London’s indie rock extravaganza Community Festival 2022 brought together an incredible line-up of arena-sized greats and new talent alike, to deliver a summery day of festival anthems to 35,000 fans in Finsbury Park. Returning for the first time since 2019, the audience enjoyed show-stopping performances from Nothing But Thieves, The Wombats, Pale Waves, Circa Waves and more across two stages, culminating in an incredible, celebratory headline set from indie heroes Two Door Cinema Club.
Festival stalwarts and headliners Two Door Cinema Club treated the audience to a landmark headline show. Launching straight into fan favourites ‘What You Know’, ‘Undercover Martyn’ and ‘Sleep Alone’ and new single ‘Wonderful Life’, for a euphoric set of uplifting bangers. The Northern-Irish trio pulled out all the stops and had everybody dancing as the sun set, for the perfect end to a triumphant day.
Dynamic stadium rockers Nothing But Thieves got the crowd moving, rolling through hits ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Trip Switch’ for powerhouse set from the well-oiled Essex five-piece. An unforgettable early evening set from indie titans The Wombats was a high-energy affair, featuring the genre’s biggest hits and some fun-loving marsupials on stage for good measure.The chart storming indie-darlings Pale Waves sparkled with their guitar and synth driven pop, led by frontwoman Heather Baron-Gracie. N4 Stage headliners Circa Waves encapsulated the meaning of British festival summertime with their runaway hit-filled set. Uniting the whole festival in song, erupting into ‘T-Shirt Weather’, the Liverpudlians created a real I was there moment for those lucky to see them on a rare, more intimate stage appearance.
Earlier in the day indie-pop group Just Wondering opened the main stage with their breezy rhymes and lo-fi setup, before Courting smashed through new cuts from their soon-coming album ’Guitar Music’. Crawlers followed suit, followed by critically-acclaimed breakthrough favourite Alfie Templeman. TikTok sensations Bears In Trees brought their easy going charisma to the N4 stage, followed later in the day by the untameable Kid Brunswick and amped-up Police Car Collective, the hotly-tipped Daisy Brain, Big Image, Priestgate, Cole Bleu and Molly Burman also graced the stage.
As Community Festival drew to a close, fans revelled in the sun, fun and sheer quality of the modern indie scene and burgeoning generation of new talent at one of London’s best outdoor venues – ready to do it all again next year.
