The festival, aiming to unite the genres of rock and rap together as one in Clapham Common (South London), was initially labelled as too ambitious and a second coming of the infamous 2017 ‘fyre festival’. Yet, it turned out to be a major success with live performances from: Playboi Carti, The Kid Laroi, Lil Yachty, Pi’erre bourne, Smokepurpp, Teezo touchdown, Sam Wise, Fin Askew, Architects and many more.

Being the first festival of its kind - and claiming that they secured a lengthy list of popular music artists from around the world – it was understandably a trigger of doubt for most. Furthermore, getting a hold of overseas talent, especially with the magnitude of fame which artists like Playboi Carti, Lil Yachty and The Kid Laroi possess, is no mean feat. Consequently, their star-studded lineup left festival fans wondering how is this possible? And thinking that surely it must be too good to be true – a thought that would soon prove to be false.

As although it triggered fearful anxiety for most… this wasn’t the case for all. On the 30th of August, thousands of voracious concertgoers descended upon Clapham Common ready for a day of excitement, and they wouldn’t be let down. From the second stage where the likes of Chicago’s Smokepurpp and Kennington’s Sam Wise invoked an onslaught of mosh pits powered by their excited fans. To the Main stage where Atlanta’s Lil Yachty produced a high-spirited performance, displaying his incredible rapping skill and playful flow whilst also directly interacting with the crowd. However, this inaugural festival wasn’t devoid of mishaps - Pi’erre Bourne’s set had to be restarted due to a sound problem and many acts had to rush towards the end of their sets. Yet, these minor mistakes are to be expected by the first-time event and thus didn’t dishearten the crowd at all or dampen the joyful mood.

 

In the evening, the doubters who believed “there’s no way Carti will show up” and there’s no point “wasting money” on a ticket for the “UK Fyre festival” were unfortunately – for their sake- proven wrong. Atlanta’s Playboi Carti took to the mainstage and shut it down. Although, arriving late to his own set – in true “Rockstar” fashion – his timing didn’t matter. An energetic performance and setlist of cult classics like ‘Pissy pamper’ and ‘Wokeuplikethis’, along with newer tracks off his latest studio album ‘Whole Lotta Red’ like ‘Stop Breathing’ and ‘Rockstar Made’, Carti was able to electrify the crowd. Leaving the haters who claimed he wouldn’t “show up” weeping on their phones, being mercilessly attacked by the ongoing barrage of social media posts of his performance.

 

One would assume that the mix of rap and rock music – along with their fans – would create a sharp dichotomy due to their stark difference in genre, sound, and style, yet ALT+ LDN was able to subvert this idea with astonishing ease – joining the two and creating a seamless harmony. ALT + LDN produced sights that you would never believe – it’s not every day that you see die-hard punks, clad in all-black-leather head-bumping and bouncing to rap superstar ‘Lil Yachty’. And, by the same token, you wouldn’t expect to see kids dressed in all-black Nike techs starting mosh pits to songs by the frontwoman of a metal-punk band ‘Dana Dentata’…but it happened. And it is through this fusion of people and music that we see the true beauty of ALT + LDN’s aim.

 

ALT + LDN was able to transform Clapham Common into an Edenic escape from reality - another world almost. A world where covid didn’t govern our every move, a world where endless music fills the atmosphere, a world where no matter your age, race, sex, interests -or anything for that matter – everyone was united with one common goal, pure enjoyment of music.