More about: Wide Awake

Wide Awake festival takes over London’s Brockwell Park for the third year, with sets from Caroline Polachek, Shygirl, Alex G, Black Country, New Road, and more.

Future-facing festival Wide Awake arguably boasts one of the most diverse musical line-ups available in one day. Spanning eight stages, the festival’s ethos lies in platforming up-and-coming artists and the sounds of tomorrow, and actually came through on its promise of an equal gender split. It’s a festival for those wanting to discover the new, as well as fans of leftfield indie, post-punk, electronica and techno.

Despite long entrance queues, I managed to get into the festival in time for Los Bitchos! The Gigwise cover star alumni played the Desert Haze stage, and had already drawn an anticipatory crowd before they began. Known for their technicolour mix of Cumbia, surf-rock and psych, the pan-continental four-piece bashed through a good deal of their ‘Let The Festivities Begin!’ album tracks, most notably ‘Lindsay Goes to Mykonos’ and ‘The Link Is About To Die’. Guitarist Serra Petale's announcement of the last song with the exclamation to "Be kind, be safe, and be sassy!!" perfectly encapsulated the band's playful and energetic spirit, and they closed their set with a rendition of The Champs' iconic Latin-inspired surf song, "Tequila” - of course infused with Los Bitchos!'s own musical flavour.

Moving between stages, I watched a slice of techno DJ, VTSS, who delivered a high-intensity set at the Village Underground stage. Over at the Moth Club stage, singer-songwriter Tirzah's vocals were nearly inaudible as she stood, almost unmoving on stage as the crowd chatted amongst themselves throughout; several people mistaking the set for a backing track in between acts. 

Much-hyped duo Jockstrap drew quite the audience, quickly packing out the Moth Club tent to such an extent that fans spilled out the sides, eager to catch a glimpse of the band’s genre-defying sound. A showcase in the pair’s glitchy electronica, Georgia Ellery combined acoustic guitar sing-alongs with mesmerising builds, as they played a few crowd favourites, such as “Greatest hits” and “Glasgow”. “50/50” made a closing appearance, as well as a number of tracks from their 2022 album, I Love You Jennifer B. At one point, Taylor Skye, the group's producer, even sprayed the front row with a water pistol. 

Elsewhere, house DJ, Erol Alkan, had a prime sunset spot on the Shacklewell Arms stage, drawing a horde of revellers who stopped to dance when travelling between stages. 

Swedish Punk band, Viagra Boys, played the main stage in the early evening, while electronic music fans shuffled to US producer, Oneohtrix Point Never, in the cavernous white and blue Village Underground tent at the top of the park hill.

My personal highlight, however, was seeing South London rapper/singer/DJ, Shygirl. Attracting a devout audience who sang all her songs back to her, Shygirl dished out all the biggest bangers from across her recent catalogue, including “Heaven”, “Coochie”, “FREAK”, “Cleo”, and the SOPHIE-produced “SLIME”. Deto Black even joined Shygirl on stage for a surprise remix of “Nike”, the pair vibing off each other effortlessly as the sun began to set.

I manage to catch the last fifteen minutes of Joy Orbison, who’s playing a roster of classic tech house in a tent full of laser beams; perfect festival fodder.

Last up was “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” hitmaker, Caroline Polachek, who closed the main stage with a sublime performance. Bathed in red lights, she opened with “Welcome To My Island”; the set design fittingly depicted a landscape of lightning and volcanoes.

Caroline also gave faultless renditions of “Sunset”, “Bunny Is A Rider” and “Billions” from her latest album, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You. She proudly announced at one point that Wide Awake marked her first ever headline festival slot.

I slipped out of the gates just before close, eager to beat the crowds that would soon fill South London’s streets. On my way out, I passed the enigmatic DJ duo, Two Shell, playing a thumping electro set to a horde of ravers. Over the field, revellers threw cans into the crowd and moshed to American rock band Osees. 

If you’re looking for something for everyone, you’ll certainly find it here.

See the view from the pit, captured by Adam Taylor:

Grab your copy of the Gigwise print magazine here.

More about: Wide Awake