The Music is Ours: Grime, Soundsystem Culture and a Free Block Party in Stratford This June

Grime was born in these streets. Not metaphorically – literally. The estates and pirate radio stations of Newham, E6, E7, E13 – that’s where it happened. Where teenagers built a genre from the bones of garage and jungle and ragga and came up with something that sounded like nowhere else on earth. Where MCs like Footsie and D Double E and Kano grew up watching their parents run soundsystems and then turned that inheritance into something entirely their own.

On 13 and 14 June 2026, that story comes back to where it belongs. The Music is Ours is the opening weekend of The Music is Black Festival – a free, outdoor block party at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park celebrating London’s soundsystem legacy and the culture that gave grime its spine. Two days. Two stages at Stratford Waterfront. A lineup that reads like a history of east London music. And it costs nothing to attend.

We’re at 5 Aquatics Walk, right here in the park. We’ve been waiting for this one.

What is The Music is Black Festival?

The Music is Black is an eight-month festival of sound, culture and community running across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the East Bank venues – V&A East, Sadler’s Wells East, UCL East, London College of Fashion, UAL and the BBC Music Studios. It’s the first combined season of programming from East Bank partners and it’s one of the most ambitious cultural undertakings east London has seen since the 2012 Games.

The festival runs four live outdoor weekends across the summer, each with a different theme and a different set of curators. The Music is Ours is the first – and it’s the one that brings grime home.

Saturday 13 June: Footsie Takes Control

Footsie is one of the most important figures in British music. That’s not hype – it’s just accurate. As one half of Newham Generals alongside D Double E, and as a member of N.A.S.T.Y. Crew alongside Kano, he was at the absolute vanguard of grime from the moment the genre started to coalesce out of east London’s pirate radio stations in the early 2000s. He grew up watching his father Farda Waz run King Original – one of the iconic soundsystems of that era – and then carried that legacy forward himself, reviving King Original in 2023 as a living connection between dub and reggae roots and the music that came after.

For The Music is Ours, Footsie curates the entire Saturday programme across the Waterfront Stage and Mid Terrace. The lineup spans grime, ska, alternative R&B, reggae and beyond – and the headliners alone are worth the trip across the park.

King Original & D Double E – D Double E is one of the most influential MCs to ever pick up a microphone in this country. His flow, his timing, his energy – they’ve shaped a generation. Watching him perform alongside King Original, the soundsystem his longtime collaborator’s family built and that Footsie has revived, is a genuinely significant moment.

Sir Spyro – Grime DJ, record producer and presenter of BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Grime Show. If you want someone who represents the sound in its purest form, Spyro is your man.

Mak10 – producer, DJ and freestyler who’s worked across the genre with some of its biggest names.

Supa D + Terminal 4 – veteran DJs delivering high-energy sets across Grime and UK Garage.

The wider supporting lineup is enormous: Danniella Dee & ET ROCKERS, Tailor Jae, Nicole Blakk, JayaHadADream, Eljé, Mimi Mxnroe, Kruz Leon, Snowman, Killa P, Gussie P, Kingjay, Tafara and more.

Saturday Night: The Dance Floor is Black at Sadler’s Wells East

The day doesn’t stop at the outdoor stages. Over at Sadler’s Wells East, The Dance Floor is Black runs from midday through to late.

Family Dance, 12-3pm, with Fly Kid – a proper daytime party built around the tunes you grew up on. Bring the kids. This is exactly the kind of afternoon people remember.

Club Night, 7pm-late: Garage X Grime Reload with Kloé Dean – Kloé Dean is a dancer and choreographer who has worked with Little Simz, Ezra Collective and Cleo Sol. Her curation of this closing club night – DJ sets and live performances bringing together garage and grime – is the perfect end to the day.

Sunday 14 June: Soul, Jazz and the African Diaspora

Sunday shifts the energy while keeping the depth. YolanDa Brown OBE DL and Soul Mama curate the Waterfront Stage, while My Runway Group take charge of the Mid Terrace.

YolanDa Brown is a double MOBO Award winner who blends reggae, jazz and soul in her music – she’s toured with The Temptations, Jools Holland and Billy Ocean – and her commitment to showcasing both legacy and emerging voices makes her the ideal person to close out the weekend.

Acantha Lang – New Orleans-born, London-based soul singer with serious depth and presence.

Melodees from Heaven – a faith-based large choir bringing something genuinely different to the Waterfront Stage.

Koyesax and The Fortune Collective – a multi-genre live band led by KoyeSax, one of the UK’s most accomplished contemporary saxophonists.

Brit Funk Association – a ten-piece collective drawn from the rosters of Beggar & Co, Central Line, Hi-Tension and more classic bands. Living history.

The Mid Terrace is in the hands of My Runway Group – the discipline-blending collective known for transforming traditional spaces into dynamic hubs for contemporary African and diasporic creativity.

Sunday Afternoon: Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells East

Sunday Sessions, 12-6pm, with Breakin’ Convention – exhibition battles and DJs in the world of Soundsystem and Grime. If the kids burned out on Saturday, they’ll find a second wind here.

BASSTONE PLAYGROUND

One of the most distinctive elements of the whole weekend is BASSTONE PLAYGROUND – an immersive play installation for primary school-aged children, commissioned by Culture Within Newham’s Children’s Board and designed by artist and DJ Linett Kamala. The space mixes play and calm, with hidden speakers playing dub, lo-fi and chilled music throughout. It also features BASSTONE MAYPOLE – an interactive LED and sound sculpture that premiered at the Light Up Kilburn Festival in 2026.

It’s a thoughtful touch – a reminder that this music belongs to the next generation too.

The Board Game Connection

Grime culture is competitive at its core. The MC clash – two artists going head to head, taking turns, trying to outgun each other on tempo, vocabulary and wit – is where a lot of the genre’s energy comes from. It’s a battle of creative nerves.

Skull runs on exactly that frequency. Four cards each – three flowers, one skull – and the entire game is built around knowing when to push and when to fold. It’s psychological pressure stripped to its essential form, and it captures something of the MC clash energy better than you’d expect from a game about garden flowers and stacked discs. It’s one of the most-played games in our library, it works with any group, and it’ll fuel the debate about who won each set all afternoon.

Come to Draughts Before or After

Here’s something worth knowing: the festival stages are at Stratford Waterfront, right outside Sadler’s Wells East – and we’re at 5 Aquatics Walk, a short walk from there through the park. We’re the obvious answer to “where should we meet beforehand?” and “where do we go after?”

The event is free, which means the only thing you’re spending money on all day is food and drinks – and we’ve got plenty of both. A full kitchen running loaded nachos, double smashed burgers, Korean fried chicken and more from midday. A proper cocktail bar. And over 1,000 board games to keep you at the table between sets.

Book in advance at draughtslondon.com – a free event on a summer weekend in Stratford is going to bring serious numbers to the park.

Practical Tips for The Music is Ours

• It’s free – no tickets needed for the outdoor stages at Stratford Waterfront. Just show up.
• The Dance Floor at Sadler’s Wells East – check the official Music is Black Festival page for any ticketing requirements for evening events.
• Getting here – Stratford station is served by the Central Line, Jubilee Line, Elizabeth Line, DLR and National Rail. The festival stages are a 10-12 minute walk through the park.
• Make a full day of it – the V&A East Museum’s exhibition ‘The Music Is Black: A British Story’ is running throughout the summer (until January 2027) and is right here in the park. Add it to the itinerary.
• Draughts is your base – book a table at 5 Aquatics Walk before or after. We’re open from midday.

Frequently Asked Questions