Gala returned to Peckham Rye Park this May Bank Holiday, not just as a firm fixture in the city’s summer calendar, but to mark a milestone: ten glorious years of impeccable programming and packed dancefloors.
What started in 2016 as a boutique celebration of underground music has blossomed into London’s largest independent music festival. The lineup this year read like a love letter to the past, present and future of dance music, with six thoughtfully curated stages to give festival-goers the full spectrum, from disco and rare groove, to techno and global house, including the debut of a brand new stage: Sunflower Sound System.
Friday highlights include a colossal eight-hour shift from Theo Parrish, holding down the 1908 stage. Over on the main stage, Moodymann delivered his first open-air set in three years, treating the crowd to classics like New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’. Saturday saw Ben UFO take command of the main stage while Coast 2 Coast packed out The Patio. I arrived on Sunday for Gala’s final day, and my first of the festival season.
The Patio always delivers, come rain or shine. This year, Alex Kassian brought pulsating rhythms and cinematic sounds to the stage with his set. Later in the afternoon, Bradley Zero kept the momentum with a mix of rhythmic beats, weaving in Tom Esselle’s ‘Baddies’, a tech-house highlight from his own Rhythm Section label.
There’s something special about the 1908 stage. I’m not sure if it’s the low tented ceiling, the centrally placed DJ booth, or just the epic line up but being in the crowd feels like you’re in on a secret and the energy is always unbeatable.
One of my favorite sets came from Dar Disku, with their blend of contemporary electronic music and SWANA sounds. Their debut single ‘Dbayli’ got the whole crowd bouncing along with them. Antal B2B Hunee later delivered what can only be described as a masterclass in crate-digging. The pair kept everyone on their toes, seamlessly swapping between percussive afro-house, jazz, disco, synth-funk and J-Pop, to name a few. It was also great to see Hunee dancing just as hard as the crowd.
Of course, no Gala weekend would be complete without Horse Meat Disco in The Pleasure Dome. The beloved collective served up a characteristically fun set, mixing pop favourites like Britney Spears with modern dance-floor anthems such as Jamie XX and Robyn’s 'Life’. Safe to say everyone left that tent with a big old grin, feeling mentally lighter than when they entered and physically lighter from all the dancing.
The main stage saw Gerd Janson, Heléna Star & Louise Chen deliver dynamic sets, but as dusk set in, Gala had a real treat up their sleeve to close the weekend: a live set from Caribou. Dan Snaith and his band seamlessly moved between indie electronic, techno, garage, drum & bass and experimental sounds in a performance that took the whole crowd on a journey. The final track was the perfect end: ‘Can’t Do Without You’, a song that makes you want to grab all your friends and not let go. It felt like a proper headline moment, the kind that stays with you long after the slow trundle home.
And just like that, Gala was over. Ten years in and the festival is getting both older and better. So here’s to the next decade of dancing.
