Clubs / Riverside Park
Save Our Scene team up with Rumble In The Jungle and R.M.S Audio for Riverside Park party
If you live in and around the Riverside park area, you’ll no doubt have made at least one comment to a friend or a housemate on Sunday that sounded something like “where on Earth is that music coming from?” Either that, or you were in the park yourself, gun fingers pointed firmly to the sky.
The park was taken over by Save Our Scene, a London based campaign group with the mission statement of “preserving UK culture”, as part of a weekend of public free rave takeovers across the UK, bringing together over 50 acts, collectives and soundsystems for a celebration of UK culture.
Their Bristol leg saw them partner with local party people Rumble In The Jungle and R.M.S Audio, turning the St Jude’s park into a drum & bass arena from around 1-9pm.
is needed now More than ever
The string of parties is the culmination of Save Our Scene’s most recent campaign, with the aim of pressuring the government to reduce the VAT on hospitality and culture to 12.5 per cent in the chancellor’s Autumn statement on November 22, following the closure of over 5,700 hospitality venues in the last 12 months.
The day of partying included a “world exclusive B2B” between Watch The Ride and The Sauce, alongside a surprise appearance from DnB man of the moment Voltage, alongside a host of other rising and established Bristol drums talent.
The DJs and their equipment were safe from the rain underneath a gazebo – photo: Jake Bailey
Whilst the crowd was full of elated ravers, the elation seemed to end (or at least dwindle) once you left the park. A Reddit user posted to r/bristol saying “extremely loud music in Riverside park – is it legal?” which was followed by a flurry of mixed responses – some cheering the partygoers on, some bemoaning how the music was ruining their Sunday, and some sitting in the middle, saying they were hungover and it was loud, but they didn’t mind, as “random music rave/parties have been happening in east Bristol since at least the 1970s”.
George Fleming, Save Our Scene’s founder, said “This Sunday showed a growing resistance to the ongoing crisis our cultural spaces are experiencing. We aim to build on this until we see real support for the sector. We are calling on the Government to recognise the value of our arts and culture, not only to the economy, but most importantly to people’s mental health and wellbeing.”
Main photo: Jake Bailey
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