Hackney Wick is well known for it’s multi-venue music festivals, which regularly transform the whole neighbourhood into a big, colourful, cultural celebration, but this weekend it’s the turn of East Bank and the wider Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, just over the water.

It’s the first instalment of the summer-long Music Is Black Festival, which takes place across four monthly weekends, beginning this Sat 13th & Sun 14th Jun with the debut edition; a massive ‘block party’ entitled The Music Is Ours.

All Saturday afternoon, on two outdoor stages, East London grime pioneer, Footsie, of Newham Generals, carries on the legacy of his father Farda Waz’s iconic King Original soundsystem, curating a line-up of Grime, Ska, UK Garage, and alternative R&B selectors and artists.

The Waterfront Stage sees producer and DJ Mak10, veteran DJ duo Supa D + Terminal 4, alongside sets from Mimi Mxnroe, Kruz Leon, JayaHadADream, and a BBC 1Xtra’s DJ Target. Meanwhile, the Mid Terrace Stage sees BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Grime Show presenter Sir Spyro alongside the likes of King Original, Gussie P, Flowdan and loads more.

Things move inside Sadler’s Wells East for a club night from 7pm-late, Garage X Grime Reload, curated by Kloé Dean (pictured above), a renowned dancer and choreographer who has worked extensively with Little Simz, Ezra Collective and Cleo Sol. Featuring DJ Sticky and Mr S.

Sunday sees the Soul Mama herself, YolanDa Brown OBE, on curation duties (and headlining herself) the Waterfront Stage, with My Runway Group brining live artists and DJs (plus DJ Target interviewing Tinchy Strider), and Breakin’ Convention taking over Sadler’s public dance floor all afternoon.

Look out for other attractions like the interactive family art installation Basstone Playground, including a wild LED maypole dance, and, of course, the debut exhibition at the V&A East Museum that inspired it all - The Music is Black: A British Story.

The festival marks a celebration that East Bank is really taking shape now, and further free editions will be happening in the Park on 11th-12th Jul, 22nd-23rd Aug and 12th-13th Sept.

📚 It’s Independent Book Week starting this Sat 13th Jun, and to celebrate, the neighbourhood’s very own indie store, Fish Island Books (pictured above) have been out and about in the area, hiding special £5 book vouchers in copies of The Wick magazine - all you’ve got to do is get out there and find one! If you don’t pick one up in your usual free stockist, all copies of The Wick Book purchased at FIB this week are also guaranteed to have a £5 voucher inside, too - so now’s your chance to get that lovely locally-focused historical hardback you’ve been delaying buying…

🥳 Well Street Common Festival returns after a fallow year on Sun 14th Jun, bringing family activities, live music and masses of food and drinks to the lovely local common all afternoon.

🎨 Hackney Art Week continues across the borough until Sun 14th June, scattering a trail of installations and creative workshops across loads of our fave hangouts.

👩🏼‍🌾 There are free community gardening sessions on the Gainsborough canalside every Wednesday this month, brought to you by Awoke Plants where you can join a friendly, low pressure and practical group of other locals who care about their neighbourhood, all while learning tips and tricks to grow a new green urban paradise. Join them tonight!

⚓ The London Festival of Architecture has landed with a month-long programme of activities - Explore the Royal Docks: Tours and Trails. Running right through to Tue 30th June.

🚴🏼‍♀️ Prudes, look away now, as the World Naked Bike Ride returns to dominate the streets with bare flesh and joyful protest this Sun 14th Jun, with an official Hackney Wick meetup point at Thingy Cafe.

🍺 One of London's very best breweries, The Kernel, are bringing their Citra Series to The Beer Merchants Tap this Thurs 11th Jun, with five different beers, all brewed with a single hop: Citra. From an easy-drinking Table Beer through to IPA, Export India Porter and Bière de Saison, it offers a rare chance to see just how versatile one of the world's most influential hops can be, under one, local, roof.

