Wide Awake Festival
It is a few years since I have been to Wide Awake. Sadly, the late May Bank Holiday seems to clash with weddings and playoff finals. This year, my team didn’t reach the playoffs and with no one getting married, Wide Awake was on.…
Then the courts cases with local residents started, and if that wasn’t enough, headliners Kneecap created controversy at Coachella, by simply suggesting that killing kids isn’t a good thing and became ‘the story’ for a few weeks, with the bastions of free speech, the British media, trying to cancel them. Sadly, it looked like this might be another year where I snoozed into June.
Thankfully, everything worked out and the festival went ahead with their headliners. However, the court cases clearly impacted sales, with a flash half price sale the night before the festival opened. It is truly a great London festival and it would be a pity to lose it. So I made a last minute decision to upgrade my ticket to VIP. (even though I also had a photo pass that gave me access to the VIP area anyway)
The day started with a bunch of artists I hadn’t seen before. RIP Magic and UGLY on the Wide Awake stage warming up the early crowd in the glorious May sun. I only caught a small bit of Famous’s set, but really enjoyed what I heard. On the Moth Club stage Gaye Su Akyol cast pleasant psychedelic middle eastern vibes.
The Shacklewell stage, again lived up to its name, with a lineup of artists you will hear much more of throughout this festival season. The first I saw was Hello Mary with their NY shoegaze indie. I find shoegaze leaves me in a contented state. It rarely disappoints, as I rarely have expectations, so it kind of plays to itself. Hello Mary were another in a long line of bands who I enjoyed, but that I don’t think I would go out of my way to see again.
Gurriers, who followed them on the Shacklewell stage were a different proposition. I had very high expectations and they are very much my thing. They smashed my expectations by the end of the first song. Energetic, post-punk, taking a leaf out of Gilla Band with frantic guitars that screech like alarms. The crowd responded with a mosh pit and Dan jumping into the crowd. The only annoying thing about their set was knowing that despite having a ticket for one of their earlier show, I missed them and annoyingly, I’m going to have to miss their performance at Bedford Esquires. They’re too good to miss. They will have a very good festival season.
Back on the Bad Vibes stage, the party continued with Warmdusher causing the audience to jump around in the warm afternoon sun. They’re the perfect festival band, they lift the energy of any festival.
On the main stage, Jeremy Corbyn talked earnestly about the plight of the Palestinian people
Nadine Shah following him expressing her own support for the Palestinian people. I always find it annoying when people say keep politics out of music. Music has always been a vehicle for protest. You don’t have to agree with somebody else’s views, but you shouldn’t stop artists from having them. As usual, Nadine Shah’s performance begged the question as to why hasn’t she been given a headline performance. She is such a powerful performer.
Over on the Bad Vibes stage, SPRINTS once again showed why they are a must-see band. They smashed Rockaway Beach earlier in the year, showing they can more than hold their own on a big stage. Today was no different. They are a great live band. Carla is an excellent front person. She finished the set, held aloft by the mosh pit.
Tonight something clicked. It was the first time I had photographed the new generation of female artists who are indie adjacent, attracting hordes of young female fans along with some 6Music dads. CMAT playing before Kneecap’s headline set and had transformed the front few rows into a mass of young women, complete with beaming faces. Having just seen Carla smash her stage, this was a different audience. A much more inclusive audience. One not being forced to mosh if you are at the front enjoying the music and you know what, there was a beautiful warmth. While CMAT wasn’t my thing. She put on a really good show and was clearly inspiring many young women. It clicked with me that so much of inclusivity I have been supporting, really has been on men’s terms. I guess dad’s introducing their daughters to our music, guitar drive, moshy music, encouraging them to play music that they assume men will like. I finally understood that this generation of young female artists are doing things their way, not their dad’s way, and it was a privilege to glimpse and honestly has changed my view of these artists.
Fat Dog kept the party going on the Bad Vibes. Musically, I have tried to get into them. They just don’t work for me. For me they’re a live band. You only appreciate them with a willing audience, and tonight the audience were there to party.
With all the controversy surrounding them, the pit for Kneecap was suddenly a throng of photographers. Here to feed the baying media with their daily Kneecap story in an attempt to keep the real story out of our consciousness. Pity some of these photographers couldn’t be arsed to cover the talented artists who had played throughout the day. But I guess this wasn’t really a music story. And to some extent Kneekap have never been a music story. I’ve never found their music remotely interesting. Their politics and irreverence has defined them more than their music.
The audience, full of Palestinian flags and messages of support, reacted to their entrance. The lads have a lot of support for their actions. Sadly, their music continued to leave me wondering where they would be if it they hadn’t courted controversy since day one. After a few songs, I had had my fill and left to catch the train before the rush.
The Bad Vibes/LNZRT team continue to curate amazing lineups of the best new indie music. This is a great London festival. With this year’s problems it seems to have stretched the festival’s finances. I really hope they ended up making a profit and are able to continue. This is such a great festival. London needs it to continue.
