Staggerin’ Round the Stag & Dagger

Forget floods, mud, manure, traffic mayhem, toilet queues and pongy portaloos. If you like your creature comforts then English festivals are best monitored from the confines of your cosy living room; snuggled up on the couch, wearing fresh underwear (yes, it’s the simple things); a cuppa tea in one hand and the television remote in the other.

That is unless you live in the capital, where this week – for one day only – London locals can celebrate a diverse mix of over 100 live up-and-coming bands, DJs, and special guests, right on your doorstep at Shoreditch’s Stag & Dagger festival.

If you missed this year’s Camden Crawl – the annual two-day gigathon where crowds of established indie acts and breaking artists pack out Camden venues to capacity – then here’s your chance to be as dazed, drunk and disorderly as you normally would in the Glastonbury fields, but without having to don Wellies and trudge through sludge, trying to find your bed in an ocean of tents.

S&D runs in a similar vein to both the Camden Crawl and New Cross’s increasingly popular Rocklands event, and it’s spread over 12 venues in Shoreditch, ranging from the – shall we say – ‘chaste’ surroundings of St Leonard’s Church, to the grimy grittiness of East London’s old faithfuls: 93 Feet East, Cargo, Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, The Electricity Showrooms, Vibe Bar, Old Blue Last, T Bar, The Macbeth, Favela Chic, East Village, Bar Music Hall, the Slaughtered Lamb and Last Days of Decadence, to name but a few.

Thursday’s shenanigans is a combined effort by organisers Adventures In The Beetroot Field (a Camden-based promotions collective ‘winning plaudits far and wide for the unique musical experiences that they provide’), PR gurus Margaret and the controversial but ever-entertaining bohemian champions at Vice magazine. It’s also hosted by some of London’s best promoters and labels including Modular, Ed Banger, Young & Lost, Kill ‘Em All, Moshi Moshi, Allez Allez and Fluokids.

Among the big guns at the event are electro/techno funksters Filthy Dukes, DJ’s from Hot Chip, Brooklyn banshees Telepathe and Philadelphia’s prolific producer Diplo (who’s worked with Justice and M.I.A.), as well as Archie Bronson Outfit , Operator Please, Greco Roman Wrestling, A Trak, SebastiAn, Das Pop, The Duke Spirit, Atlas Sound and Kid Harpoon plus many more.

So get your shiny stilettos down to Shoreditch’s concrete jungle this Thursday and celebrate the Stag & Dagger’s music-filled, mud free, free lovin’ experience from the convenience of your own urban back yard.

Stag & Dagger
Thursday 15th May, 6pm – late (staggered opening times for live music venues: Vibe Bar will open at 4pm. Most venues will close between 12am and 2am)

www.staganddagger.com