The line-up for the first edition of London’s ALT+LDN festival has just been released. This year’s event will take place at Clapham Common on August 30th, showcasing a collision of alternative rock and hip-hop.
In a press release describing the event, the organisers of the festival said, “Forged from the inescapable world of hip-hop and alternative culture that has come to lead the way over the past 12 months, ALT+LDN is a celebration of a fire new subculture no longer defined by genre boundaries or backgrounds. It’s about kicking against the norm, ripping apart the rulebook and celebrating individuality – with the raddest names in the game touching down for a Bank Holiday Monday you’ve never seen before.”
Thus far, the line-up includes: Playboi Carti, Architects, The Kid Laroi, Lil Yachty, Die Antwoord, Machine Gun Kelly, Ski Mask the Slump God, plus many more. Whilst the line-up is hugely diverse, they are all bound by an alternative subculture. Consider the unconventional artistic arc of Machine Gun Kelly from hip-hop artist to pop punk revivalist or Lil Yachty’s rise from the indie “SoundCloud rapper” scene of the mid-2010s. The artists that have been announced to perform at ALT+LDN all go “against the norms” of the music industry.
As well as being a collision of alternative hip-hop and rock, the festival will feature a combination of English and American artists. British metal bands, such as Architects and Sleep Token, will be heard alongside the experimental hip-hop sound of Playboi Carti. In what will be a rather bizarre sight, the event will see both genre and culture collide and evaporate.
Entrenched in modern youth culture and the rebellious indie spirit that is always present somewhere in popular music across any generation, ALT+LDN provides a fresh new flavour that no other British festival has yet brought to the table. It will top off what should hopefully be a jam-packed UK festival season this summer.
Tickets for ALT+LDN will go on sale May 5th and will be available to purchase here.
