Rock Music For Eight Year Olds At Islington Festive-All

Chris Lockie
By Chris Lockie Last edited 112 months ago
Rock Music For Eight Year Olds At Islington Festive-All

Image of Bailey McConnell courtesy of Lee Morgan via Flickr

All-ages shows are an excellent opportunity for the next generation of screaming groupies and moshing maniacs to see their future heroes in action. Such will be the goings on at the Islington Academy on 21 December, at an event by the name of Festive-All 2014. It deserves a preview for the name alone, for which someone is right now patting themselves on the back.

A selection of nascent bands and former X Factor/other contestants will line up on the bill at the Academy. The show is open to anyone aged eight years old or above, though under 14s must be accompanied by an adult over 18 at all times, and weary parents should note that the bar staff will be particularly stringent with regards to ID.

Judging who the headliner might be from the information available is proving tricky, but it's pretty certain Bailey McConnell will be there or thereabouts. The teenage heartthrob wowed Britain's Got Talent audiences with a song of his own creation and an earring of his own insertion, and has since put out an EP entitled Memories despite presumably not yet having that many himself. Here's his Britain's Got Talent outing, thus far watched by over 9 million people on YouTube.

Cut from a similar cloth, though a little more upbeat than the tear-jerkery above, is Luke Towler. Luke is another teenager though his origins lie further afield, with his having been born in Tenerife. The sun-kissed resort may have influenced his music as it has a bright quality that's sure to go down well at a freezing Islington Academy in December. Here's Luke covering Oh Cecelia by The Vamps.

How a band of youths calling themselves EverYoung expects to have any sort of longevity is beyond us, but that's the route chosen by a quartet of shiny-faced singers and dancers who hail from London and the immediate vicinity. The biography on their website makes them sound suspiciously as though they've been pulled together by marketing executives, or even made in machines by marketing executives, but in fairness the result is genuinely catchy as demonstrated in debut single Icy Blue.

And that's as much kiddie music as we can stomach at this, or indeed any time of the day. Other acts on the bill include powerpop quartet Canary Swing, a funky trio named In Hindsight and a selection of DJ sets, presumably between the live acts.

And though it may not be to Londonist's specific tastes there's no doubt getting kids to gigs like this will expose them to the joys of live music, at which London is extremely good as we know. So we strongly recommend this show, though parents may want to take care letting youngsters see one of the acts on the bill — a sweary wee bugger called Robbie Coles.

Festive-All 2014 takes place at the O2 Islington Academy on 21 December, tickets priced £15 plus fees are available via Ticketweb. The show is open to people aged eight years and over, though under 14s must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Last Updated 20 November 2014