OnBlackheath offers a sample of festival life within London

OnBlackheath 2017

Saturday 9th to Sunday 10th September 2017
Blackheath Common, Blackheath, London, London, SE3 7AP, England MAP
£49.50 for day tickets, £90 for weekend

Daily capacity: 15,000

Down in the south east corner of London, under the watchful gaze of canary wharf sits Blackheath. With much of London hidden by trees it offers a sanctuary from the city.

site

With a line-up bringing The Libertines, Travis, Jake Bugg and Seasick Steve, its fairly consistent in style. Aimed at those at those looking back on their younger days, and catering for their families too. A comfortable combination of music, food and culture. Middle-class crack cocaine.

Making it down on the Saturday afternoon, we managed to dodge most of the rain. We spent most of our time before the sun set in the kids area. While not as large as last year there are still lots of activities to do. From the storytelling tent to circus skills with clay modelling and ribbon craft in between. Enough to keep a 4yr old interested and entertained but I’m not sure anyone over 10 would be too fussed for long though.

With De La Soul being cut off from London by Hurricane Harvey, there was a noticeable shift up the order. An unfortunate echo that distant tragedies can have ripple effects all across the world. Kate Tempest did her best to rock the boat in their place though. Challenging people to care, and not just accept the struggles of modern life. Her songs give glimpses of lives caught up in day-to-day strife. Definitely an odd counterpoint as we sat there chowing down on saucy chicken wings.

Metronomy

Following next, Metronomy brought their sounds to the stage. Joseph Mount might have had a cold, but the warmth in the tunes wasn’t lost. Having seen them a few times over the last 10 years its always surprise just how much they’ve developed. From "The Bay" to "The Look", with some "Love Letters" thrown in. The perfect sunset show.

The first outing of the Travis retrospective for ‘The Man Who’ brought the night to an end. An album I hated at the time was better on older ears. All the songs are amazingly catchy and carry well as a piece as a whole.

travis

On Blackheath is festival in the city with all the comforts of home. With gig ticket prices spiralling, its good to get so much in one day. Its great that events are spreading out from Hyde Park and moving out to other places. All in all, a nice finish to the summer before going back to school.

review by: Chris Mathews

photos by: Chris Mathews