London’s largest, free one-day music festival is taking place in Hanwell on Saturday (11 May) with as many as 25,000 music fans expected. You can see the full line-up of acts here.
Fans will have plenty to savour, with more than 100 bands performing at 17 different venues at the seventhHanwell Hootie. And this year it is going green with a huge reduction in single-use plastic.
Hanwell became nicknamed the ‘Home of Loud’ because of the game-changing guitar amplifiers first made there by Jim Marshall in the early 1960s, who later founded global brand Marshall Amplification.
You can read more about the Hootie in our own preview article.
Tell me more about the music
There are two outdoor stages, including the 5,000-capacity Viaduct Meadow opposite Ealing Hospital, supplemented by a full list of acts at local pubs and even on the ever-popular ‘busking bus’.
Amber Arcades, one of the most exciting indie pop breakthrough acts in 2018, will be playing. There will also be bands signed to Marshall’s record label including Thousand Thoughts, Keywest and Bad Touch. We interviewed Keywest recently and they said they ‘can’t wait’ to play.
Lead singer Andrew Kavanagh took some time away from the band’s European tour to tell us: “Can’t wait, festival vibes are just so much fun. My only complaint is that I never usually get to hang around after the show to really enjoy. I definitely hope to be able to hang around for this one. Take part and just simply enjoy!”
You can view a full line-up for the venues here.
And you can view a line-up for the bus here.
There will be other music, too. A musical comedy stage was such a success last year that it is back again this year on an ‘igloo’ stage in Viaduct Meadow from 7.45pm. It will feature Jay Foreman, Harriet Braine, Boothby Graffoe, Jollyboat and Christian Reilly.
Drastic on plastic
As part of the Association of Independent Festival’s campaign Drastic on Plastic, the Hootie is going to:
- Offer a reusable Hootie/Marshall branded cup for £1 when you buy your first drink. If you decide not to keep it when you leave the Hootie, you will be able to get a refund – or you can donate it back to the Hootie
- Ban plastic straws
- Reduce single-use drink bottles
- Ban single-use sauce sachets
- Ban single-use cutlery.
Keep posted
For updates, visit www.facebook.com/TheHanwellHootie or follow @HanwellHootie on Twitter.