⚽ There are masses of great places to catch World Cup matches in the area over the coming weeks, from big screens in the Napier and No.90 to the giant outdoor fan experience in the garden at Hackney Bridge. But for a culinary sneak peek, head to the not-yet-open Uncle Hon’s BBQ, in the former Silo in the White Building, where England matches will be shown alongside a one-off menu themed around the cuisine of the opposition.

Check out our local culture reviews every week on thisisthewick.com

🎶 Tonight’s Damnably X Fettkakao Summer Party sees the Here East-based record label team up with Vienna’s iconic Fettkakao to celebrate that label’s 20th birthday with a party at The Viewtube, Wed 10th Jun. You’ll hear super cool Vienna-based post-punk four-piece Paloma 004 and label boss-fronted super group Lime Crush alongside lofi avant-pop from Dubais, too.

🪕 You can expect a fantastic day-into-night of folk and world music down at Cody Dock this Sat 13th Jun, as the annual Magpie’s Nest Festival takes over the community gardens with multiple stages. Music comes from the likes of Kate Griffin and Mozambique multi-instrumentalist Matchume Zango (pictured above), Ruth Lyon, Sarah Jane Scouten, Caraway, Old Spot and masses more, plus spoken word, intimate acoustic stages in the woods and a special hidden stage, too.

🔊 With synth textures, sincere vocals and a mutant hybrid of Chicago house, UK garage, funk, indie pop and other miscellaneous soundbites, eclectic DJ TEED (aka Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) lands at Colour Factory this Fri 12th Jun for a potentially unmissable London show.

🎧 Travelling hi-fi sound system in residence at The Bath House, newly christened Eastway Baths, Giant Steps, are back hosting another intimate, house party-style session this Sun 14th Jun, with DJ MarshmeLLo dropping the all-evening, strictly vinyl, multi-genre selections.

🎛️ The prestigious Guildhall School bring their annual summer showcase of emerging artists from their Electronic & Produced Music department to Grow on Tues 23rd Jun. Common Ideal, Vera Sacra, The Gloworms and Gnatcatcher will be exploring everything from indie rock to trip-hop-infused cello and jazzy alt-pop and it’s free to get in, too.

📞 Fish Island Village Craft Market is back on Sun 28th Jun, popping up just over the water at HWK, and currently has an open call for all artists, makers or local businesses who’d like to trade on the day. The market will be open from 10am - 6pm, so if you’re interested in taking part, email Abi on [email protected]

📢 Hackney Council has just launched the second round of the Local Area Activation fund, with £1-£4k grants are available to Hackney-based business collectives, associations or partnerships that want to support the economy in their local area. Events can include trails, pop-ups, and discount schemes that galvanise the local community, creating better connections between residents and businesses. Applications by Sun 21st Jun.

🖼️ Entries are now open for the 9th John Ruskin Prize, a multidisciplinary art prize open to all artists, designers and craftspeople, of all nationalities, aged 18 and over. Run by The big Draw, and supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust, this year’s theme invites you to question the role of the maker today - what does it mean to create with an awareness of consequence, while also posing the challenge: must art serve a purpose beyond itself? Selected works will be exhibited at Trinity Buoy Wharf in 2027, and four winners will receive prizes totalling £9,500. Apply before 17th Nov.

👩🏼‍🎓 UCL School of Management has 6 full scholarships available for applicants from East London who want to pursue a postgraduate programme, including the MSc Creativity, Innovation and Leadership. Applicants need to be resident of East London since 2020 and have a household income of less than £42k. The full-time course starts in Sept 2026 and is at their Canary Wharf campus. Apply by 26th June.

🛩️ London City Airport Community Fund has open funding application for projects that build stronger, greener communities or create pathways into employment. Get funding for up to £3000. Deadline 26th June.

📕 The Wick Book is a limited edition 160-page hardback historic record, looking at 15 years of culture, community and change in the neighbourhood through the pages of The Wick. We’re now down to the last 100 copies.

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