GALA Festival returns to Peckham Rye Park 26 Feb 2021
GALA Festival announces new dates and lineup for 2021
Taking place over two days for the very first time, South London’s much-loved house and disco fest will have a 5th birthday to remember
GALA Festival 2021
31 July & 1 August
Peckham Rye Park, London
Antal / Anu / Bradley Zero / CC:DISCO! / Club Fitness / Coco Maria / Dan Kye (live) / Dan Shake / Danielle / David Vunk / DEBONAIR / Dele Sosimi (live) / DJ Paulette / DJ Tennis / Eliza Rose / Gerd Janson / Global Roots / Gilles Peterson / Horse Meat Disco / Jamie 3:26 / Jayda G / Jeremy Underground / Job Jobse / John Gomez / Kornél Kovács / Luke Solomon B2B Gideön / Mafalda / Marcellus Pittman / Maurice Fulton / MCDE / Mim Suleiman (live) / Move D / Nightmares on Wax / Norman Jay MBE / Pinty / Poly-Ritmo / Prosumer/ RAW SILK / Red Greg / Roman Flügel / Ruby Savage / Shy One / Sue Veneers Club / Tama Sumo / TSHA / Z Lovecraft
GALA Festival returns to Peckham Rye Park on July 31st and August 1st this year, instead of its usual May bank holiday date. To celebrate its 5 year anniversary (which should have been in 2020), the beloved independent festival will become a ‘weekender’ for the very first time, featuring some of the most exciting names in house, disco, dub and jazz, as well as celebrated chefs, restaurants, breweries, record labels and party brands from South London. With its biggest and most wide-ranging line up to date, GALA 2021 is set to be a momentous comeback. Limited pre-sale tickets go on sale at 10:00 am on Thursday, 4th March. Sign up via thisisgala.co.uk/gala-signup/
As always, GALA’s music policy put the focus on classic house and disco, while also inviting favourites from the UK dub and jazz scenes. Billed over the weekend’s main stage programming are sets from modern house music heroes Motor City Drum Ensemble and Move D, the ultimate feel-good DJ, Nightmares On Wax, a long-time pillar of house in Marcellus Pittmann, as well as more recent breakthroughs Anu and CC:DISCO! The queer positive hedonism of the Pleasuredome welcomes sweaty dance sessions from GALA regulars Horse Meat Disco and Job Jobse’s Strangelove, who invite the likes of NTS DJ Debonair, Panorama Bar favourites Tama Sumo and Prosumer, Gideön and long, closing sets from the hosts. Sue Veneers Club, a dance group in keeping with the anything-goes atmosphere of the dome, will perform both days.
Jayda G’s JMG Sessions and Gerd Janson’s Running Back helm a cosy stage nestled in the corner of the park, where you can be sure to hear masterclass DJ sets at any point during the weekend - think Rush Hour’s tireless crate-digger Antal, Ruby Savage, Roman Flügel or Jamie 3:26. Bradley Zero’s Peckham crew Rhythm Section bring UK funky DJ Shy One and a live set from Dan Kye (AKA Jordan Rakei) to the hilltop, as do Worldwide FM, with legendary tastemaker Gilles Peterson, Dele Sosimi live, Studio Barnhus founder Kornél Kovács and a prized personality from the Worldwide airwaves, Coco Maria. An intimate fifth stage will be hosted all weekend by Peckham’s female-led radio station, Foundation FM.
GALA also supports local independent enterprises through the choice of eateries, breweries and a local record store YAM hosting a market stall on site. With the hunger for carefully-curated dance music and party vibes higher than ever, GALA 2021 is the most anticipated edition yet, sure to continue setting the bar for London festival experiences. Limited pre-sale tickets go on sale at 10:00 am on Thursday, 4th March. Sign up via thisisgala.co.uk/gala-signup/
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THE HEADLINES
Selected Glastonbury coverage (see News, Features, Showbiz, Reviews)
Streaming is both retail and radio – it shouldn’t be (see Comment)
Impala’s Helen Smith on UMG's planned Downtown acquisition (see Comment)
Retiring Arista CEO David Massey shares his top 10 career highlights (see Features)
Budweiser’s royalty loophole ad: How AI and social have changed the value of creators (see Comment)
When did making music get so lonely? (see Comment)
How will Taylor Swift’s masters ownership saga be remembered? (see Audio&Visual)
The copyright war between the AI industry and creatives (see Comment)
Interview: Lyor Cohen, the head of YouTube Music (see Features)
The ‘pure’ songwriter is disappearing – and it’s everyone’s problem (see Comment)
What 20 years of YouTube reveals about creativity’s future (see Features)
Welcome to entertainment’s ‘Mad Max’ era. Here’s where it leads (see Comment)
Did Sony’s Rob Stringer just hand regulators the case to tank Universal’s Downtown dreams? (see Comment)