The Crystal Palace Overground Festival returns next month, bigger and better than ever before after moving to the heart of Crystal Palace Park.
Morcheeba are the headline act at the Crystal Palace Overground Festival on June 17
The park, laid out for the Crystal Palace itself, has a long history of gigs including Pink Floyd in 1967, a famous Bob Marley concert in 1980 and the last concert by Pixies in 1999.
On June 17 this year, the Overground Festival seeks to rediscover some of that musical magic, with 10,000 visitors expected and Morcheeba lined up as headliners for the main stage.
Morcheeba’s involvement came about by happy accident with Ross Godfrey from the band hearing about the festival from a mutual friend.
Godfrey said, “Crystal Palace Park has always been a magical place for me and deeply connected to music. I attended the BRIT School when it first opened in the early 1990s and used to spend weekends hanging out in the park and playing my guitar.
“I used to wonder at the pictures of Cream standing in front of the Dinosaurs and talk to my family about the legendary concerts that took place at the bowl in the 1970s and always wished to play there myself. When we formed Morcheeba I got my chance when Paul Weller invited us to play his all-day festival in the sports arena with the likes of Travis and Hurricane #1.
“But the idea of playing in the park itself was still a dream until I became involved with the Crystal Palace Overground Festival organisers in 2016 – June 17 will a magical day with some wonderful music, suitable for all ages and tastes. I can’t wait!”
Organisers are planning for 10,000 visitors to Crystal Palace for the Overground Festival
Most of the events during this family-friendly arts and culture festival are free.
There’s a whole week of events from June 12 to 18, including theatre, visual arts and crafts, spoken word, comedy, storytelling, community activities, sports, amazing food and drink, vintage shopping plus much much more.
Other highlights of the 2017 programme include:
- Lemn Sissay, the official poet for the London Olympics, headlines the Spoken Word and Comedy Tent on June 17
- Kianja, a finalist in the Mayor’s GIGs competition and guest artist with the Jazz Warriors, headlines the Youth Takeover Stage on June 17
- Dr Alex Paterson of The Orb presents Kompact Sounds and Balearic Beats with Nancy Noise and DJ Dadaist on 16 June
- Temujin Gill and Sunanda Biswas, from the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony creative team, perform and invite you to throwdown in the park
- Sian Evans (Kosheen) and long-term writing partner Ron McElroy (DJ Fresh) perform new work and their substantial back catalogue
- Sheku Kanneh-Mason, BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2016, performs in a very special concert with London Mozart Players at St John the Evangelist Church on June 18.
The full programme is at crystalpalacefestival.org
- Inside Croydon is Croydon’s only independent news source, still based in the heart of the borough. In 2016, we averaged 17,000 page views every week
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, a residents’ or business association or a local event to publicise, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com