Reviews

Hackney happy Mirrors Festival returned to Hackney, London for its second year. After a bumper first year, it would’ve been a massive shame if this one day music festival didn’t return for another. Dedicated to supporting the finest in forward-thinking music, audience experience is at the forefront of everything. The music festival itself is across Hackney, spread over six varying, unique venues: Oslo, Hackney Picturehouse, St John At Hackney, Moth Club, Stage 3 and Paper Dre

Discover and enjoy 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

Margate dreamin' Bugged Out are renowned for partying and they're one of the longest running club nights, having been around for over 20 years. This in itself should be enough to tell you that you're in for a treat. Apparently a standard Bugged Out event just wasn't enough, so they decided to step it up this year, teaming up with Dreamland Margate for the first time. The ticket didn't just get you a whole day of fantastic music, it also allowed free reign of the amusement par

Boutique beats In its debut year, Boundary Brighton boasted to be a one-day dance music extravaganza, but given the already saturated festival market, and with ticket sales down, could Boundary deliver? Well yes. Yes it did. Arriving at 2pm, initially the festival felt slightly underwhelming without the huge crowds and hundreds of stalls you’d normally expect to see. The site itself seemed . . . cute. From walking in the gate, you could see all four stages and the two rides o

A day out with a difference Advertised as London's premier music, food and family festival – expectations were high for OnBlackheath. Taking place on the 10th and 11th September, the leafy suburbs of Blackheath came alive for this autumnal spectacle. Into the third year, it's a testament to the festival that it's continued and grown as it has. The festival is a welcome change to the intensity that many offer nowadays, and the kind of event that provides a variation amongst th

Bank holiday madness Monday mornings are always a struggle, but not when it's a Bank Holiday! And not when there's a fantastic new festival to look forward to. For the very first time, Madness brought their, well, madness, to South London – curating a festival on Clapham Common consisting of acts handpicked by the band themselves. Many reggae, ska, and general good-time seekers may have opted for Notting Hill Carnival, little did they know just what they were missing. On a ba

A refreshing change As we approached the ancient woods and park-land that hosts Wilderness it became abundantly clear we were about to enter a festival that was far off the beaten track, both in terms of its offerings and location. Students, couples, hen parties and families were amongst the demographic Wilderness had attracted and catering to such a wide variety of individuals could have proven difficult. However, this is where Wilderness excelled. We were provided with a we

Are you a Sorcerer or a Cosmic Unicorn? As we made our way across the English countryside into the heart of the West Country, this Festival For You reporter knew we were about to have an experience like no other. Excitement built as I recalled the countless number of friends, also frequent festivalgoers, who had told me what “a wicked time they had last year”. The outside world rushed by the coach window as we wound our away along a sun-drenched M1 towards an unforgettable we

Never grow old It would be impossible to classify this year’s LeeFest as just a music festival when in fact the music only took up a percentage of the festivities. With what felt like hundreds of different activities happening over the weekend, LeeFest: The Neverland was the epitome of summer fun. Each day saw brilliant new music grace Tootles Circus and the Bangarang stage located in The Neverwoods, home of the Lost Boys. However, if you didn’t fancy listening to the dozens

Everything there is to love about summer Way back in the summer of ’14, we witnessed the birth of what is possibly one of the best kept secrets on the festival calendar, after Mexican lager brand Corona decided to join forces with SFX Entertainment and Beatport to launch ‘Corona Sunsets’ – a globe travelling day festival, encompassing everything there is to love about summer; cold beer, sunshine, good vibes and, of course, banging tunes! For those of you who may not have had

Enjoy the musical playground Lovebox has well and truly cemented itself in people's calendars, summer after summer. The London festival, founded by Groove Armada, is now into its 15th year and there's no stopping its momentum as every year they continue to surprise and delight the crowds – bringing East London truly to life. The festival attracts the cool, the quirky, the old, the young – it's a hub of difference. And this is what creates such a fantastic environment. Victori

Size doesn't matter Happily tucked away in the rural English countryside, Into the Wild was the perfect festival for anyone who loves good music, dancing, relaxing and having a laugh. The sun was shining and the weekend was set to be a great one filled with exceptionally talented artists happy to play a small and intimate festival like this. On arrival it seemed as though everyone knew everyone else. A sense of community was immediately established. Whether slumming it in the

10 things that set Sunfall apart from every other music festival Sunfall has you raving all day, night and into the early hours. Organised by the creators of Dimensions, Phonox, Outlook Festival, The Nest and XOYO - this is one of London’s best new festivals. And we hope it’s here to stay for many years to come. Here are 10 reasons why we think it was so damn good: 1. Kamasi Washington’s cosmic jazz sounds were the perfect way to excite and ease the crowd into whatever long n

A moment of wonder Sunday 10th July was the last day of Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park, closing with arguably the greatest headliner they’ve had yet: the legendary Stevie Wonder. The weather forecasted rain, and as we went on we saw several huge golf umbrellas that had been confiscated at the gates. But it didn’t matter – ever unpredictable, the British weather was sunny and warm and as the park began to fill up, most people had found room for picnic blank

We gon' be alright Over the years, British Summer Time festival has been headlined by such luminaries as The Rolling Stones, Lionel Richie and Blur leaving lofty standards to live up to, standards which were clearly maintained when Florence + the Machine, Kendrick Lamar and Stevie Wonder were listed amongst the headline acts. As we walked through the festival site we were greeted by the familiar sights of fairground rides and food stalls, including a food truck selling McDona

When a sleepy village turned into a full on jazz festival Four years old is the perfect age for a festival; comfortable and established yet eager to impress. And that can be seen everywhere at Love Supreme as it visited East Sussex for its fourth instalment of jazz and joy. Cosily nestled in Glynde, unlike other festivals, Love-Supremers are treated to the idyllic countryside views of the South Downs, while being a short walk from the train station for easy access. All the wh

Celebrate London With festival season fully underway, Born & Bred was poised to continue the musical wave. Situated in the trendy, edgy Haggerston, East London, everything we were looking for was there. As you walked in, the bass reverberated around the endlessly rhythmic grounds. Expectations were high for this celebration of music – hip hop, grime, drum 'n' bass, garage (the sounds of London) were very much centric to this weekend, all alongside some fantastic international

Rain? You'll need more than that to stop us Manchester and rain stereotypically go hand in hand, so it was no surprise that Parklife suffered from persistent downpours. Add to that the fact that large amounts of people were shuffling and dancing their way across the huge site and you’re left with a pretty muddy affair, but did anyone complain? You bet they didn’t, in fact the rain and mud seemed to only enhance the atmosphere as everyone donned their wellies and rain macs and

We are.....euphoric We Are Fstvl came, saw and conquered this bank holiday; with energy consistently high, I was dazzled by the love and happiness that erupted as I began my journey from West Ham’s tube station, aboard Upminster’s shuttle buses, seamlessly covering Damyns Hall Aerodrome like a blanket and carried me home sweet and sound in the early hours. A festival jungle, myself, my wingman and new recruits (I did warn you in the preview that you’d leave having made a set

The South rises... Never trust a weather app was the first thought. On an expectedly cloudy and drab day, the sun reached out through the clouds, giving the crowd of variously styled vest wearers what they desired. The move from East to South London had no effect on the House and Techno revellers that this festival attracts – after all, we all want to act silly and party during the day don’t we? (Well, maybe not some people, but apart from them – EVERYBODY DOES.) The queues w