WORDS Anna Crowley
PHOTOGRAPHY Lola Chengxi Li
RALLY’s sold-out fourth edition was headlined and co-curated by none other than Blood Orange, the moniker of multidisciplinary musician, producer and composer Dev Hynes – and it was as magical as that sounds. The Southwark Park day festival not only remained true to its core values of prioritising and uplifting grassroots culture and independent music from London, but built upon them. The theme for 2026 was ‘Make Your Reality’, reminding us that arts spaces, and the dancefloor in particular, are places of resistance, community-building and collective expression.
Speaking with Haja Fanta, a writer, researcher and art curator, who has previously curated the festival’s arts programme and was running free art tours this year, she acknowledged that community is a buzzword these days, but noted that, “RALLY has always been community-focused and every year they try to think creatively about how they make that a tangible action.”
From long-standing partnerships with vendors and traders such as BOSCOFFEES, a café offering internships and courses to people with learning difficulties, to a stacked line-up of emerging musicians, community is not something RALLY talks about, but something it actively creates and invests in. There were several art and light installations throughout the festival grounds by different artists, which Haja explains are explicitly designed to encourage people to congregate and connect. The community WhatsApp group, where people could meet other festival-goers before the big day, and the chess and bowls sessions on the day again opened up both digital and physical spaces where connection and friendship can be fostered.
This year the festival also launched its first art open-call, offering up-and-coming visual artists the chance to showcase their work on the day. Liberty Sinclair was one of the artists chosen. ‘The Kissing Gate’ is a steel-welded and plasma-cut gate which festival-goers could walk through, and hopefully get a peck! The gate acted as a portal to a world of memory, nostalgia and over-romanticisation that Liberty created for her university degree show. She spoke to me about her work often being restricted to the white-walled gallery space, and explained that she was excited to have her piece in a setting that was more relaxed and accessible, allowing people to touch and interact with it. The gate became a vessel for moments between lovers, friends and strangers throughout the day: it not only represented memory, but facilitated memories to be created. She told me that the open-call allowed her to meet other artists and experience the art world in a different context.
This sense of accessibility and local creativity was echoed by the sound systems and speakers. The first act I saw was London-born and raised Parris on the Visionaire stage. A DJ, producer and label owner, Parris has cemented himself as a core player in the underground London dance scene in recent years. He effortlessly mixes dubstep, techno and pop elements and his set at RALLY was no different, with the early afternoon crowd dancing through both rain and shine.
Next up was Kiss Facility at the Agnes stage, which is curated by NTS Radio each year. Both romantic and musical partners, the duo’s chemistry was palpable. Their Arabic shoegaze-inspired tunes were the perfect slower note to rest up for the oncoming star-studded evening. Despite some sound and technical issues, they were able to keep the crowd transfixed with their sultry, emotional sounds. I headed over to the Mill House tent next to see Nabihah Iqbal’s 2-hour-long DJ set. While her most recent album is sombre and mellow, her set was packed with disco classics and sing-along tunes. The tent was full to the brim, with the crowd spilling out onto the field around it.
The rest of my evening was spent camping out at the main stage seeing back-to-back incredible artists. First up was Coco & Clair Clair. Known for their alt-pop/hip-hop tracks and witty lyricism, the first show in nearly a year from the pair of besties did not disappoint. The clouds finally parted to let the sun’s rays shine down on the duo. With a cult following of chronically online young people, the lyrics could be heard beyond the Southwark Park gates, I’m sure!
The genre-hopping Norwegian duo (RALLY is the festival of duos, it seems) Smerz soon followed on the main stage. Their viral track ‘You got time and I got money’ from their 2025 album Big City Life has catapulted the elusive pair to international acclaim. Although fresh in the industry, their stage presence was mesmerising and their musical arrangement was honed to perfection.
Last but certainly not least, Blood Orange himself finished off the day. His performance coincidentally lined up with the one-year anniversary of his most recent album Essex Honey, and his set felt almost like a musical retrospective, taking us through his beautifully multi-faceted discography. From his first ever song ‘Bad Girls’ to his most well-known tunes like ‘Best to You’, he had the crowd hooked from start to finish during his hour and 20-minute set. Tariq Al-Sabir, who had a solo set at the start of the day, returned to the stage as part of Hynes’ wonderful band. They covered a Björk track while visuals of what it means to be English, to be young and to be a music lover played behind them. He closed the festival thanking all the workers and musicians, and reminding us that “RALLY is the best festival!”
And it’s hard not to agree! From the accessibility of the art curation to the all-star line-up, RALLY 2026 was one for the history books. At all levels, it shone a light on community and connection, showing us how festivals can, and should, operate. This year’s RALLY reality was made by grassroots cultural pioneers and independent artists, and I hope it continues far beyond the festival!
Enjoyed this story? Help keep independent queer-led publishing alive and unlock the BRICKS Learner Platform, full of resources for emerging and aspiring creatives sent to you every week via newsletter. Start your 30-day free trial now.