23/10/2016
A multi-venue music festival in East London, Hackney Wonderland showcases some of the most prestigious and up and coming bands around. Into its third year, the event continues to grow and provides a platform to discover new talent - more important now than ever with the amount of music venue closures around London.
You had access to five venues over the weekend, all within a one mile radius: Oval Space, Mangle, London Fields Brewery, The Pickle Factory and Sebright Arms – all intimate and perfectly fitting to the ethos of the weekend. East London is well known for creativity and discovery, so you won’t find a much better place. The canal and urban chic provides an edgy backdrop to the bustling streets that encompass the music festival.
Arriving on the Sunday, it was a fully chilled vibe - with many misty eyed from the night before. Speaking with those taking in the full weekend, Saturday was a much more vibrant, busy environment – but this is to be expected, and it takes nothing away from what was offered on Sunday.
The first acts were on at 5pm, a nice late start – obviously pre-empting people not wanting to get up before midday. There were four venues open on Sunday, with Mangle used only on the Saturday. We wanted to see at least one artist in each venue, with our first stop being London Fields Brewery. We got there a little earlier and were welcomed by the wonderful aromas of ‘Get Wurst’ – it would’ve been rude not to tuck into one their delicious smokey sausages whilst the band warmed up. It took a while for the venue to fill out, but the rocky, rebellious sounds of Misty Miller definitely attracted the crowds – swaying and singing along to her blunt rock sounds.
Making our way down the canals, and through the popular Broadway Market , we picked up a coffee and headed over to Sebright Arms where we saw the energy-fuelled antics of Electric Child House. Swilling beer and Jack Daniels on stage in true rock ‘n’ roll style, the performance was loud, energetic and everything you’d expect – ending with a superb rendition of ‘Born To Be Wild’ in memory of their friend. A short walk over to The Pickle Factory, Yuck – born and bred in Hackney - played their catchy indie guitar riffs to an appreciative crowd. Again, like with all the other performances, you were able to get right up to the stage which makes the performance even more enjoyable!
Last venue to see, and the last performance of the weekend was Lucy Rose at Oval Space. The venue has huge windows that give a wide angle view of East London in all its glory, with the space itself being very open and trendy – it is in a warehouse after all. It wasn’t as busy as we’d have expected – with many attendees not being able to last until the 10:30pm performance time. It was the first time we’ve had the chance to see Lucy Rose live, so we were really looking forward to it. She made the crowd feel very involved, taking requests and chatting back and forth – providing energy and humour throughout. She was genuinely humbled by the experience which was really nice to see. Her new tracks went down as well as the older ones – with ‘Shiver’ hypnotising the crowd. A wonderful end.
Hackney Wonderland is proof that musical festival season isn’t restricted to the summer. For such an affordable price, you get access to some of the best venues in East London and are able to discover new music, easily - there aren’t many that can compete. We’d definitely go back next year!