Its that pitiful time of the year again for the students of Hyde Park and Leeds where we’ve finally found ourselves a slither of free time in between dissertations and our final assessments. Fortunately, this brief period has come just in time for the May Day Bank Holiday, where the city is annually blessed with the first round of two parties starting in the early afternoon and going until the early hours of the next day in the Faversham’s Garden Parties and Mint’s Terrace bashes at Mint Warehouse.
While neither event represents a cheap option for the strapped student, both offer the chance to pretend that Leeds is somewhere more exotic and have a tango in the sunshine for probably the first time this year. You may even get to don those expensive shades that you’ve only had the opportunity to wear half a dozen times since 2013. Oh, and the music at both will be first-rate with two programmes full of international talent to soundtrack Sunday’s afternoon and evening. If you can make it until then that is.
Headlining the Faversham this weekend will be Jasper James, George Fitzgerald and finally, being a firm favourite in Leeds, Skream. Whilst over at Mint Warehouse Archie Hamilton and B.Traits will be warming up for the globetrotting and unbeatable trio that is, Apollonia. Made up of loveable French selectors Dan Ghenacia, Shonky and Dyed Soundorom. If it was a head-to-head my preference would be for Mint with Apollonia’s choice of contemporary tech house groovers alongside older house classics making them both party starters and dance floor educators.
The parties both return after exams too for anyone failing to draw themselves away from the library this weekend. DJ Koze, Bicep and Ame feature at Faversham whilst Riccardo Villalobos, Rhadoo and Nicholas Lutz will be heading up the Mint line up.
The Garden Party: Part 1 takes place at The Faversham from 12pm on Sunday 1st May.
The Garden Party: Part 2 takes place at Canal Mills from 12pm on Sunday 29th May.
System & Set One Twenty Terrace Party at Mint Warehouse takes place on Sunday 1st May from 3pm.
The second System & Set One Twenty Terrace Party is on Sunday 29th May from 3pm, also at Mint Warehouse.
Chris Caden
Photo credits: German Pulse