Underage Festival 2011

For 13 to 17 year olds Underage festival is a chance for all teenagers to see their favourite bands and artists perform without being turned down by clubs for not having ID. Since 2007 when it began it has been an amazing opportunity to watch desired artists without the harsh price tags that festivals these days are selling to the public. This year around 10,000 kids turned up at Victoria Park in London which has been the traditional place to hold this festival. 

Bombay Bicycle Club headlined this year on the main underage festival stage on their second appearance at Underage. Walking through the gates in the morning seeing the park full of empty stages and freebies awaiting the eager teens I was full of anticipation as to what the rest of the day could bring. Going towards stages in the beginning to see bands like Bombay Bicycle Club rehearsing is just one of the perks we had for being that early.

The seven stages had a line up with acts such as Yasmin, Frankie & The Heartstrings, The Midnight Beast, Yaaks, Spark, Roll Deep, Giggs, Janelle Monae, Devlin, Fugative, The Chapman Family, Maverick Sabre, Brother, Cocknbullkid, Florrie and Crystal Fighters.

Teenagers rushed to the stage when Bombay Bicycle Club performed and enjoyed their songs. The audience listened to songs such as ‘Evening/Morning’, ‘Always like this’ and ‘Shuffle’. The mosh pit created by the fans was epic and the atmosphere was exhilarating. New artist on the scene Cocknbullkid gave the fans in her hometown a lovely pop performance while as we headed to the Roundhouse Rising stage we watched an up and coming artist Cynikal with his fresh style of music showcasing his talent to the teens. 

Miss Dynamite wowed the crowd as usual in the Music Space Stage with her classics and showcasing her new music for her devoted fans as they sang along to ‘With the lights on’ which was her collaboration with Katy B released late last year. Grime artist Giggs and folk rock Johnny Flynn had a massive amount of supporters as admirers patiently waited for autographs after each of their shows in the Topman Ctlr Stage. Over in the last.fm stage Singer songwriter Yasmin had a huge crowd listening to her well-earned performance. Bras and knickers were flinging around as Fugative came on the underage festival stage.  

American Janelle Monae has a huge fan base in Britain so it was great to see her sing many great hits loved by her fans  such as ‘Cold War’ and ‘Tightrope’. Her footwork and dancing and were not just talking about her. Her back up dancers and band dressed in their monochrome black and white suits also were dancing along while still looking dapper and stylish to the bone.

One of the best things about going to theses festivals is that the teenagers are so excited. From running from one stage to the other just to see their favourite group, or trying out different types of food to talking to different people and making new friends.



As my first time attending Underage and sadly because of my age the last time, the festival was exciting. The festival on the whole was really great, the weather shockingly cheered up for us on that day. The different varieties of food in the stalls all around the park and with a youth market stalls with creative works from kids like illustrator Joy la-jaxx, Tom Davidson and hand painted artwork from The Syn(act)  just to name a few showcasing just how talented underage kids are with the artwork and photography skills, it was truly a great day in Victoria Park for these youngsters.

Review & Photos: Nikki Adebiyi