Crowds of stylish, electronic loving twenty-somethings piled into West London’s Gunnersbury Park on Saturday for what felt like the last outdoor rave of the summer – Waterworks Festival 2023. It was our first time attending the festival and we were really impressed by the structural builds, vibey sets from some of the world’s top electronic artists and a gorgeous helping of sunshine which made the day one to remember. There was a lot to rave about, so here’s what we loved most!
1. Beautiful builds
The stages and builds at Waterworks really were impressive. The site had a similar feel to Houghton Festival – a big open site with beautiful structural builds that create points of interest and some convenient places to meet mates when you inevitably get lost! As day turned to night, the stages and tents were totally transformed with incredible lighting displays, creating the intimacy of some of London’s top nightclubs. The iconic Watertower looked stunning throughout the day and the Siren stage nestled in a patch of woodland felt a world away from London, with dappled light pouring through the trees. The ambience throughout the day was really quite special.
2. Great sound
London day festivals have developed a bit of a bad rep for terrible sound systems which can leave you feeling like you and your mates are huddled around a bluetooth speaker in the kitchen. We are pleased to say this was not the case at Waterworks. This festival is all about the music and the sound systems did not disappoint delivering loud, crisp and clear sound from the get go. Many of the stages also had a ‘surround sound’ feel which created an incredible atmosphere. We were glad we brought along our ear protection for this one!
3. Many DJ’s for the price of one
Waterworks curated a top-class lineup with a number of b2b sets giving you more bang for your buck. A standout set for us was salute b2b Yung Singh at the Watertower which got the whole crowd bopping with a mix of everything from garage to noughties dance classics, with some of Singh’s signature Asian Underground sounds in there too. We also caught some of the show stopping set from Saoirse b2b Moxie b2b Peach b2b Shanti Celeste which as their only UK show together this year, was a real treat offering nothing but good summer vibes.
4. All your needs catered for
Now for the nitty gritty – water, food, toilets and bins! Thankfully the water really did work at Waterworks, and boy did we need it in that heat! There were more than enough toilet and water points to meet the needs of the festival and the food options were plentiful and delicious. We loved the stone-baked pizza and Mac n Cheese we picked for our drunken munch. The toilets were clean-ish – certainly not the worst we have seen and there were lots of bins with separated recycling for cans, plastic and general waste. There was also a plastic cup return scheme to avoid unnecessary plastic waste. Great stuff!
5. A friendly crowd and an amazing atmosphere
Finally, a shout out to the crowd at Waterworks who were a real friendly bunch with excellent style, we must say. Henri enjoyed shooting the crowd who loved posing for the camera! There was a great vibe all day and it was great to chat with random folk who appreciated the music and sound quality as much as we did! The site layout flowed well and we enjoyed moving between the stages, taking time in between to sit around and admire the structures towering above us as the sun set over London.
We had a really memorable day at Waterworks, but there is always room for improvement! Here are a couple of things we would have changed if we had a magic wand on the day.
- Clear stage signage and non-digital set lists
As first-time attendees, we weren’t familiar with the layout and names of the stages and found the signage a bit disjointed from the stages. Clearer signage would have helped us navigate our way around a little better, as would a set-list somewhere outside each stage to remind us who was playing and at what time. QR codes were available at each stage, but they were useless due to limited signal at the site. We felt a bit lost with who we were seeing at what time for much of the day!
- Better wifi to avoid drink queues
The limited signal on site also caused issues for card payments which wouldn’t work for quite a while on arrival at the site, causing lengthy delays to get drinks. This has been a common issue at festivals in the last couple of years and there is a real need to invest in addressing this issue with onsite wifi or similar. There is nothing worse than having to wait for 15 minutes for a card payment to go through, by which time your cold beer is tepid in 26 degree heat.
Conclusion – we loved Waterworks Festival!
We had a really memorable time at Waterworks and enjoyed its incredible atmosphere that felt like no other day festival we had attended. For any electronic music fan, this festival is an absolute must. Dancing away the day with friends, it really did feel like the last party of the summer with excellent sound and production, great builds, amazing DJ sets and a really friendly crowd. We would love to return next year!
Huge thanks to Ellen & Henri for this review! All photos taken by Henri – such an excellent photographer he is!