Annual London based Decolonise Festival have announced that they will be moving away from their home for the first time in its history this November. The festival will be going ‘on tour’ and will be gracing the city of Glasgow, Scotland for the first time since its inception in 2017.

Decolonise Fest, a collective made up of, and organised by, punx of colour, is heading to Scotland for the first time, as the showcase aims to expand its reach and influence beyond London’s borders. The annual event will now be taking place in Glasgow’s Mono Cafe on 11 November and will be the first of what will be a series of festivals taking place over 18 months.

The aim of the festival and its travels is to “showcase underrepresented regional POC artists and engage/connect with POC fans of punk and alternative music in the communities where they live.” This year’s instalment will feature Art Rock musician Kapil Seshasayee, R. AGGS and Trishaaa.

In Kerrang’s free hosted Black Voices In Alternative Music event with the Royal Society of Arts in London on the 16th of October, Decolonise Fest’s co-founder Alex Ekong said, “Decolonise Fest is a space that allows us to advocate for emerging artists of colour, foster a community of like-minded people, connect punx of colour to global struggles against the legacy of colonialism, and indulge in our love of punk together.”

The panel discussion also featured London’s own trap metal star Kid Bookie and journalist Laviea Thomas and centred around their own experiences within the alternative rock scene as well as whether or not they have witnessed or felt any changes and where the scene will go in the future.

A complete DIY festival that began in 2017 in London, Decolonise Fest was began to highlight people of colour within the alternative music scene. Centring on what they term punx of colour, the collective focuses attention on people, “who we define this as people who are descended (through one or both parents) from the original inhabitants of Africa, Caribbean, Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Australasia, North America, and the islands of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean, and of Romany Gypsy or Traveller heritage.”

The festival’s site states, “We celebrate the many punx of colour creating right now, acknowledge the legacy of our elders and the doors they opened for us, and make room for more DIY punx of colour to take centre stage and make some noise. You can read our manifesto here.”