London is one of the world’s most vibrant cities, a glittering mecca of music and the stomping round for thousands of bands and musicians. As the summer draws to a close, it takes with it another music festival season. Although we’ve been told that there are too many music festivals in the yearly calendar and that ticket sales this year for several events have been slow, music festivals remain an important and popular part of our summer. In the UK there are over 450 music festivals and there are plenty in the capital alone – and there’s not always a tent in sight – the Camden Crawl for instance takes place across various venues in Camden. With most of the larger events taking place in London’s Hyde and Victoria Parks, they don’t include camping – perfect for those who don’t fancy three days of being unwashed – and include Wireless, Lovebox, Field Day and Hard Rock Calling. In 2011 have attracted acts such as Pulp, Snoop Dogg and the Black Eyed Peas. And with Knebworth, the site of Sonisphere festival and Reading Festival, a short commute away, music fans are spoilt for choice.
Of course London’s music scene is not confined to fields and tents. There are venues to satisfy fans of every genre – rock, RnB, jazz and folk in club, bars and clubs and pubs and in all corners of the city. Areas such as Brixton, Shoreditch and Camden have a rich musical heritage while London’s Rough Trade East, an independent record store also hosts gigs.
With a packed schedule o gigs almost every night you can guarantee that there is always somewhere to go and that whenever you are in the mood you can catch live music.