The eight best moments from London's summer music festival season

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Jochan Embley6 September 2019

Pack away the bumbag, fold up your floral print shirts and think longingly about all the valuables that you inevitably lost along the way — summer festival season is over.

With the traditional August bank holiday blowout signalling the unofficial end, it’s time to look back at all the incredible music we were treated to in London.

It was certainly a special few months. Jam On Rye paired delicious street food with equally tasty headliners, South West Four tore the roof off the place with its heavy-hitting line-up, British Summer Time came through with the typically huge stars, Art’s House was another glorious, back-to-basics party and Junction 2 made us wonder why every dance festival isn’t taking place beneath a great hulking motorway bridge.

And that’s just the start of it. Here, we’ve gone full nostalgia-mode and have picked out some of our favourite moments from this year’s festival season in the capital. Here’s to 2020.

The best London music festivals still to come in 2019

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Re-Textured found light in the shadows

Think of a London festival and your mind will likely conjure images of leafy parks and glorious sunshine. Re-Textured, which hid itself within the shadowy bowels of the city’s modernist and brutalist buildings, was something different entirely. Festivals like this one, based indoors and with a focus on experimental electronic music, are common in other countries but a rarity in London. With a line-up that veered from the pummeling techno of Nina Kraviz to the radical rhythms of Fatima Al Qadiri, along with some incredible light production, it felt like vital new tenet of the capital’s festival scene.

Christine and the Queens took her throne at All Points East

AFP/Getty Images

The first weekend of All Points East was hardly running smoothly. Friday night was a washout, and on Saturday, a buoyant crowd was deflated by persistent sound problems as the Strokes delivered their headline set. That meant it was all hinged on Sunday’s top name, Christine and the Queens. Her performance played out like an almighty battle of the elements — rain poured down again from the heavens, doing its best to dampen erupting pyrotechnics on stage. But it was the French pop supremo who proved the greatest force of nature, an electric presence who produced an enchanting, life-affirming set. Weekend saved.

Honey Dijon battled through the rain at Gala

London wasn’t left wanting for dance music festivals this summer, with Junction 2, Art’s House, Eastern Electrics, and South West Four just a few of the highlights (Hospitality and Abode have their Finsbury Park blowouts still to come later in September). But Gala proved a particular gem. First appearing in 2016, it immediately won hearts with its small capacity, quality-over-quantity line-up and simple but superb production. This summer’s edition stayed true to that philosophy, and Honey Dijon’s set was a particular joy. Even when the rain came, the tunes stayed heavy and the crowd stayed dancing.

Field Day kept the party going

Francis Augusto

It’s a sad fact that the vast majority of London’s festivals have to shut up shop relatively early into the night — rarely will you get one running beyond 11pm. But Field Day changed that, making the most of its huge new warehouse site at the Drumsheds in north London to keep the party going right into the early hours. Maya Jane Coles, Leon Vynehall, Mella Dee and Denis Sulta were among the DJs spinning tracks until 3am. It made a welcome change from having to trudge home well before midnight, or scout around for another club night to trek to. Let’s hope other festivals can find a way to do likewise.

J Hus made a surprise appearance at Wireless

With A$AP Rocky otherwise engaged over in Sweden and therefore unable to play at Wireless, the festival was left scrambling around for a replacement. It must have been a sense of déjà vu for organisers, who were in a similar position last year after DJ Khaled pulled out last minute. In 2018 they got Drake — not bad — and this year they worked their magic again, with J Hus stepping in to save the day. It must have been pretty maddening for Lovebox, which was set to take place the following weekend and had been touting Hus as a UK festival exclusive, but for Wireless it was a massive coup. The east Londoner delivered an effortlessly headliner-worthy performance, gliding smoothly through a set with all of the tunes that have made him one of this country’s leading musical talents.

Chaka Khan headlined twice in one weekend

Getty Images

What’s better than one Chaka Khan headline set? Two Chaka Khan headline sets, of course. And that’s exactly what we were treated to on one glorious weekend in June, with the singer topping the bill of Mighty Hoopla on the Saturday, and then doing likewise the following night at Cross The Tracks. What’s more, both festivals were held in Brockwell Park, meaning that small patch of south London was graced by two renditions of I’m Every Woman, Ain’t Nobody and I Feel For You in less than 24 hours. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Jazz took centre stage at Naked City

There is a lot of buzz around the London jazz scene, and rightly so. Alongside grime and drill, it’s one of the most exciting new musical movements to emerge from the capital this decade. Naked City, the festival which made its debut in Beckenham Place Park in July, acted as a showcase of just why there’s so much hype around them. Moses Boyd Exodus, Ezra Collective and Kamaal Williams — three leaders of the pack — played consecutive sets on the main stage and tore the house down. Boundless energy, searing musicianship and the ability to have lots of fun — this lot have it in bucketloads.

Nile Rodgers led the celebrations at Meltdown

Victor Frankowski

Meltdown is always a treat, and that was especially so with this year’s edition, curated by the inexorable Nile Rodgers. He showed just how far his musical radar spans with a hugely colourful line-up. SOPHIE paired avant-pop with expressive dance, KOKOROKO delivered a slice of afrobeat-flavoured joy and Brazil’s Anitta proved just why she poised to take over the world of pop. But the best was saved for the man himself, who treated an enraptured crowd to his irresistible disco favourites alongside his band Chic. It was a celebratory night, culminating in stage invasion by dozens of grooving fans.

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