If you love guitars and the stories behind them, the Gibson Garage London is about to give you a very good reason to clear your diary. The brand’s Eastcastle Street venue, which Jimmy Page, Sir Brian May, and Tony Iommi opened two years ago, is throwing a party, and it looks like one of the coolest events for guitar and music lovers that London has seen in a while.
Running throughout the rest of February, Gibson Garage Fest London packs in exhibitions, live performances, and conversations that stretch from punk’s earliest snarl right through to the next generation of players.
First up is a public exhibition marking the 50th Anniversary of Punk (February 16 to 23), showcasing guitars, stagewear, and memorabilia from the likes of Captain Sensible (The Damned), Mick Jones (The Clash), CJ Wildheart (The Wildhearts), Leigh Heggarty (Ruts DC), Matt West (Neck Deep), and Laurent “Lags” Barnard (Gallows). Barnard’s grey suit from the Grey Britain era is a particular highlight. As he puts it: “The grey suits became our uniform, a symbol of how grave things have got, and a way of separating ourselves from the punk kids we used to be.”
On February 23, photographer Scarlet Page will be in conversation about her forthcoming book EXPOSED: 3 Years with Placebo, a collection of 225 previously unseen black and white images from the band’s defining early years.
From February 24, three original Mick Ronson stage costumes from David Bowie‘s Ziggy Stardust / Spiders from Mars era go on display, offering an up close look at the craft behind those legendary 1972 to 73 performances.
Live music takes centre stage on February 26 with singer songwriter Elliot James Reay, before the main event on Saturday February 28: an all day showcase featuring the Gibson Generation Group Class of 2027 (12 year old Olly Pearson, Phoebe Winstanley, and Melis Ogut), plus sets from The Soul Revival, Nectar Woode, The Slates, and Crawlers. Eight hours, one stage, wall to wall music.
