London Festivals: The Ultimate Guide
Every year there's packed schedule of London day festivals, hosted across the many venues of the capital. Our handy guide helps you can make an informed decision of which one to back.
By Charlie Walker | Updated Aug 7 2024
All Points East
16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th, and 25th of August | Victoria Park, Grove Road, Bow, E3 5TB | Tickets from £60
The multi-weekend, star-studded, frankly behemothic All Points East (or APE for short) has risen to the top, now the cream of the crop of London’s summer festivals.
Despite only hosting their first festival in 2018, wherein they won the UFA award for Line-up of the Year, and missing a year due to Covid, they have gone on to devour other smaller London festivals in their wake, including the prestigious Field Day that is now presented under the All Points East banner.
Their presence cannot be ignored. Friday 16th of August presents Kaytranada, who despite his immense popularity and influence rarely comes to the UK, as well as Thundercat and Channel Tres. The following day hosts Loyle Carner, Nas (yes, that Nas), Ezra Collective, and Sainte.
The following week has LCD Soundsystem, Pixies, Floating Points, and Jockstrap, and the following day (Field Day) has Justice, PinkPanthress, and Charlotte De Witte headlining.
We are still not done, as the 25th of August presents The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie (both lead by Ben Gibbard), The Decemberists, Phoenix, and Sleater-Kinney. And these are only selected headliners, the line-up poster goes on like a Lidl receipt.
With a line-up so comprehensive, so diverse in genres and styles across eras, held over two weekends on multiple days, it’s fair to say that All Points East wins the accolade of Best London Summer festival. Already monolithic and only growing in size, its foreseeable that by 2030, Victoria Park may be renamed ‘All Points East Playground’.
See their website and full line-up here
Chaka Khan's Meltdown
14th - 23rd June | Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX | Tickets from £25
For those unfamiliar with the Meltdown festival, each year, an acclaimed artist is responsible for curating ten days of events at the Southbank Centre.
This year, soul and disco legend Chaka Khan takes the reigns, selecting a line-up of a wide variety of artists in the soul, jazz, and funk tradition.
Inaugurated by Chaka Khan performing a night full of her greatest hits, some highlights include Speakers Corner Quarter and Guildhall Session Orchestra on Monday 17th, rising star Judi Jackson on Thursday 20th, Afro-jazz collective Balimaya Project on the 21st (seriously, give these guys a listen), and downbeat kings Morcheeba on the 22nd.
And to cap it all off, Chaka Khan performs on the final event of the festival with Nu Civilisation Orchestra, aka ClassiKhan, performing orchestral reworks of her classics backed by one of the country’s best ensembles. Unmissable may just be a gross understatement.
Check their full line-up here.
Love Motion
26th July | Crystal Palace Bowl, 59 Crystal Palace Park Road, SE20 8DT | Tickets from £55
An electric day festival at Crystal Palace Park sees old and new come together for an intergenerational mash-up.
Here's a big one. A day festival, hosted in the glorious Crystal Palace Park, with one stage hosting four frankly massive acts: Horse Meat Disco, Dimitri From Paris, Roisin Murphy, and, biggest of all, the Grace Jones. That's right. 'Iconic' is an insulting understatement.
Horse Meat Disco throw some of the best parties in London, and have been for years (their queer nights at the Eagle come highly recommended). Dimitri From Paris' DJ sets make excellent hunting grounds for new and exciting tunes, and while Roisin Murphy may be seen as an off-kilter choice given the dance-oriented acts, she serves as an ideal lay-up for Grace Jones
Do we need to tell you about Grace Jones? Thought not. I'd say 'if you know, you know', but I trust you already know. Tickets come for an incredibly reasonable £55, averaging about £13 per artist if you wanted to break it down like that.
See the full line-up here.
Summer Dayes Festival
4th of August | Crystal Palace Bowl, 59 Crystal Palace Park Road, London SE20 8DT | Tickets from £50
Curated by none other than our Album of the Year winner Yussef Dayes, the Summer Dayes festival offers much more than just music.
Jelly coconuts, Caribbean food, Yoga classes hosted by Yussef Dayes’ dad, and hosted by Munya Chawawa, the unbeatable summer vibes are only here matched by a quality line-up consisting of Masego, Greentea Peng, Charlotte Day Wilson, and of course, Yussef Dayes himself.
Held at Crystal Palace Bowl, we are here praying for good weather to bring light to Yussef Dayes hometown, an event that means much to the artists. For fans of modern jazz, soul, and alternative rap, this will be your summer destination.
The festival has no official website, but all the details including booking can be found on Yussef Dayes' website here.
Big Smoke
6th of July | Crystal Palace Park, Thicket Road, SE19 2GA | Tickets from £72
Curated by one of the UK’s greatest musical exports and Grime legend, Skepta, the highly-anticipated Big Smoke festival is more than just a chance for Skepta to engineer his headlining a festival.
