Jessica Winter tops the bill in a celebration of music, beer culture and positive impact.

Hard Of Hearing

Jun 24

An evening of forward-thinking and left-field gig entertainment with a mantra of sustainability comes to a sweltering Hackney.

Words: Karl Johnson / Photo: Alex Amorós

Thursday is arguably the brand new Friday, and with the current weather pattern mimicking that of the Iberian peninsula, its strangely fitting that the third SON Estrella Galicia x Paper Dress collaboration arrived for a sweltering pre-weekend gastronomical extravaganza.

Wandering through the main bar - decked with vintage clothing and lined with red velvet curtains - SON Estrella Galicia were set up for a 'What Does Your Beer Sound Like?' beer tasting for those who arrived early, while local Hackney restaurant Yellow Warbler Coffee offered sustainable 0-KM food treats.

While DJs and mobile beer taps brought respite to the hot evening in the courtyard, upstairs the live room was electric and hazed in fog with the robotic post-rock-turned-electronica of Barcelona outfit Playback Maracas, the self-prescribed "inner-city claustrophobia" of Miss Tini - the new "anti-recording project" of Warmduscher's Benjamin Romans-Hopcraft and Speedy Wunderground's Dan Carey - before it was time for the night's spotlight artist Jessica Winter.

Performing off the back of her recent 'Limerence EP', Winter fused theatrical performance art with musical offshoots of 80s, glam rock and art pop, with the pop chameleon bringing her usual maximal-energy set to a jam-packed and adoring crowd.

Pilling out on the now darkened streets, we were presented to the evening's finale as artist Penfold (AKA Tim Gresham) had created throughout the night a 'Trash Mural' utilising recycled materials, adding to the left-field evening of alternative gig entertainment and a positive impact mantra.