Last month local resident and member of the Protect Brockwell Park group, Rebekah Shaman, took Lambeth Council and event organisers Brockwell Live to court, arguing that they did not have the correct planning permission for the events.

Ms Shaman’s claim centred around planning laws which prohibit the change of use of parks for more than 28 days each year. Last week, the High Court ruled in favour of this argument, saying that the park would be used for as many as 37 days due to the scheduled events this summer.

The event organisers, however, have now given an official update on the festivals’ status, which include Mighty Hoopla, Wide Awake and Field Day.

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Writing on Instagram, Brockwell Live said: “Brockwell Live can confirm that all events in the series will go ahead as planned.

“Friday’s High Court ruling dealt with a particular point of law and whether an administrative process can be carried out correctly… We take our stewardship of Brockwell Park seriously.

“As we prepare to deliver these much-loved, culturally significant events, we remain fully committed to its care, upkeep, and long-term wellbeing. With setup nearly complete, we look forward to opening the gates and welcoming festival goers later this week.”

This dispute has created much debate within the local area and beyond. Many residents, such as Ms Shaman, believe that such events are leading to an accelerated decline of the parks well-being, with Shaman responding to the ruling by saying: “This has been going on for years, it isn’t a one-off situation and it has been a consistent deterioration of the park.”

However, there are many that believe events such as these are essential to London’s vibrant culture and that they are crucial to the local economy.

 

 

 

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The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) have been one of the biggest supporters of Brockwell Live and Lambeth Council, saying: “The local economy – including independent shops, pubs, restaurants, and hotels – which sees a surge in business during these festivals, would be hit hard.”

Since the ruling, Wide Awake, Field Day, and Might Hoopla have all come out with separate statements (see above), confirming that all festivals will still take place and reiterating their “commitment to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all”.

The situation has also created much debate on social media, with one user on X/Twitter stating that: “Real rock and hard place with this… there used to be so many free park events in London.”

Real rock and hard place with this. Noise complaint NIMBYism has so much of LDN tightly within its grip, but I also think its basically bad private companies can enclose public space to charge extortionate fees for us to see music. There used to be so many free park events in LDN https://t.co/5fKZgmixI2

— Arbeitology (@Arbeit_Fish) May 19, 2025

The first of Brockwell Park’s festivals is due to kick off this Friday with Wide Awake. Politically charged hip-hop trio Kneecap will headline the festival despite calls for their performances to be cancelled after their controversial Coachella performance.

Shared by members of the Sisu Crew, a community for female and non-binary DJs, on Tuesday (April 29), the open letter states that “We are a coalition of artists who come together to stand against Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.

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Superstruct – the company that own Field Day and many more festivals across Europe – was acquired by KKR for $1.3 billion in June 2024. As the world’s second largest investment firm, KKR has ties to several Israeli corporations that allegedly operate in occupied Palestinian territories.

The letter states: “The consequences of KKR’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and apartheid regime against all Palestinians are not only countless violations of human rights and international law, but the systematic destruction of Palestinian life and society.

“KKR invests billions of pounds in companies which, for example, develop Israeli underground data centres, and advertise real estate on illegally occupied land in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.”

Since the acquisition of Superstruct, The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) have led the calls to boycott any festival under the companies umbrella, including Boiler Room.

Now the attention has turned to Field Day, with the open letter demanding that the festival adopts an ethical programming and partnerships policy. 

Although the letter states that they understand the difficult position the festival has been put in, the collective of artists have called on Field Day bosses to have an open dialogue with musicians, saying: “While we understand that this acquisition was not the choice of Field Day, it nonetheless means that the festival is now implicated in the crimes against humanity of apartheid and genocide.

“We are open to constructive dialogue with the Field Day team about how to urgently and most effectively achieve these demands, given the challenging position they have been put in.”

Field Day have yet to respond to the demands, but will be expected to tackle it in a similar fashion to how Boiler Room did earlier this year.

After receiving similar criticism, the electronic festival was quick to respond with a statement reaffirming it’s “unapologetically pro-Palestine” stance, saying: “We continue to adhere to BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement] and PACBI guidelines regarding artist programming and brand partnerships and engage with Palestinian artists and organisers in order to formalise our internal policies in line with this commitment.”

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Following Boiler Room’s publicised distancing from KKR, the PACBI called on “all other Superstruct-owned live music events to distance themselves from KKR’s investments in Israel’s complicit tech sector.”

Only time will tell if Field Day accept the demands of the Sisu Crew and PACBI.

This is not the only open letter signed by Massive Attack this week, as the Trip Hop icons joined a growing list of more than 100 names supporting Kneecap’s “freedom of expression”. This follows alleged attempts from politicians and the media to censor the Irish rap trio after the group showed their support for Palestine whilst performing at Coachella. Check out the mxdwn coverage here.

The incomparable Aphex Twin closing Field Day 2023 with mind-bending visuals from @weirdcoretv.