Held at Crystal Palace park, the Skepta-curated line-up includes some huge names in the scene, including UK underground legend The Streets, Mahalia, Skepta’s brother and accomplished rapper JME, K-Trap, labelmate Frisco, internationally acclaimed MC Flowdan, and ubiquitous producer and DJ Sir Spiro, all on mainstage.
The secondary stage, Mas Tiempo, goes more in the house/dance/Latin direction to offer a break from the bass-heavy, MC-driven mainstage acts. Undoubtedly impressive for Skepta’s first day out.
See more info and tickets here
Ealing Jazz Festival
3 & 4th of August | Walpole Park - 45 Disraeli Rd, W5 5HS | Tickets from £16 (for the weekend, day tickets available)
One for the older crowd, or perhaps for the more musically discerning, the forty-year-old tradition of bringing jazz music to Ealing on the big stage is kept alive once more for another year of funk, soul, and jazzy jamboreeing. Held on W5's Walpole Park, Ealing invites artists from the world over for West London locals to delight in a mix of UK and international styles. Some may not even know it exists, but it has for years been one of the countries biggest jazz festivals.
As always, this is a premier spot to enjoy established and well-known acts as well as finding the newest in new. Two-time MOBO winner YolanDa Brown will be bringing her funky mix of reggae, jazz, and soul through the tenor of her saxophone on Saturday 4th August, and Nubiyan Twist, known for their effortless blend of afrobeat, hip-hop, soul jazz, and dancehall, are set to headline the Sunday. One's to look out for, however, will be the London Afrobeat Collective, Alisha Joy, Mica Sefia, and Youthsayers.
As part of a series of Ealing summer festivals that run all summer, the jazz fest makes up one corner of their trifecta of blues, comedy, and jazz. For blues fans, of course the Ealing Blues Festival shall hold appeal (if you don't mind a slew of tribute acts that is), but its their offerings in Jazz that make this weekend the biggest in Ealing's calendar this year.
See more info here
Kings Cross Summer Sounds
16th - 26th August | Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross, N1C 4AB | Free Entry
The free, 12-day live festival at King Cross’ Coal Drops Yard celebrates local and international musical talent, showcasing a variety of acts including Brazilian, choir, soul, funk, classical, and operatic music. See out the rest of August with some stellar live music in the bustling centre of north London at Kings Cross Summer Sounds.
With festival prices skyrocketing in recent years, and with many long-running festivals going bust, it’s a joy to see a vibrant, multifaceted, and free festival like Kings Cross Summer Sounds. A music festival that celebrates music in all its forms, there’s much more to do that just watch others perform. You can perform yourself! At drum circles workshops, capoeira classes, and queer tango sessions. Impressive for a free festival to offer so much.
The line-up, while not containing names that would sell-out the O2, offers much musical variation and talent, as well as giving audiences an opportunity to see some of London’s rising talent. Charles, a rising star in UK funk, plays the evening of Monday the 19th to show off some exciting cross-generational takes on funk and soul; Lily Moore, playing on the 16th, has been compared to Winehouse and Adele for her deep, soulful voice and her quintessentially British takes on timeless soul; on the 21st, award-winning violinist Fenella Humphreys will be presenting a rework of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with a diversely modern interpretation.
Beyond British talent, the female-led Olayá promise a lively flute and percussion set inspired by bandas de pifanos, Alvorada pump up the jam with instrumental Brazilian music of the choro tradition, and The Green Room Collective, consisting of members from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, explore themes of displacement, home, and movement.
If you wanted to pick out a few highlights, then YolanDa Brown, Kabantu, and Secret Night Gang would be your go-to’s. YolanDa Brown is an accomplished saxophonist and composer, earning an OBE last year for her services in music, who, beyond her work in broadcasting and organising, offers a unique and exciting blend of reggae, jazz, and soul, which she jokingly terms “posh reggae. Kabantu are an African-inspired folk collective from Manchester whose globalised musical blends offer something new in the world of British folk. Secret Night Gang’s hip-hop, jazz, and soul fusion make for a lovely set in the summer, bringing a carefree and joyful air to the Coal Drops Yard. Many know them for their track ‘The Sun’, which featured in GTA5 radio.
There’s much to enjoy here at Kings Cross Summer Sounds. We wont see Coal Drops Yard be this lively for quite some time. Make the most of the weather and save some money while you’re at it.
Read more here
Rally Festival - at Southwark Park
24th August | Southwark Park - Gomm Rd, SE16 2TX | Tickets from £52
Celebrating their second iteration, the forward-thinking and community-minded Rally Festival boasts some of the best talent in dance, alternative electronic, and jazz for another romp in the trees of Southwark Park.
One of the newer London day festivals to pop up on the map, Rally comes with a refreshing and noble ethos: supporting and celebrating London’s music communities, creating opportunities for grassroots culture, promoting the discovery of new sounds and boundary pushing artists, and fundraising for local causes. A festival for the people and for the scene, Rally is heeded by lovers of London’s underground music scenes, and for those who seek out the newest in new.
