Festival Review: Wide Wake Festival - Brockwell Park, May 2023
Another scorcher of a year for the up-and-coming festival at Brockwell Park, Wide Awake displays a variety of genres unlike any other one-day festival in the UK.
After returning for a third summer in a row since 2021, Wide Awake continues to attract a substantial number of great acts. Previously hosting some of the most exciting acts in avant-garde music such as the likes of Idles, black midi and Squid, as well as veteran bands such as Primal Scream and A Certain Ratio, the lineup continues to improve steadily every year.
This time around, the lineup included some of the most visionary approaches to modern music such as Caroline Polachek, Shygirl, Alex G and Jockstrap, all whilst keeping to their post-punk roots with bands such as Viagra Boys, Warmduscher, Black Country New Road, and the genre bending Osees.
As well as all of this, there were some extremely exciting electronic sets to catch up with, such as highly acclaimed producer and DJ Daniel Avery, the oldschool jungle and UK garage pioneer Joy Orbison, and the ambient influenced act behind the iconic soundtrack of 2019 film Uncut Gems, Oneohtrix Point Never.
The doors opened at 12pm to a hoard of fans storming in instantly, as the weather was as good as it gets for a day festival with the scorching sun and bright blue skies showing promise for an exhilarating day of live music.
London-based alternative three-piece Mary In The Junkyard kicked off the day at the Windmill stage with an impressive set of interesting musical ideas, as they kept switching instruments from song to song, before exclaiming that this gig was “probably the coolest thing we’ve ever done”.
Established in the late 70’s with some heavy post-punk influences, Wasted Youth were another act not to miss on this day. An amazing performance amidst some instances of sound-bleeding from the Blondshell set on the nearby main stage, original founders of the band Ken Scott and Rocco Barker were amongst some of the most experienced musicians on site that day, ending their set with a wonderful version of their 1981 hit “I Wish I Was a Girl”.
Canadian post-punk act Cola tore up the Moth Stage with their stripped-back approach to songwriting, led by two former members of Ought with singer and guitarist Tim Darcy and bassist Ben Stidworthy, along with former drummer of U.S Girls Evan Cartwright.
On the other side of the site, south-american psychedelic Cumbria influenced Los Bitchos put on a show with one of the most energetic sets of the day, with lead guitarist and singer Serra Petale enthusiastically running around the stage with their guitar as they went through hits such as “The Link Is About to Die”, “Pista (Fresh Start)” and ending on their notorious version of “Tequila”.
On the same stage Belarussian post-punk three-piece Molchat Doma displayed a mixture of 80’s dance music and modern iterations of post-punk, all sung in Russian, resulting in an intense melancholic yet energetic experience. The driving bass tone of Pavel Kozlov, the wobbly guitar textures of Roman Komogortsev and the reverberating vocals of Egor Shkutko have made the band reach iconic levels of influence in the modern post-punk scene only six years since their formation.
London-based two-piece O. were a phenomenal surprise, the crowd roaring along to the incredible sounds coming from the saxophonist's effect-heavy setup which at times could resemble a whole orchestra, accompanied by some very dexterous drumming skills from his companion.
Another two-piece showed their songwriting prowess on the Moth Club stage, as Jockstrap played through some of their renowned songs from hit debut album “I Love You Jennifer B”. Consisting of Black Country New Road’s Georgia Ellery on vocals, and producer Taylor Skie taking control of most instrumentation duties, the group continue to push boundaries in the hyper-pop scene.
Viagra Boys were one of the greatest highlights of the day, with the Stockholm based punk group consisting of some of the most unique outfits on the main stage, ranging from short jeans cowboys to glam rock, and eventually to singer Sebastian Murphy in nothing but his underwear. Going through classics such as “Sports” and “Slow Learner”, as well as hits from their most recent highly acclaimed record “Cave World”, these Swedes knew how to put on a show.
Avant-garde post-punkers Black Country New Road were another fantastic addition to this year’s lineup, the Londoners making their way through a setlist comprised mostly of newer songs, as the group had to reshuffle after the loss of lead singer Isaac Wood who left the band last year. Highlights consisted of the long crescendo of “Turbines/Pigs” and the explosive instrumentation on “Dancers” as the group share a lot of the vocal assignments.
Continuing the theme of “explosiveness”, Warmduscher’s punk inspired sound created a scene to be remembered at the Moth Club stage. Releasing their fourth studio album “At The Hotspot” last year to critical acclaim, the five-piece created an electrifying ambience throughout their set, with highlights such as the fever-dreamish “I Got Friends” and the more laid-back instrumentation of “1000 Whispers” showing the depth of the group’s abilities to create some of the most exciting music of the past ten years.
The night ended with one of the hardest choices for music lovers, with the likes of hyper-pop icon Caroline Polachek ripping up the main stage with some incredible live renditions of hits from her most recent album “Desire, I Want to Turn Into You”, Daniel Avery’s sparkling live set at the Village Underground, along with electronic duo Two Shell and no-wave inspired MADMADMAD all sharing the same set times.
Osees at the Desert Daze stage put on a show of a lifetime, as the heavy-rock Californian five-piece set the crowd alight with the insane sound of the double-drummer setup along with the iconic guitar screeches and absorbing vocals of lead singer John Dwyer. Playing songs from their most recent album which explores the genre of heavy punk, along with the classic psychedelic jams such as “The Dream”, “C”, “Web” and “Toe Cutter – Thumb Buster”, the energy was soaring throughout their entire set, even despite the technical issues which arose for Dwyer through some of their songs.
Overall, the festival just kept stockpiling so many great names throughout the day that it is hard not to be excited for the future of Wide Awake. From the 25.000 fans who came to Brockwell Park this year many were heard already gossiping about the next year’s lineup on the way out of the site, a testament of the levels of excitement that this event brings to music enjoyers from around the world.
Words by Jay Cohen
Photography by Sinead Ferguson
