If you're out in London this weekend or just visiting, there is a little grassroots festival taking place that might just tickle your fancy. The Bop Live is a live festival in the heart of Croydon, looking to showcase and develop local talent and take them above and beyond. We spoke with the company who founded the festival SDS Entertainment's founder Makeda, to get the deep dive on all things The Bop Live.
Please tell us all about The Bop Live 2022 and why we should go?
The Bop is a community festival to showcase grass root talent from the borough of Croydon and surrounding areas. It gives young people a platform to express themselves in an area that is deprived of cultural hotspots. Originally birthed during the pandemic as virtual only, we are very excited to bring you our hybrid version now that the world is back to some kind of normality.
Come and support local talent and witness them on their trajectory to greatness at the start of their creative careers.
What are your aims for this festival?
Our aim is to give young talent a platform to express themselves and give them wider opportunities such as press, being a part of a production to help them develop interpersonal skills and do so safely.
What level of artists does this festival aspire to attract?
We support any young talent who are passionate. Our artists can be at any stage in their career/development and we will offer them counsel and any opportunities we have available within our network.
Last year we had Boy Nash perform who has now gone on to work with Dj Semtex and perform on Charlie Sloth’s Beats Radio show.
Your festival is in off peak season, what was your thinking behind this?
During peak season, most people are focused on seeing the bigger names in music. Offering an off peak festival gives underground artists an opportunity to shine
Where can we follow you?
Instagram: @sdsentertainment
Twitter:@SDSentertain
TikTok:@sdsentertainment
And finally, What are your plans for The Bop Live 2023?
Our plans for The Bop Live 2023 would be to grow/expand the festival making it bigger and better than previous years. We’d aim to have more live stages and provide even more talented up and coming artists with a platform to help with their professional development.
Watch the trailer video for The Bop Live here: