The all too familiar bus journey down Gloucester Road looked out upon a new energy this Saturday afternoon; both temperatures and spirits were high, and the oft-trodden pavements of Stokes Croft were busier than ever. Such an atmosphere can have but one cause - the return of the infamous Stokes Croft Block Party.
Characterised on the venue’s Instagram as the ‘biggest party of the year’, Lakota’s Block Party makes its ambition known. These claims, however, are far from unfounded; established in 2019 and continuing to grow in scale each year, this year’s event - held on the 10th of May - saw over 150 artists across 25 stages immersing crowds in an impressive 16 hours of ‘multi-genre madness’. Whilst this rave is - understandably - the main event for many, to capture the true feeling of the party we must first turn our attention to the notorious streets of Stokes Croft itself where we began our journey.
Joining the action at around 10pm, we arrived to find Turbo Island’s famous fire ablaze and the area absolutely jam-packed with partiers. With only the odd parked car blasting tunes, the energy on the streets was surprisingly relaxed, providing a place for non-ravers and those seeking refuge from the club’s intensity to slow down and socialise.
The night was a huge one for local takeaways, with orders coming in thick and fast - and a special shoutout must go to ‘The Best Supermarket’ for keeping people stocked up on essentials into the early hours.
Many of the people we saw were inhaling Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) from balloons. We’ve seen party-goers do balloons here and there at other events, but on Saturday night it was on a completely different scale - everywhere you turned the balloons seemed to follow. As a result of how many people were using them, you would often see the remains as you were walking about.
Though the festivities started early in the day with crowds getting on the streets and worsening traffic, Lakota officially opened for the main event at 12am. We made use of the time by getting the finest of provisions - Leibniz mini biscuits - which we found at ‘The Best Supermarket’. On our way to which we got quite jealous seeing all the lucky people who live above shops on the main road take advantage of their location to get a nice view.
Finally, the clock struck 12 and we made our way outside Lakota. Megaphone brandished, security guards were poised and ready to keep people off the roads, but most party-goers seemed to know exactly where to go and what to do despite the confusion we felt. Perhaps this was down to many being repeat customers - it just may be that once you get a taste of the block party you’re destined to return…
Once in the club we had a look around for all 25 rooms but only managed to find about 15, with certain areas of Lakota that are notoriously difficult to track down evading us. The range of genres we encountered in the rooms we did make it to, however, more than made up for our subpar navigation attempts.
There was a large outside area for people to smoke and socialise, food was served in a van.
The psychedelic room, pictured above, included glowing paintings on the walls that appeared to move and an air of whimsy that we felt was much needed.
This room was so loud that you felt the sound-waves pushed against you as you came in.
With aching feet and ringing ears, we decided to call it a night at around 1:30.
Worth noting is the startling amount of litter left behind on the night, in stark comparison to the cleanliness of the street the very next day. We doff our hats in admiration to the Council for their efficiency in facilitating this clean-up.
No rest for the wicked however! People hadn’t even queued for the event and Lakota was already advertising the next one.
Will you get a ticket next year?
All photos: Mihai Roșca and Rachel Shortall.
