More Than A Ticket Shop: A review of our London festival pop-up

From Wednesday 22nd to Saturday 25th February, Skiddle headed down to Shoreditch to put on a festival pop-up to get people excited for this year's festival season. With a focus on industry-led initiatives and festival takeovers from City Splash, Hospitality and Land Beyond, there were activities running from day until night.

Wednesday 22nd was the turn of the Skiddle Social, where promoters and the wider music industry were invited to mingle and enjoy some live music. The tunes were supplied by DJ Cody Currie, the East London artist whose sound flicks between Disco, House and jazz at will. To top it all off, free bagels were provided too.

On Thursday 23rd, it was the turn of the day programmes to get started and the first two workshops came courtesy of the On The Rise DJ Academy. People filtered in to learn from DJs who have countless years of experience when it comes to spinning the decks and were given 2-hour sessions on the basics of the trade.

With people getting the chance to have a go themselves, a lot of laughter was heard as people got to grips with the kit. In the evening, it was the turn of City Splash to take over the pop-up. Known as London's go-to festival for all things Dancehall, reggae and afrobeats, they have a seriously impressive line-up that features the likes of the rising star Koffee.

They brought down some of the names from this year's festival with them as YNG CAPTN, Juls and Rebel Clash gave ravers a glimpse of what to expect from this year's edition of the festival. It's fair to say that a party atmosphere is paramount when it comes to City Splash.

When walking into the pop-up throughout the weekend, people were greeted by a large spinning wheel littered with prizes. All it took was one spin for a chance to win Skiddle beer, merch from the festival takeover hosts, a goody bag or a festival ticket lucky dip. That's right, you could win a pair of tickets for a festival right there and then. Some delighted faces were able to take home tickets for Parklife, Detonate Festival and even Creamfields South. 

The day programme for Friday 24th kicked off with a panel on mental health in music, featuring a discussion between Getahead's Jenni Cochrane, Grace Flynn of Event Horizon, founder of Super Foxx Krystal Roxx and Sandra Maniraguha of Work Inspired. It focussed on key issues such as burnout, which is increasingly affecting those working in the music industry. They spoke about recognising burnout and finding ways to counter it too, with Krystal taking the panel and audience through various breathing techniques too.

The second panel saw Skiddle take over and discuss how to put on a festival, with an emphasis on how to promote your event as well as the tips and tricks needed to help you stand out from the crowd. The final session of the day saw YUAF (Young Urban Arts Foundation) host a panel on access to the industry for young people. It was an insight into the help that the organisation provides as well as plenty of useful tips for those wanting to get their foot in the door.

Friday night saw Drum and Bass royalty Hospitality head down to Shoreditch and they were fresh from announcing this year's version of In The Woods, which takes place at Beckenham Place Park. They'll have Flava D, METRIK and Camo & Crooked and many more appearing this year.

It was open decks from 18:00 to 20:30 before Hospitality's guests took over. On MC duties for the night was Visionobi, as he got to introduce Makoto and Anais Jan to the decks. The venue was absolutely buzzing as the DJs turned up to provide two of the best sets of the week

The final day, Saturday 25th was the busiest of the week when it came to day activities. The whole focus of the day was on wellness, as Getahead took over the reins to deliver a range of activities that felt like a breath of fresh air during the day. There was baking, a comedy club, yoga, mindful drinking and even a cuddle club where people got the chance to stroke some incredibly cute dogs. 

After all, festivals are so much more than their line-ups, they are experiences too and the Skiddle pop-up emphasised this all week. Going out with a bang, it was the turn of Land Beyond to see us off with DJs supplying irresistible electronic tunes. Joe Dove and Tibasko did the honours, to give us a glimpse into what is going to be a very exciting time down in Brighton this year.

The Skiddle pop-up gave people a glimpse into the whole festival experience, inviting down some of this year's most exciting events whilst also highlighting the key wellness and lifestyle experiences that make these events the full package. It was the best way to get hyped for festival season 2023.

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.