July in the UK. This means festival season is well underway across the country. On top of that, new events certainly keep popping up on the music calendar. It’s great to see the range of genres represented – even Americana and Country Music have landed on the scene. Move over rock and dance tribes, make room!
In London, Greenwich Summer Sounds made its debut in July 2023 at the Old Royal Naval College. It’s a fabulous location for outdoor concerts, sandwiched between the River Thames and Greenwich Park.
Though I’ve spent many lazy afternoons nearby at the park, I knew little about the institution where I’d be bouncing around, giving the world my go-to shoulder shimmy at every chorus opportunity.
Actually, that’s not exactly true. I did know that the Old Royal Naval College was where Thor and some bad guy landed…in similar dramatic fashion but tossing weapons vs limbs. It’s a popular filming location, one of the most memorable sets being from Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World”.
Still…a bit of pop culture knowledge on the destination isn’t enough. Time to change that.
The Old Royal Naval College is located in Greenwich, London. The buildings and premises are absolutely stunning. It was constructed in the early 18th century within the Greenwich Palace grounds, to the brilliant design of British architect Sir Christopher Wren. Originally a Royal Hospital, it later became the Royal Naval College until closing in 1998.
You’ll be happy to learn that today, the Old Royal Naval College is open to daily tourism. I’d highly recommend checking it out. It might be to stand on the exact spot where major movie scenes have been filmed, or to see the Painted Hall which is reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel, or to enjoy a concert as I did. Whatever the motivation, I’m certain it will be immediately clear that you have arrived at an acclaimed World Heritage Site.
About the experience: Greenwich Summer Sounds
Let’s move on to the real reason we’re here: music.
The Greenwich Summer Sounds event delivered good music, food and drink, and London city views.
The doors opened at 5:30pm BST which meant that there were a couple hours to chill out under the fairy lights before 7:30pm when the supporting band came on. The vibe was happy of course – very little beats the promise of music playing in a gorgeous setting.
Food and drinks at Greenwich Summer Sounds
A surprisingly small but nice variety of food stalls stood enticingly on the upper lawn.
From traditional British fish and chips to Lebanese, Japanese, Italian fare, the options were diverse – as you can always expect from the London food scene.
Music at Greenwich Summer Sounds
Should I go with Friday: Black-Eyed Peas or Saturday: Kaiser Chiefs?
Leading up to the event, I wrestled with this choice.
Based on the headlining bands, Greenwich Summer Sounds would definitely pull the Gen X crowds and my fellow Millennials.
I’d be happy with either a night of pop or indie rock, both genres light me up. Eventually, I decided to commit Saturday night to Kaiser Chiefs.
That’s how, tackling the decision simply based on Friday or Saturday night…pop or indie rock, I found myself at London’s Old Royal Naval College pumping eager arms to throwback jams like “I Predict a Riot”. Never mind nothing in my history of tame nightlife experiences relate to the lyrics of this song…it was great!
Add to that the location perks. The best part of being at this iconic Greenwich spot at that time of day was the stage backdrop. As the band turned up the energy, we simultaneously watched as a beautiful handover played out in the background as Night Sky took over from Day Light.
A toast to summer in London.
Docklands Light Railway (DLR): Take the DLR to Cutty Sark and walk 4 minutes.
Thameslink / Southeastern: Take the train to the Greenwich stop and walk 10 minutes.
