01/07/2025
Only five years-old and Wide Awake has quickly cemented itself as a cultural powerhouse, bringing in audiences from all across London and beyond. They burst onto the scene in 2021 to fill a much-needed gap in the summer festival line-up as artists creating what’s now referred to as the Post-Brexit New Wave quickly outgrew their humble beginnings and needed a showcase worthy of their audience – and kickstarted a yearly tradition that I wouldn’t dream of missing.
I arrived at Brockwell Park bright and early (comparatively) at midday as the festival gates opened. Like previous years, the park would only get busier the later it got so I took advantage of the chill atmosphere to wander around the space. I spent some time looking over the vendor stalls and picked up a couple of free temporary tattoos from No Music On A Dead Planet for my trouble.
Some of my favourite festival memories are spent walking between stages, letting music of all sounds and genre wash over me until something grabs and pulls me in. This time it was the word “FUCK!” being yelled for a straight minute by a woman atop The Grove DIY Stage. She was 3L3D3P, a hardcore post-industrial artist from Los Angeles whose infectious energy provided the perfect starting point for the rest of my day. Afterwards I spent the early afternoon bouncing between acts - Yuuf, Nadine Shah, and Mermaid Chunky for instance - before settling in at the Bad Vibrations stage for Mannequin Pussy. I’d been a fan of their music for many years and their performance did not disappoint, and neither did the audience. Watching crowds of people of all ages shouting along to songs I’d listened to tens of times over is a memory I’ll treasure for a long while.
Frankie & The Witch Fingers was another band ticked off my list, and they tore the canvas roof right off of The Shacklewell Arms Stage. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many simultaneous crowd surfers in my life. As soon as one came down, two more would take their place. Pretty soon I was convinced another group of crowd surfers would form on top of the existing ones, creating a never-ending oroboros of people carrying and being carried. It all perfectly complemented the raucous psychedelia that fans have come to expect from the band. I couldn’t resist heading over to catch some of CMAT’s set. I’d seen her song Take A Sexy Picture Of Me go viral on TikTok and had to see if the hype was worth it. Spoiler alert - it was. She commanded the stage with her unique blend of Pop and Irish Folk, rippling with the energy of a new generation’s Kate Bush. Between songs CMAT turned Brockwell Park into an intimate venue with her adorable relatability and asides that felt like grabbing a drink with an old friend from school.
As the sun sank beneath the horizon and the only thing keeping me upright was a cup of Tropical Red Bull and rum, the final act on my must-see list took to the stage. Peaches was a whirlwind of ropes, sex, sweat - plus a handful of back-up dancers dressed as vaginas. She refused to shy away from difficult topics, proclaiming an end to the genocide in Palestine, free bodily autonomy for all, and a rallying cry of “Trans Women Are Women”. She performed most songs practically naked, except when she emerged for an encore wearing a robe for a heart-wrenching cover of Private Dancer by Tina Turner which almost brought me to tears. 58 year-old Peaches is joyfully and boisterously indicative that, for women, life doesn’t end at 30. If anything, it only gets better from there.
I’ve been to Wide Awake every year since its inception and I’ll be supporting it for many years to come. As local music venues all across the country face closure amidst the cost-of-living crisis and overreaching anti-noise legislation, Wide Awake proves that live music is alive, kicking, and worth defending.
