Summer in the park …

Like it or not, Brockwell Park and Brixton now have a solid summer season of festivals and events. Isabella Nova looks at what is in store for us …

Brockwell Park is home to many events this summer. From festivals to farm animals, the park will host returning shows and showcase a huge range of art, culture, and music as part of the Brockwell Live summer series.

Brockwell Live, which runs from 24 May to 1 June, is a series of festivals that are run independently and cover all different types of music and cultures.

It also aims to bring something back to the community, funding local projects across Lambeth, including organisations in Brixton. Here is what to expect over the summer period…

Project 6

Brockwell Live’s freshest event, Project 6, stages new and upcoming electronic and hip hop music. The festival is part of 30th anniversary celebrations for Rinse FM, the London-based underground radio station. Its first broadcast was back in September 1994 and the station has hosted many DJs, including Brixton’s own Fabio and Grooverider. It plays a range of genres including garage, grime, jungle, and dance. The Project 6 festival has partnered with Outlook, a festival held in Croatia, that represents a celebration of genres from around the world and in this collaboration, announced on Instagram, aims to attract those “seeking bass-heavy music in the sunshine”.

Headline acts include Nines, Pusha T, plus Brixton-born AJ Tracey who will be a special guest. Other acts include Miss Dynamite, Katy B, and “Baddest of Them All” Eliza Rose. The festival is the first event of Brockwell Live, taking place on Friday 24 May.

Wide Awake

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Slow Dive, and Young Fathers are the headline acts for Wide Awake, Brockwell Park’s alternative pop and boundary-pushing music festival.

South London’s Dry Cleaning and Fat Dog are also in the line-up for the day, with Fat Dog a favourite in Brixton, playing gigs in The Windmill and, most recently, a sold out Electric Brixton. They recently announced Woof, a debut album due out in September.

Wide Awake is known to bring out-of--this-world vibes, with psychedelic and electronic music. It all takes place this summer on Saturday 25 May.

Cross The Tracks

Described as “Brixton’s jazz soul and funk feast”, Cross The Tracks showcases some iconic artists as well as supporting new faces on the scene. Originating in 2019, this festival is returning for another year with some great artists including Erykah Badu, BADBADNOTGOOD, and En Vogue. The line-up also includes Brixton-born Mansur Brown.

The festival also contributes to the Brockwell Live Community Fund. Projects that this fund supports include Brixton BMX Club and The Brixton Chamber Orchestra. It also supports the Lambeth Sounds Music Hub, giving new and emerging artists from South London the chance to perform at the festival alongside some of the most influential artists in the music industry. Cross the Tracks takes place on Sunday 26 May.

City Splash

With over 45 food traders and a range of reggae, Afrobeats and dancehall, City Splash is a festival celebrating African and Caribbean culture. Headline acts include Capleton, Beanie Man, Shenseea and Busy Signal. The line-up includes Britain’s most influential producer SHY FX, as well as London’s own WSTRN.

The festival is supported by Radio 1Xtra as well as Black Eats London, the UK’s first and only Black-owned restaurant directory. Black Eats London has partnered with Brixton Village in the past, during the holidays, to showcase a wide range of small, Black-owned businesses across the area.

City Splash pays homage to Black communities and cultures from across the world. The festival takes place on Monday 27 May, which is also a bank holiday.

Brockwell Bounce

Brockwell Bounce is a big day out for all the family. From costume-making to fairground rides, storytelling to water fights this festival features lots of activities for everyone to take part in. It also includes live music performances including one from the Brixton Chamber Orchestra. There are also inflatable courses for everyone of all ages to enjoy.

The festival has partnered with The Brixton Project and The Black Culture Market.The event is free and takes place on Wednesday 29 May.

Mighty Hoopla

Big names including Nelly Furtado, Jessie Ware, Rita Ora and En Vogue are all headlining Mighty Hoopla this summer. The festival, which prides itself on inclusivity and celebrating the best of queer culture, is full of may pop legends who will head to the stage at Brockwell Park.

The festival is spread across two days, Saturday 1 June and Sunday 2 June, and is set to include more than 400 performers across eight stages.

Other acts include Kim Petra, Cher Lloyd and London’s Cat Burns.

There are also performances from Step’s Claire Richards and S Club 7’s Rachel Stevens as well as DJ sets from Danny Howard and Girls Don’t Sync.

Lambeth Country Show

The summer series in Brockwell Park ends with the free Lambeth Country Show, which saves the council a considerable sum by using the infrastructure from foregoing festivals.

The show celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and is set to showcase a spectacle of arts and culture as well as live music performances and agricultural events.

Events at the festival include the traditional flower show and ever-popular vegetable carving contest, horse jousting and stunt shows and an on-site farm.

There are also funk, soul and reggae performances across the two stages in the park with over 200 traders selling food and products from many cultures across the world.

Grooveschool, the Brixton charity, will offer a range of music workshops – a taster of its schemes to help people of all ages and backgrounds gain new skills in music technology and access to the industry.

The show is on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June.