Peggy Gou @ Gunnersbury Park Review: Delightful Summer Euphoria

Last weekend, Peggy Gou took to Gunnersbury Park with an incredible headline slot, featuring a guest appearance from prolific drill artist Central Cee. 

The day festival featured a line-up of multi-faceted DJs in the dance scene, including electronic selecta LSDXOXO and deep house guru Mochakk. Introducing his set with distorted alarm sounds, LSDXOXO quickly took to Gunnersbury Park with a setlist of avant-garde glitch-electronica style mixes. Weaving in a chopped and skewed version of Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis Baxter’s 2000 classic ‘Groovejet (If this ain’t Love),’ into a club remix of J. Balvin and Skrillex’s ‘In Da Getto,’ - LSDXOXO ramped up the energy enormously following Sally C’s set. Security guards danced the macarena on the side screens as the DJ rounded up his kaleidoscopic set with tropical house vibes, not long before being abruptly escorted off stage.

The atmosphere at Gunnersbury was vibrant, as people were dressed to the 10s, waving fans around with the words ‘slut’ and ‘c**t’ written on them. After a prompt rejig on stage, Mochakk arrived on set spinning dubby techno waves all while suited in a work shirt, a fresh mullet, and some shades. Swiftly following on from LSDXOXO’s set, Mochakk doubled down on deep house vibes and blended this in with garage undertones. Spinning into a remix of ‘Incredible,’ - It’s not a dance music festival if at least one artist doesn’t remix General Levy, is it? Shortly followed by a mix of Zero and Tempa T’s hard-hitting garage-infused grime banger ‘Watch the Skank.’

Making a smooth entrance onto the stage was festival headliner, Peggy Gou. After the realisation kicked in that Gou had stepped up onto the decks, the crowd cheered vigorously. Gou set off with a strong dub house remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Body.’ Not long into her set, she was accompanied by dancers voguing on podiums alongside kaleidoscopic stage lights and vivid production. 

Lighting a cigarette on stage, while casually spinning on the decks, Gou gently remixed Central Cee’s ‘BAND4BAND,’ before announcing into her microphone, “You know who I wanna go band for band with?” Waltzing onto the stage with his shorts practically by his ankles, Central Cee arrived on set to an equal measure of cheers and boos. While the crowd sang the chorus word for word, Gou mixed hard drill undertones. Reloading heavy grime riddims, Gou flaunted her eclectic range, before mixing into an EDM-esque sample of Central Cee’s ‘Doja.’ Transitioning out of the Central Cee hype, Gou transported us back to the early 2000s, as she mixed into old-school club classic, ‘Jump A Little Higher,’ by Mark Breeze.

In the crowd, a fan frantically waved a sign that read, “The music is too Goud.” By now, the dancers had reappeared on stage, each performing unique routines while remaining in sync. Weaving in a house mix of David Penn’s ‘Lift Your Hands Up’ from there onwards Gou was on fire with remixes. Blending Tony Craft’s euphoric ‘Loneliness,’ into a mix of Charli XCX’s latest banger, ‘Guess,’ Gou had thousands of people cheering in excitement, with raised gun fingers and dance circles appearing in most directions. 

Despite dropping her debut album in June, Gou hardly played her music. Slowly wrapping up her set, she remixed Roddy Ricch’s, ‘The Box,’ later adding, “One more time for my beautiful dancers. If you know the song please sing it with me” before spinning into her critically acclaimed and groovesome single, ‘(It Goes Like) Nanana.’ 

Concluding the night with Kings of Tomorrow’s ‘Finally,’ Peggy Gou wrapped up an exciting headline show full of flamboyant dance routines, a multi-genre setlist and captivating production.

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.