WIDE AWAKE REVIEW: THE SIREN CALL OF SUMMER

Cementing its place as the best London day fest for emerging artists and alternative music, Wide Awake 2023 deftly proves that the third time’s the charm. 

Photo credit: Luke Dyson

Picture your ‘alternative’ friend. Come on, we’ve all got at least one - the one with the leather jacket who smokes rollies and has no less than 5 piercings. (Not that these things are bad by any means; most of the VG team go 3 for 3 on the above). Chances are, that alternative friend was having the time of their life in Brockwell Park last Saturday, congregating with approx. 25,000 other unique individuals for the third iteration of Wide Awake festival. 

Since its inception in 2021, Wide Awake has established a cult reputation for left-field bookings across a handful of stages, many of which are curated in partnership with some of London’s most beloved indie venues. This year was no exception, offering up a dynamic mix of buzzy new bands and big name cult heroes across garage rock, alt-pop, and eclectic electronica.  

Kicking off proceedings early doors were the likes of Mary in The Junkyard and Naima Bock, both mainstays of the still burgeoning Windmill crowd. Montreal trio Cola, meanwhile, took to the MOTH Club big top, serving up a slice of their angular post-punk to a welcoming, sizable crowd.

Model Actriz / Photo credit: Misha Warren @mwvisual

One of the day’s earliest highlights came from Model/Actriz - a Brooklyn-based quartet whose traditional setup (vocals/guitar/bass/drums) belies how original and genuinely entertaining they are to watch. Putting on a show far surpassing the Shacklewell stage’s modest size, their theatrical, industrial dance-punk made for one hell of a mosh pit. 

Late afternoon brought the triumphant one-two punch of Gretel Hänlyn and Butch Cassidy to the Windmill stage, where it would’ve taken more than the former’s slightly delayed soundcheck to put off the swelling crowd of eager punters. Despite the tech issues, Hänlyn powered confidently through cuts from her recent record, Head of the Love Club, while Butch once again proved just why they’re a band best appreciated in the flesh.

Back at the Wide Awake main stage, and it was the turn of indie darling Alex G to serenade the masses, even treating us to a guest vocal appearance from “his friend, Caroline”; an ideal touchstone to build excitement for the night ahead. Kicking things up a notch (or three), Viagra Boys then stormed through a set of dancing, swearing, and amusing anecdotes - mostly sans trousers, obviously. 

BCNR / Photo credit: @annalouiseyorkeactual

Surely one of the most anticipated sets of the festival, the 6-strong Black Country, New Road were bathed in an early evening golden glow as they walked onstage to, erm, ‘Crazy in Love’. Opening with ‘Up Song’ - a veritable singalong by BC,NR standards - they shared cuts from this year’s Live at Bush Hall to an utterly captivated audience. As a mate texted me halfway through ‘Turbines/Pigs’: “I’m not crying, you are!!”. 

As with any good festival, the day had its fair share of running between stages in a vain attempt to catch everyone you wanted to; unfortunately for team VG, Jockstrap and Warmduscher were amongst the clash casualties this time. 

Caroline / Photo credit: @garryjonesphotography

By the time night fell though, all roads led to Caroline Polacheck. Having released a dead cert AOTY contender back in February - on Valentine’s Day, no less - Polacheck used Wide Awake to cement her rightful status as the future of pop music. A vocal powerhouse with stage presence equal to fellow pioneers Charli or Chris (of Christine and the Queens), she delivered record-perfect renditions of newer favourites like ‘Sunset’ and ‘I Believe’ before the eagerly awaited, everything-you-could-want encore of ‘So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings’. The best pop song ever? Quite possibly.  

As the lights faded and the crowd came back down to Earth, not even the long amble out to Brixton station could ruin the feeling that we’d all just witnessed something special. For London’s leather-clad, mullet-sporting subculture, Wide Awake is now the ultimate signal that summer has really begun.