Beyond the Bassline will ignite new musical journeys. © Terna Jogo The London of the 1950s often conjures up a dour, ration-blighted place where the highlight of your week might be avoiding a puddle or having a particularly good mug of Bovril. If you knew where to go though, this couldn't be further from the truth. The midcentury metropolis shook with the melodious pan tickling of the Russ Henderson Steel Band in Carnaby Street, while Frank Bowling flicked luminous streaks of paint on the canvas as he jived to calypso. Yes, the Windrushers were in town, but so too were Nigerian Highlife ban ..read more

Croydon is London's largest borough by population. Image: Londonist/Will Noble Love Croydon? Teensy bit Croydon curious? Not so sure about Croydon at all? Have we got the thing for you. Our Londonist: Croydon Edit newsletter is coming this June. It's piloted by Londonist editor and Croydonian Will Noble, and it's about all things in the borough of Croydon. Stuff like: Features on Croydon's crazily rich history and the many people who've called it home Interviews with Croydon businesses, charities and everyone who makes the place tick Walks around the green swathes of the borough (and maybe ..read more

© Ned Dyke-Coomes That's the way to do it! Covent Garden's May Fayre & Puppet Festival is back for 2024. The free, family-friendly event celebrates the anniversary of the first recorded sighting of Mr Punch, an early version of today's Punch & Judy shows. It was diarist Samuel Pepys who recalls seeing "an Italian puppet play — a great resort for gallants within the rayles of Covent Garden" in May 1662. Pepys' puppet sighting is recorded by a plaque on the wall of St Paul's Church, unveiled in 1962. This led to the first Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival being held in 1976 ..read more

The Black Dog has found itself the centre of attention. Photo: Chris Whippet via creative commons Vauxhall pub The Black Dog recently saw a phenomenal boost in custom after Taylor Swift gave it a mention on her new album, The Tortured Poets Department (though it's not confirmed that this is the place she means when she sings about "some bar called The Black Dog"). It got us thinking, are there any other pubs in London that the world's biggest pop star might wish to namecheck? Here are a few suggestions: The White Horse: Swift already had one of London's most famous pubs on her setlist, albe ..read more

At their previous, east London venue, Bohemia Place. Image by Black-Owned Hackney. You know it's nearly summer (no matter what the weather outside says) when Black Eats Ldn launch their 2024 season. Over the last couple of years the Black Eats Ldn spring-summer dates announcement has become one of the annual milestones that let you start to feel like, okay, long days and warm nights might be on the horizon now. And this year the announcement's a bigger one than usual, because it comes with a venue change. No longer in Hackney, the season's launching with a huge weekender south of the river ..read more

Transport author Andrew Martin writes about his experiences as a teen northerner in the 1970s riding the London Underground. You can read much more of this sort of thing on Andrew's Substack, Reading on Trains, all about trains and travel from a cultural and social-history point of view. "The guards were heavy booted, anti-social-looking men, usually pale — from spending too long underground, I supposed." Image: Mike Goldwater from this article I was a privileged youth, in the literal and limited sense that, as the son of a man quite high up in British Rail, I possessed a 'privilege pass' f ..read more

The excitement is Mountie-ing Trafalgar Square will be awash with poutine, Mounties and maple leaves for one Sunday this summer. London's annual Canada Day celebrations take place on Sunday 30 June 2024, marking the national day of Canada. Over 80,000 Canadians live in the UK — a fair tranche of them calling London home. 30,000 folks turned out to 2023's celebrations, although of course, you needn't be a Canuck to join in with the hijinks. 30,000 people attended in 2023. From 12pm-8pm everyone's invited to get involved in free fun and activities, including: A music stage featuring perfor ..read more

Chislehurst Caves are open to the public. "If you look far back into this one, you'll see something glittering on the walls." The tour guide waves his industrial torch in the vague direction of infinite darkness. "It's not gold, it's left over from when the BBC filmed Doctor Who here." For anyone playing pop culture bingo, that's the second tick that Chislehurst Caves offers — the first being a reference to the two occasions Jimi Hendrix played in these chalk caverns, 30ft below the streets and homes of Chislehurst. A rickety old bar remains, but no bottles — just chalk dust and cobwebs. It ..read more

Psst! Join Londonist for a party in a brewery this June — to celebrate our 20th! Londonist turns 20 years old in 2024. Here, we down tools for a couple of moments, pour ourselves a flute of Bolly mug of prosecco, and look back on our 20 most popular articles of all time. How many of these did you read? Click the headline or image for each one to read the full article. 20. London's Parakeets: Everything You Need To Know Image: Matt Brown/Londonist Pigeons be damned. There is no bird in London that can spark as much excitement (or indeed consternation) as the cheeky green parakeet. But what a ..read more

Check before you travel in early May. Photo: Londonist Train drivers belonging to the Aslef union will take part in three one-day strikes in early May. Different train operating companies will be affected on different days, as follows: Tuesday 7 May: c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway main line and depot drivers, and SWR Island Line; Wednesday 8 May: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway; and West Midlands Trains; Thursday 9 May: LNER, Northern Trains, a ..read more