Thank you to everyone who made this year’s festival one for the history books.

Until next year pic.twitter.com/lyvWA6ygRh

— Field Day (@fielddaylondon) August 20, 2023

Charli XCX took to social media to post a one sentence response to Aphex Twin’s use of her face, tweeting, “i’ve officially made it.” And Charli XCX was not the only one included in Aphex Twin’s mesmerising visual display, with late producer SOPHIE, Dua Lipa and Stormzy all used in a similar fashion.

i’ve officially made it. https://t.co/9uuQQeWSa8 — Charli (@charli_xcx) August 20, 2023

Aphex Twin, whose real name is Richard D James, closed out London’s Field Day-as part of the All Points East Festival-in Victoria Park, East London on Saturday night. With a set that lasted an hour and a half, the British DJ hypnotised the crowd with his catalogue of electronic hits that included a staggering 39 song setlist.

Often regarded as one of the most influential artists on the electronic scene, Aphex Twin is well known for his mind-bending visual displays that add a surreal yet fascinating glamour to his live performances. For Field Day the artist continued his flair for visual extravagance, morphing his face onto notable figures in British culture.

THIS WEEKEND.
FIELD DAY, LONDON, UK.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE MERCH DESK. pic.twitter.com/dHdCmkC3pO

— Aphex Twin (@AphexTwin) August 18, 2023

It is little wonder why Charli XCX felt flattered at the use of her face, as the pop artist joined the likes of the England football team, the King and Aphex Twin’s fellow festival headliner, Stormzy among others-all having their faces manipulated to match the DJ’s. With the crowd delighted by the display, the performance is sure to live long in the memory for those who were in attendance.

Raised in Cornwall, Aphex Twin came to international prominence with hit singles “Windowlicker” and “Come To Daddy”-both of which reached the top 40. In 2014, the DJ won a Grammy Award for best dance/electronic album with his sixth studio effort, Syro . Last week, Aphex Twin released a new augmented reality app called YXBoZXh0d2lu. When decrypted, the encoded title translates to ‘aphextwin’ and features a collection of landscapes with a soundtrack sampled from the artist’s latest EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f/In A Room 7 F760.


For Charli XCX, the artist is enjoying a prolific and busy period, having just appeared on Addison Rae’s new single, 2 Die 4 and released a new video for “Speed Drive” which featured in the new Barbie film. Along with these releases, Charli XCX also co-composed the soundtrack for the upcoming comedy film, Bottoms.

Listen to “Days Go By” below:

Rat Road will be SBTRKT’s third album and his first album since 2016’s Save Yourself. It’s set to release on the 5^th May and will include the artist’s past collaborators South London-born producer Sampha and the Swedish electronic band Little Dragon. “Days Go By” is the third single to be released from Rat Road with the mellow lead single “FORWARD” dropping last December followed by the psychedelic R&B track “WAITING” featuring the rapper Teezo Touchdown (who previously supported Tyler, the Creator, Kali Uchis, and Vince Staples on tour).

“As humans, our moods are changeable. We are still able to laugh amidst this collective anxiety”, said the artist in a press release. He continued to say that his new album will explore the root of this collective anxiety: “I’m tapping into how we feel about our role in climate change and the future, the politics of Britain, but also the music industry. You need all your wits about you to not get screwed over.”

The man behind SBTRKT is Aaron Jerome from Cambridgeshire. He first received recognition in 2009 when his track “Nervous” became a radio hit and has now remixed songs for M.I.A, Drake, Radiohead, Mark Ronson, Basement Jaxx, Little Dragon, and Underworld.

Jerome is reconstructing his image for Rat Road abandoning the mask he is now known for. Originally the artist used the mask to help maintain anonymity so his listeners could focus on his music rather than his identity. “A lot of my prior press coverage was as a masked, elusive character,” explained SBTRKT in the press release. “My storyline became attached to the mask. A lot has been projected onto or written for me, diluting what I actually created and then, that being attributed to others around me.”

SBTRKT will be headlining Outernet in London on the 25^th following the release of Rat Road. It will be his first headline show of 2023. Tickets go on sale at 10 am BST on the 12^th April. He will also be appearing at Field Day Festival in London this summer. For tickets see here.

See below for the complete list of SBTRKT’s UK dates:

25/05/23 – Outernet – London
19/08 – Field Day Festival – London

Luke Huxham of Broadwick Live has given the following statement concerning the festival’s birthday, “We always wanted our 15th anniversary to be our best ever, and it was incredible to celebrate this milestone with so many people in our spiritual home of Victoria Park. Connecting the best artists in the world, both living icons and meteoric talent, with passionate audiences through the power of live music is why we love what we do.”

