SON Estrella Galicia’s Soundhood Hackney brings eclectic fun to the capital

Kicking off the event in a side room of the Sebright Arms, the ‘Beer Experience’ invites guests into the world of Soundhood, offering a choice of SON Estrella Galicia beer as the starting point for their musical journey. Taking inspiration from the drink’s golden colour and bitter, hoppy flavour, a blank lineup poster invites creativity. Tables are strewn with sticker sheets, all emblazoned with a variety of vibrantly decorated words to choose from: Dark, Malt, Punk, Mix, Heavy, Galician.

Downstairs, the electronic-meets-post-punk sound of Folly Group gets the live music portion of the evening off to a roaring start. Parading across the basement stage, the band’s intricate and unrelenting percussion demands attention from the packed out room. Before long, it’s time to dash through Hackney for the next of the night's eagerly awaited showcases.

While splitting the event across three venues certainly opened up the micro-festival to a more eclectic range of acts and experiences, unfortunately the 25-minute walk between Sebright Arms and neighbouring venues Oslo and Paper Dress Vintage did see the crowd begin to dwindle towards the end of their set.

Racing through Hackney to catch art-punk group Amor Líquido take to the Paper Dress Vintage stage, the Spanish act appeared filled with giddy excitement. Their fast-paced set held as much enthusiastic glee as the dancing crowd, who collapsed into a jovial mosh pit as beer splashed through the air and the band called out, “maybe you know this one”, before bursting into an all-Spanish cover of Jet’s ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl?’ to rapturous applause.

Next on the lineup, Courting took to the smoke-filled stage as fans clamoured for a view. Amidst a pounding drum beat, the quartet ran through highlights of their 2025 album, from “Lust for Life” to “After You”, as the rowdy audience formed a mosh pit and crowd surfers lifted into the air.

Doused in glowing red lights beneath a disco ball – with a guitar case balanced on a keys stand as a makeshift synth table – the fun-filled DIY nature of Courting’s set felt more like a house party than a straightforward venue show. With a tongue-in-cheek grin, the band’s singer gulped down a bottle of SON Estrella Galicia and turned to the audience: “Sounds like we’re taking a piss, but what a beer!” he beamed, bursting into “The Wedding” and sending fans into an exuberant frenzy.

Across the road at Oslo, newcomers Morn played through a host of impressive, unreleased tracks including their debut – and only – single “Modern Man”, unveiled a few short months ago. There’s an urgent, feral energy captivating the eager crowd, who stood transfixed within the dimly lit room.

This feverish mood only grew as Irish-punks Gurriers arrived to close out the evening. Delivering a raucous set to a cheering audience who filled Oslo wall-to-wall, their singer cried :Are youse ready?”, clearing a space in the middle of the crowd to let the band rush to fill it in a riotous explosion. Heated and fired up for fan favourite “Sign Of The Times”, the energy continued to grow, with an explosive live rendition of their latest single “Erasure” a true highlight of the night.