Cross the Tracks 2025
Just a week before Cross the Tracks 2025 was due to kick off, the festival was threatened with closure. Campaign group Protect Brockwell Park (PBP) won a dramatic High Court case against Lambeth Council, arguing that the string of major festivals held in the park were unlawful due to a lack of proper planning permission. The judge ruled in favour of PBP, casting serious doubt over whether the park’s yearly funk and jazz festival would go ahead. Fortunately, amidst the chaos, the festival opened its gates on Sunday, turning a potential legal footnote into a sun-soaked celebration of music and community.
Early into the day, Fabiana Palladino took to the Locomotion Stage, performing last year’s self-titled debut album to a packed crowd. A hometown show for Palladino, the singer and her band seemed on full form, delivering a confident set that melded 80s R&B and synth-pop influences with contemporary flair. Her vocals, at time reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s softer delivery on tracks like ‘Empty’, set the tone for the day: light, easy, and yet exuberant. Palladino will undoubtedly be one to watch in coming years, both across her own projects and her slated work as a collaborator on Lorde’s upcoming album Virgin.
Scattered across the site, the festival offered a heady mix of local and international talent, with notable sets from Skinshape and Allysha Joy. Yet the day’s standout performance undoubtedly came from Belgian jazz experimentalist Nala Sinephro. Following the delightful debut album Space 1.8 with last year’s full-bodied Endlessness, Sinephro has been tipped as one to watch, and her performance more than justified the hype. With the late afternoon sun finally breaking through, Sinephro blended modular synth textures with pedal-harp improvisation, with the set unfolding like a dream. It’s testament to the festival’s booking team that artists like Sinephro are given centre stage alongside perennial crowd-pleasers like Jordan Rakei and Bashy, who offered livelier sets to huge applause across the festival’s Mainline and Terminal stages.
Hot off a years-long run of awards including the 2023 Mercury Prize and placing as runner’s up (somewhat unfairly to Chappell Roan) in the BBC’s redesigned Sound of 2025 poll, Ezra Collective brought their usual infectious show to the park. Watching groups of Londoners revelling in a band formed within the city itself, it’s a wonder sets like this might not have happened because of the overrepresented voices of other residents. Anyone not previously familiar with the quintet were easily won over, with ‘No Confusion’ featuring Kojey Radical a particularly stunning standout. If we needed further evidence in support of live music, Michael Kiwanuka delivered a truly mesmerising performance to cap the day off. The raw emotion of his voice flowed effortlessly through favourites like “Cold Little Heart” and “Home Again”. Ever-understated, Kiwanuka has spent over a decade sharpening his craft and well deserves his headline slot. It’s yet to be seen if events like these will return to Brockwell Park next year, but there was no better petition for public joy than this instalment of Cross The Tracks.