Over the years, All Points East’s Field Day has evolved into an event committed to Dance and electronic music. This year’s Field Day lineup further confirmed such a reputation when pioneering groups Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk 3D took to the London stage. German masters of the electronic genre, Kraftwerk were first to take the stage at Victoria Park. Their Field Day show was one of the concluding performances of their 3D tour and saw the duo bring their unique brand of dance music and kaleidoscopic visuals to the capital. Their set included many of the group’s beloved hits including “Trans-Europe Express”, “The Model” and “Tour De France”.

Set times for the East Stage today at @fielddaylondon – we’ll see you there! #chemicalbrotherslive pic.twitter.com/KWT0NpdwWA

— The Chemical Brothers (@ChemBros) August 20, 2022

Billed to close this year’s Field Day was The Chemical Brothers, the English dance-electronic outfit made sure to pull out all the stops within their set. Their headlining performance was packed with hit singles such as “Galvanise”, “Swoon” and “Star Guitar”. Speaking on the group’s set, CEO and Field Day organiser Gareth Cooper has stated, “That was bigger and better than anything London has seen or heard this year. The Chemical Brothers’ unmissable live set shows why no act has had a bigger impact in UK electronic music, both here and internationally. The Chemical Brothers really showed London how it’s done!”

During the day, those in attendance were treated to a long list of artists who performed across the six stages. Also billed to appear at yesterday’s event were Peggy Gou, Bklava, CICI, Daniel Avery, Eliza Rose, Erol Alkan, a DJ set by Fjaak, Floating Points, Emerald B2B Jossy Mitsu, Helena Star, Kareem Ali, Logic 1000, Luxe and Mary Anne Hobbs.

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After moving to Brockwell Park for 2018 and Drumsheds for 2019, they are moving back to their old stomping ground of Victoria Park in East London for the 15th anniversary. They first returned to the famous Victoria Park in 2021, which represented a homecoming after they missed out on Summer 2020. The 2021 edition sold out in February, even when the UK was deep in lockdown with no end in sight, showcasing the festivals popularity in the scene.

The previous time the festival was held in Victoria Park was 2017, a day which hosted an impressive variety of acts including Death Grips, Flying Lotus, Run The Jewels, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and a headline act from Aphex Twin at the massive Barn stage.

Acts to perform at 2022’s Field Day include Floating Points, HAAi, Kareem Ali, Otik, and Tourist, as announced in November last year alongside the headliners, Kraftwerk and The Chemical Brothers.

A few artists on this line-up are returning acts, such as Moodymann who performed at the 2017 edition and Floating Points who performed a live set at the 2019 edition in Brockwell Park.

On their website, Field day revel in their return: “Field Day festival is set for a glorious homecoming, with Victoria Park in East London unveiled as the location for this year’s anticipated show. Taking place on Saturday 20th August 2022 as part of the APE Presents programme, the festival will showcase some of electronic music’s most revered artists.”

Gareth Cooper, Field Day’s Director, said: “Off the back of a successful year last year, we’re delighted Field Day is returning to Victoria Park to celebrate its 15th edition.

“This year will be our biggest yet and we’re excited to welcome two of the most iconic acts in the history of electronic music to the festival, as well as a selection of the most ground-breaking artists in the industry.”

Tickets for the festival have been on pre-sale since November and are already on their fifth release, although these tickets are now likely to sell out after this new line-up announcement. You can buy tickets on their website here.

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The festival previously announced its line-ups for the Saturday and Sunday of the festival. Saturday 28^th August will be headlined by DJ Jamie XX and rapper Kano. Saturday’s date also features Tom Misch, Slowthai, Arlo Parks and Little Simz to name a few.

The Sunday of the festival, presented by All Points East in partnership with Field Day features electronic and dance acts like Bicep, Floating Points, and Mall Grab.

All Points East have now revealed their Monday line-up which is to be headlined by Foals and supported by Bombay Bicycle. Foals have recently had to postpone their UK tour for a second year running following lockdown restrictions. The band’s last releases were the pair of albums ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’ parts 1 and 2 in 2019 however they have been hinting at new music. In a statement, the group said: “We’re super happy to be playing at APE this summer. Victoria Park is one of our spiritual homes, so it’s going to be really special. We’re currently working hard in the studio and you never know, we might just throw in a new riff or two!”

We have a very limited number of tickets back on sale for Sat 28 August with Jamie xx and Kano, subject to availability! Move quickly to avoid disappointment… https://t.co/8WNffB0ArV pic.twitter.com/1rnYTwgu2E

— All Points East (@allpointseastuk) June 7, 2021

Also featured in Monday’s lineup is Gang Of Youths, Roisin Murphy, Whitney, Jade Bird, Tune-Yards, Nadine Shah, Ghostpoet, Maisie Peters, The Magic Gang, Holly Humberstone, Octo Octa, Flyte, Liz Lawrence, Olivia Dean and Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard.

Tickets for the Monday event go on sale from 10 am on Friday 26 March. Other tickets for APE Presents Field Day and Jamie xx and Kano are now sold out, with only VIP packages remaining.