Being a GALA and Bird on the Wire collaboration, there was no doubt that Rally would bring in some of the best acts in current music. We have DJ sets from Danielle, DJ Fart in the Club, DJ Marcelle, Move D, Pearson Sound, and Two Shell, among numerous others. We have live sets from Mount Kimbie, Alabaster DePlume, bar italia, Crystal Murray, James Holden, Debby Friday, and HiTech, with many more. For a newer, smaller London day festival, this is remarkably impressive.
If you’re lost looking at this list, we’d make strong recommendations to go see Alabaster DePlume, whose unique, wobbly saxophone style and unique approach to collaboration puts him at the top of our list of ‘ones to watch’. Additionally, Mount Kimbie, who have surged in popularity the last 6 years, who are playing a somewhat rare live set, will no doubt be the centre piece of the days events. Their transition from post-dubstep to indie rock throughout their career have made them enduringly popular with young listeners, and their ongoing collaborations with King Krule saw them ascend the ranks abnormally fast. Be sure not to miss Two Shell, DJ Marcelle, Crystal Murray, and Pearson Sound if you love your dance.
With the ongoing struggles in the festival business and with the growing monopoly of certain festival conglomerates, it is more than worthwhile to support a festival whose central tenets include supporting grassroots talent and the music community, rather than a strictly for-profit venture. Not just that, the vibes will be on point, as they were last year.
See more info here
Body Movements - at Southwark Park
24th August | Southwark Park - Gomm Rd, SE16 2TX | Tickets from £39
Starting as a radical queer DIY collective in Hackney Wick, Body Movements now find their new home in Southwark Park to become London's first outdoor queer dance music festival.
With humble beginnings as a mere gathering in Hackney Wick, it soon became a multi-venue day festival in the area before gaining enough traction to find their new playground in Southwark Park. Trading the warehouse vibe for the hissing of summer lawns, Body Movements now make their stand on the musical map.
Showcasing the best in queer dance, the line-up is a bag of joys for the community: COBRAH, Confidence Man, Saoirse, Shanti Celeste, THEMPRESS, Or:la, GIDEÖN, and ISAbella to name a few of the big ones from a line-up with over 50 artists. Body Movements have been pulling in a glut of artists for a while now, but the pedigree of these acts and the sheer quantity is never before seen for these enthusiastic organisers.
The production value gets a boost as well, with high-end rigs and specially designed stages to accommodate the acts, in what is described as ‘the playground of our dreams’. Expect some seriously good visuals backed by top-tier soundsystems (though, since it is a London festival, don't expect it to blow your ears wide).
Beyond the enjoyment, Body Movements are committed to donating to noble causes. They have previously supported London Trans+ Pride, Palestine Children's Relief Fund, Play They Magazine, Stonewall Housing, Gendered Intelligence, We Exist Emergency Help Fund for the Trans Community, and this year their Body Movements Community Fund will go toward a plethora of causes. They have already raised £30,000 and the festival is far from beginning.
Their communal ethos expands to their customers too. They offer discounts and accommodating for unemployed and low-waged attendees, holding back tickets for those in need. A festival that truly cares about its community and its people, Body Movements put their money where their mouth is. Students get discounted tickets, and standard rate is only £50, which, for London, is now considered a bargain.
One of the most exciting festivals on the London map, Body Movements will hopefully be a staple for years to come. This however can only happen with your support. So get on down!
Jazz Café Festival - at Burgess Park
15th September | Burgess Park - Albany Road, SE5 0AL | Tickets from £35
The famous Jazz Café’s first outing at Burgess Park promises a stellar line-up of international talent, trading the dark club for sun-charged fields.
The Camden Club is curating a cracking line-up for their first ever foray from their hometown. Four stages, a grand arena-style mainstage for headliners with a 360-degree set up, a tropical plant room, a secret stage, and many, many food trucks, the Jazz Café are donning all the proverbial bells and whistles to make this day out the best on the UK calendar.
A line-up lovingly designed by those who truly know and care about their music, headliners include Nils Frahm, Buena Vista All Stars, Earl Sweatshirt, and ELIZA. These headliners could not be more different from each other; German classical-electronica, Cuban sol, alternative hip-hop, and indie-pop respectively. Yet, each are known and loved by the same sort of adventurous listeners.
The line-up goes on: Alchemist, one of America’s most important and prolific hip-hop producers; Crazy P Soundsystem, a mainstay in British disco for the last decade; dialE, a different kind of up-and-coming UK rapper who looks beyond his genre for his sound; Gilles Peterson, who himself curated We Out Here festival and coined the term ‘acid jazz’; Habibi Funk, who play the most eclectic mix of 70s and 80 Middle Eastern and Arabian funk, soul, disco, and pop; Soichi Terada, a highly influential Japanese techno artist; Omar Souleyman, Syrian wedding singer turned Arab-fusion superstar, who made waves for his blend of Middle Eastern melodies with throbbing electronic beats.
The line-up goes on, impressively for a day festival which lasts around 12 hours, but even more impressively they managed to curate a line-up with so much variety that still appeals to a highly fractured modern audience. They hit the mark here. Pray the weathers still good in September and we may just have a contender for ‘London day festival of the year’.
See here for more info