Ten years of GALA through five key performances

The south London festival celebrated its tenth anniversary with a three-day programme stacked with dance music’s biggest names.

Celebrating its tenth year with a line-up of beloved icons and future legends, GALA’s 2025 extravaganza gleamed with finesse while cultivating a strong sense of closeness and camaraderie. 

Londoners had their pick of festivals, day parties and club nights on the May bank holiday weekend, but GALA once again stood apart – its lure and lustre stemming from a dedication to celebrating emerging artists with as much integrity as the heavyweight headliners it boasts. This year, those headliners included Floating Points, Theo Parrish, Avalon Emerson, Ben UFO, Floorplan, Hunee & Antal, KiNK, Moodyman and Caribou (live). 

2025 saw a brand-new stage pull up to Peckham Rye: Floating Points’ Sunflower Sound System. Debuting in Leeds last year to support local party and charity Cosmic Slop, the mighty, high-fidelity system hosted takeovers from Plastic People, Melodies International, and of course, Cosmic Slop. A sun-kissed set from Tash LC was a particularly bright moment in the tent. 

The decade-defining programme showcased a treasure trove of scenes and styles: plush club beats, filthy ghettotech, lavish grooves and bass-driven sounds all had their place. Living up to its name, the Pleasure Dome was the stage where things got especially hot and sweaty, with sets from Anz, Darwin, Calibre and S-candalo. Now London’s largest independent festival, drawing 30,000 attendees each year, GALA hasn’t let its community spirit slip away – collaborations with south east London collective BORN N BREAD, Nicholas Daley’s Woven Rhythms, Club Are and Chapter Ten were also highlights.

Picking the best from such a rich and bountiful line-up is a tricky task, but these five sets stood out as the weekend’s defining moments.

Theo Parrish

The Detroit legend’s fervent sound was the first thing Friday’s arrivals were enraptured by. Playing a signature marathon set at the Woven Rhythms-hosted 1908 stage, Theo Parrish dished out relentless radiance from open until close. Spinning from the heart of the tent, we were given a 360 experience that took us without hesitation from the slinky and glossy to the chunky and potent. Studded throughout was the unbridled joy of disco, with handsome helpings of full-bodied jazz, the expanse of his eight-hour set enabling Parrish to stretch across an assortment of genres and sounds. The jubilance of his music, blended with Parrish’s interactions with the crowd – the DJ often reached down with a warm grin to hug those with outstretched arms calling for an embrace – culminated in a complete submission to joy. 

HiTech

As the Friday sun dipped lower and pressed through the trees, a sea of people gathered on the hill of the Deviation-backed Patio stage, surrounded by plinths of lush conservatories. It was in the serenity of these surroundings that King Milo, 47Chops, and Milf Melly baptised us with their flaming ghettotech. HiTech’s set was packed full and bursting – the Detroit preachers playing out plump, sexy beats alongside performances of rugged rap. Their Coachella set last month shook the festival to its core with a high dose of their renowned and raucous energy. Now it was our turn and we weren’t going to let it slip by. As Milf Melly moved with fierce power through the crowd, they responded with raw fervour. To reach them, he hung upside down from the security railings while rapping SHADOWREALM, before whipping things up to a blazing peak. Dancing atop speakers in front of the stage, TAKE YO PANTIES OFF collaborator George Riley made a surprise appearance too, her sultry voice commanding the crowd while the track’s crushed beat pounded beneath. 

Floating Points

Above the NTS-curated JOY stage, pink and orange streaked the fading Friday sky and double-decker buses scooted by in the background as Floating Points brought the first night to a close. His set was indefinable, enveloping us in babbling electronic flows and succulent melodies before punching through with tight club beats and jacked-up basslines. The darker moments of fractured, metallic sheets made the rush up to gold-speckled disco all the more thrilling, and just when you thought you had it figured out, he’d throw a crowd-pleasing curveball – like an edit of Jorja Smith’s Little Things. Surprising and delighting us at every turn, his mastery of contrast was met with great affection.

Dar Disku 

On Sunday afternoon, Dar Disku – an independent label and DJ collective by Vish Matre and Mazen AlMaskati – took the reigns of the 1908 stage as part of the Rush Hour takeover with a characteristically eclectic and well-curated set that bridged scenes and cultures. While the music lived up to their name – translated from Arabic as “home of disco” – chugging club and trippy electronic beats were welcomed throughout. With an easy air and sunglasses affixed, Matre and AlMaskati began their set embodying the laid-back funk they opened with, but as the second half unfolded, their smiles couldn’t be contained, beaming over lusty grooves and an exhilarated crowd. 

Antal b2b HUNEE

Keeping the energy cranked high until the very end, Rush Hour founder Antal and fellow Amsterdam-based DJ HUNEE rounded off proceedings on Sunday evening with an intoxicating three-hour set at the 1908 stage. Swimming across pools of the synth-heavy and sumptuous, the packed tent was given plenty to revel in. Conscious that the next day was likely to be one of slowness and sedation, the crowd released themselves completely, enthralled as the selectors switched between balmy tracks and coarse post-punk dance tunes. Just as Dar Disku’s had earlier, Antal and HUNEE’s set fostered a strong sense of togetherness. While a soulful dance track spun, one group in the crowd shook their hips while simultaneously topping up one another’s lip gloss. But perhaps the best moment came when a house remix of Mr Spaceman spun us through the stratosphere, allowing us to utterly forget ourselves and fly high.