Summer may have officially ended, but that didn’t put a stop to one more bash of festival fun last weekend at Gunnersbury Park. The fourth edition of Waterworks delivered another unforgettable day of music, continuing its tradition since debuting at the park in 2021. With over 15,000 attendees and seven stages to enjoy, it was the ideal way to soak up the last of September’s sunshine while enjoying one final dance (and fyi, is the only way we’ll be ending our summers from now on).
A labour of love from the team behind Percolate and Croatia’s Love International, Waterworks has become a must-attend event for fans of London’s electronic music scene. Unlike many festivals, Waterworks steers clear of the traditional headliner structure, instead, hand-picking every artist for their unique contribution to the diverse talent that defines the festival’s phenomenal sound.
This year boasted a crazy 70+ artists spinning the sounds of garage, house and techno, with Waterworks doing what it does best and championing both the up and coming talent alongside some international veterans. The line-up was absolutely massive with loads of the industry’s top talent performing from start to finish and reminding London what real music sounds like.
From the open-air Water Tower stage to the more intimate Hi-Hat and Commune tents, and Siren’s forest hideaway, each space never felt overcrowded and as far as attention to detail goes everything from the trippy visuals projected onto tent ceilings, an abundance of disco balls, plant-decorated decks topped off by some killer lighting set ups, had the festival feeling immersive af (and us wanting to stay way longer than a day). The programming and layout was perfectly nailed making it so easy to drift about stage to stage soaking in the energy. Somehow, all four editions of the festival have been blessed with sunny, dry weather, and this year was no exception—another reason to put Waterworks on your radar if you haven’t already.
Broke’s Best Bits
Why settle for one great DJ when you can have several? So it goes without saying some of the standout performances were the collaborative sets from BLUMITSU (Bluetoof and Jossy Mitsu), Dr Willowflex (Dr Banana, Willow and Lukas Wigflex) and Coast2Coast (Gene On Earth and The Ghost), plus live sets from KI/KI and 4am Kru.
Interplanetary Criminal lived up to the high expectations, providing non stop heaters to a lively crowd over at the festival’s centre piece Water Tower stage for the perfect nighttime slot as the sun began to set over the city.
A clear crowd favourite and major highlight for us was the ultimate B3B at Cedar where Christian AB, Quest and Francesco Del Garda proved their legendary vinyl crate digging status. Despite Francesco turning up more than an hour late he quickly made up for lost time doing what he does best playing out some high-energy killer tracks so all was quickly forgiven.
Over at the more intimate Hi-Hat stage, Pangaea had the crowd locked in with his deep, bouncy selections which had everyone going wild, hooked from beginning to end.
When night fell, we found ourselves locked into Shanti Celeste and Midland who were of course both more than worthy closers, ending the day on a perfect note keeping crowds moving until the last track played out.
Overall, this is one event you won’t want to miss, so if you haven’t experienced it yet, mark your calendar for next year for another immense day of music.