When: Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October 2022
Where: Hampstead, London, England
Today, the HowTheLightGetsIn team have made the following statement: “In light of the death of the Queen and the festival’s proximity to the State funeral, we have postponed HowTheLightGetsIn London 2022 from September 17th-18th to October 1st-2nd. This decision has been made in agreement with English Heritage who care for Kenwood and has cancelled all its events at all of its sites. All tickets remain valid.“
On 1st and 2nd October the world’s largest music and philosophy festival HowTheLightGetsIn returns to Hampstead Heath for a magical weekend of electrifying debate, Mercury nominated music, platinum selling art-rock and the hottest new bands in London this summer. The festival includes Edinburgh Fringe favourites and sparkling comedy and cabaret and takes place in the grounds of Kenwood House. Festival goers can expect to be wowed by an incredible line up this year while they reflect and party with the world’s leading thinkers and performers. As The Independent said, it’s a festival where, “You can bump into a Nobel Prize Winner in the coffee queue.”
After delighting audiences in Hay-on-Wye for many years, HowTheLightGetsIn came to London in 2018, bringing wonder to the gardens of Kenwood House. They are back at the Heath again in 2022 and ready for action.
The HTLGI team said, “We carefully hand-pick our Music & Performance events to mix old favourites with the cutting edge, from exhilarating dance music to intimate gigs from enchanting singer-songwriters.” They have a knack of choosing exceptional acts such as current Mercury nominee, Gwenno described by The Guardian as “a one woman Celtic revival’” and former Mercury nominee Django Django (DJ) who creates,“a Masterclass in genre blurring.” (The Guardian)
Joining Mercury nominees Gwenno and Django Django (DJ) are electronic collective, Girls of the Internet who draw inspiration from the last fifty years of dance music, joining the dots between house, garage, techno, disco, and dub creating something that glances back to dance music of the past with its eyes firmly set on the future. They have already garnered support from the likes of Pete Tong, Nemone, and Jamie xx and gained accolades like BBC 6 Music’s Album of the Year.
Jazz star, Rosie Frater-Taylor joins them together with the enchanting Rosie Alena, cabaret stars Bourgeois & Maurice, the stunningly dark intensity of Lincolnshire songstress, Elanor Moss, the jazz-fuelled soulful voice of Amber Burgoyne, spellbinding indie emo soul of i.am.afiya, disco diva, Vanity Fairy, the masterful harmonic broodings of Lichen, soulful funky fusion of Gigi Williams, alt pop and folk of Emily Parish, the sharp lyricism and strong vocals of Katie Mac, fast rising neo-soul artist, Mali Hayes – whose sound whips up hip hop, alt R&B and jazz – and leftfield garage rockers, Torture and The Desert Spiders plus so many more.
The incredibly talented Me and Deboe join the stellar line up, blending rhythmic folk musings with delicately woven harmonies, transcending genre to deliver a range of emotive performances driven by poignant lyrics and powerful riffs layering rhythmic acoustic strings with muted electric arpeggios. Listen to Me and Deboe’s infectiously catchy track here:
There are forty music acts in total. The Independent said, “The music line-up would shame the average summer festival.”
Festival goers can expect side-splitting performances from ‘The future of British stand-up,’ Alfie Brown, sketch star Tatty Macleod, Ahir Shah’s sharp, intellectual brand of stand-up, Stath Lets Flats’ Sunil Patel, Alexandra Haddow, Alex Kealy, and Ben Pope. Watch the trailer here:
The festival got its name from the Leonard Cohen lyric,“There is a crack in everything…that’s how the light gets in.” It is said that this festival “brings its own special form of magic to everyone. There is no other place on the planet where you can spend your days meeting the world’s leading thinkers….before partying and dancing late into the night.”
Described by Total Politics as “Europe’s answer to TED,” this year’s festival theme is Error and Renaissance, with speakers including Australian moral philosopher Peter Singer, critically acclaimed author Esther Freud, Labour politician Thangam Debbonaire, cognitive psychologist Donald Hoffman, legendary anti-fascist Paul Mason, Bafta winning playwright David Hare, revered journalist Amelia Gentleman, British novelist Alex Wheatle, and leading neurosurgeon Henry Marsh. Don’t miss the former cabinet policy tsar Andrew Adonis tackling Britain’s future, acclaimed journalist Stephen Sackur debating the truth about facts, and cutting-edge cosmologist Eric Lerner on the hunt for the real story of the universe, and much, much more. No wonder this festival has been nicknamed, “The Woodstock of Intelligence.”
With over 200 events taking place across the festival, expect to discover hidden gems at every corner. Whether you’re recharging in the velvety confines of the Woodburner tent, sampling flavours from around the world at The Waterfront restaurant, relaxing in the festival bookshop or engaging in stimulating conversation in The Arena, this promises to be a weekend to remember. Singer, Badly Drawn Boy said, it’s “Brilliant…the setting and the atmosphere are perfect’“
Tickets for the full weekend are available now. Students and under 25s are eligible for a 30% discount. Children can go free with an adult and there are a limited number of Day Tickets for 1st and 2nd October Click here to book tickets. Saturday Party Tickets have just gone live. Join the festival from 6.30pm on the first night for Mercury Prize nominees, Edinburgh Fringe favourites, and searing satirical cabaret. Pick up your Party Tickets today! See you at the front!
HowTheLightGetsIn London 2022 » HowTheLightGetsIn
If you cannot make it in person to HowTheLightGetsIn London 2022, all is not lost; two headline debates will be streamed LIVE around the globe on October 1st/ 2nd . Click here to learn more.
