebration of 80’s and 90’s (largely) British rock and pop music (The Jam, Coldplay, Travis, The Smiths etc etc) with most performers essentially singing covers or being tribute bands. Interestingly, the first two performances were by solo female singers performing quality, self-penned tunes, starting with sprightly Raine Harla and then the crisp acoustic sound of Imogen Paige but after that it was all covers, with one or two questionable contributions, should Simon and Garfunkel's ‘Mrs. Robinson’ ever really by played by a rock band?) but by and large, these acts were fun to listen (or even dance!) to. Sometimes, songs by the same artist were covered by different acts; for example, both Parlaiz and Monkey Harris both covered songs by James. However, the headline tribute acts of Whatever (Oasis tribute) and DURAN (Duran Duran tribute) were both  exceptional five-piece bands who, note-for-note, gave superb renditions with the crowd clearly well satisfied and having enjoyed a fun, enjoyable (if at times a bit damp) party in the park.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse

On - 07.06.2025