Decolonise Fest is back for our fifth annual festival on 16th-18th September at Well Seasoned in South London.

We run an annual, London-based, volunteer-run arts and culture festival created by and for people of colour in the punk scene.

After two years without a physical festival (we hosted a virtual version in 2020) we want to bring Decolonise Fest back as a staple event in the calendar for punks of colour in the UK and beyond.

This year we want to finally bring the Kenyan punk band Crystal Axis over after the pandemic stopped them from coming in 2020. The band’s lyrics often draw on the brutality of both the legacy of colonialism and the Kenyan government.

Crystal Axis' 2019 single ‘Nyayo House’ is about the torture chambers used by the government to silence dissidents, while 2018 single ‘Leopold’ is about the atrocities inflicted on the Congo by King Leopold II of Belgium. We think Crystal Axis will be the perfect addition to the Decolonise Fest family and we know you’ll love them too.

The band gave us a performance virtually in our Decolonise Fest Online festival in 2020 edition of the festival and this year we hope they'll be able to play for us and you IRL.

We originally started fundraising to bring the band over in 2020 and still have the donations we received saved to add to the cash needed to help bring Crystal Axis to the UK.

We are aiming to raise £6000 through this fundraiser. This will help us with:

Flights

Hotels

Visa applications

Venue costs

Promotion

Travel expenses

Merchandise costs

General admin

In 2019 we raised over £2500 to bring over native American punk band Weedrat whose electric performance was one of the most talked about of the whole weekend.

Since our first ever event in 2017 we have played host to bands such as Bob Vylan, Nova Twins, Big Joanie, Sacred Paws and more.

We’re asking you to give what you can so we can make our punk dreams come true and ensure Decolonise Fest will always be a space where our punk family from around the world can feel seen and represented.

You can find out more about the festival here:

decolonise.org.uk

facebook.com/decolonisefest

twitter.com/decolonisefest

instagram.com/decolonisefest

Any donation how matter small would be an amazing help!

Love,

Decolonise Fest