#LeakeStreetLIVE Summer Programme returns, headlined by virtual music festival BUSKIVAL

The #LeakeStreetLIVE free public events programme returns to Leake Street Arches from 16th July

Today sees the return of #LeakeStreetLIVE (the free public events programme run at Leake Street Arches) with a combination of virtual and in-person events. The highlight of this new summer programme is BUSKIVAL, a virtual music festival featuring London’s hottest up-and-coming talent.

#LeakeStreetLIVE is the free public events programme run at Leake Street Arches in Waterloo that celebrates urban culture through food, drink, paint and play. Since launching in November 2019, the programme has brought a variety of activities to the arches including the hugely successful Thursday night graffiti workshops and music performances.

Mindful of the current climate, the new summer programme (which runs until the end of August) offers a mixture of virtual and in-person events. The programme gives Londoners the opportunity to get together and enjoy group events safely.

BUSKIVAL is a half-day music festival that will take place via IGTV on Saturday 15th August. It will celebrate one of the best elements of a festival (discovering new music) whilst getting rid of the worst: there’ll be no queues for the bar, no grotty toilets and no weather fails when watching from the comfort of home!

In the lead up, there will be competitions for festival goers to win drink deliveries from Leake Street Arches bars. And on the day, there will be further prizes for the best dressed living rooms and outfits. Groups of friends can stay connected by commenting on tracks throughout the performances.

BUSKIVAL performers include Chasing Deer, Joncan Kavlakoglu and Lucy May Walker. Chasing Deer have racked up over 1,500 non-stop live performances around the world with their infectious pop/rock stage energy and powerful vocal. Joncan Kavlakoglu plays an original whirlwind style of highly visceral, passionately charged percussive flamenco/funk fusion, that meld his appreciation for a spectrum of rhythmic musical styles into captivating performances on a single acoustic guitar that sounds like an entire band. Lucy May Walker is a folk-pop Singer/Songwriter hailing from Worcestershire. Her EP, Heartbreak Songs, reached no. 3 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart and she has gone on to sell out numerous headline shows in both Birmingham & London.

In addition to BUSKIVAL, the #LeakeStreetLIVE summer programme also features a free virtual dance experience with Secret Sunrise. Taking place at 8am on Tuesday 4th August, Dancing with a Neighbour, will bring together workers, residents and students from the Waterloo and Southbank community. Led by energetic Secret Sunrise facilitators, it is the perfect opportunity for the whole neighbourhood to safely get together and celebrate the re-emergence of their area.

Graffiti tutorials led by SOFLY will also be returning to Leake Street Arches this summer. The first three (on 16th, 23rd and 30th July) will be virtual classes, filmed in the tunnel and streamed via the Leake Street Arches IGTV. Then in-person workshops will be held (in accordance with all social-distancing regulations) each Thursday in August.

Kate Jones, Programme Director, Busk in London said ‘Live music creates so much atmosphere, but until we can get backto going to venues and festivals we need to be creative! The #LeakeStreetLive summer programme manages to combine the atmosphere and character of the Tunnel with great digital content. Our artists are excited to get back to live performance on location for the BUSKIVAL virtual music festival that will be filmed and available online.”