The Queen’s Park Spring Weekender returns with another out of this world line-up!
Join us Bank Holiday Weekend ~ May 2nd & 3rd 2026 under the Big Top for a weekend of incredible DJs and live music from some of the biggest global and local artists.
Concert in your area for Electronic, Funk & Soul, Indie & Alt, Rock, Pop, and Jazz.
Find out more about Electronic, Rock, and Pop.
The main creative force behind Hercules and Love Affair, Andy Butler, began his music career as a DJ at the young age of fifteen, working in a 'leather bar' in Denver, US. In the late 1990s, he moved to New York City, US to study at the Sarah Lawrence College, where he met musician Antony Hegarty (Antony and the Johnsons), with the two becoming friends. Butler immersed himself in New York City's club culture, promoting parties and creating his own music.
Butler's first release came out on the DFA label, titled "Classique/Roar" (2007), a joint effort with TIm Goldsworthy, featuring vocals from Hegarty that had an early Chicago house sound. Butler then went on to release the single "Blind" in the UK in March 2007, with the song quickly becoming a hit. Having broken into the UK top 40, it would go on to be named 'Best Song of 2008' by Pitchfork and came in sixth place in Resident Advisor's annual poll of the 'Top 30 Tracks of the Year.'
Butler continued his project with a rotating cast of musicians, releasing the self-titled debut album in 2008, released through EMI records. The album featured Hegarty on vocals although he did not perform live with the band. The album was a commercial success, reaching number 191 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 31 in the UK Albums Chart. The band embarked on a European and North American tour after its release.
Butler and his band returned in 2011 with their second album, "Blue Songs," released on British independent, Moshi Moshi. As well as guest vocals from Hegarty, Kele Okereke, of Bloc Party fame, also featured on the song "Step Up." This was followed by their third creation, "The Feast of the Broken Heart" which went for a bleaker, darker sound with more aggressive baselines that had more of a techno influence than previous releases. It also featured the vocal talents of John Grant, Krystie Warren and Rouge Mary. Through their success as recording artists, Hercules and Love Affair have found significant popularity at European festivals, performing at the likes of Meltdown Festival and Lovebox, both in the UK.
Before Carthy delved into his musical excursions he studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University and worked as a shelf stocker for his local branch of Kwik Save. The name Mr. Scruff derives from his ‘scruffy’ facial hair and appearance and his signature loose-lined drawing style. Carthy started DJing in 1994 initially to Manchester, UK audiences then nationwide who would go to hear his eclectic mixes of funk, soul and electro, and apt use of samples.
Around this time Mr. Scruff released his first 12” vinyl “Hocus Pocus” on the small Manchester label Robs Records and soon after the EP “Sea Mammal” which created a small around the artist. The releases set the scene for Carthy’s debut self-titled album which was released May 12, 1997 which along with “Sea Mammal” incorporated the DJ’s fondness for the sea and marine life. The DJ has also made a name for himself with his notorious all-night DJ sets with his genre-blurring style.
Mr. Scruff's two follow-up albums “Keep It Unreal” and “Trouser Jazz” were released on the bigger label Ninja Tune. “Keep It Unreal” features a variety of samples from wildlife narrator David Attenborough to T-Bone Walker’s “Hypin’ Woman Blues” and vocals from Roots Manuva. The DJ and music producer’s three subsequent albums “Ninja Tuna” (2008), “Bonus Bait” (2009) and “Friendly Bacteria” were all released on the label Ninja Tuna – a collaborative label of Mr. Scruff and Ninja Tune, and saw the DJ collaborate with a number of artists including Alice Russell, Agent K and Robert Ownes.
Carthy’s most recognisable hit “Get a Move On” has its sample roots in Moondog’s famously-brassy “Bird’s Lament” and has been used in commercials from Volvo to France Télécom and GEICO insurance. Mr. Scruff’s laundry list of popular singles and mixes speaks volumes to his quality and respect in the industry, and are almost as popular as Carthy’s own tea company affectionately named Make Us a Brew.
Despite the name of the act, Motor City Drum Ensemble is in fact a solo house music pioneer, Danilo Plessow. It’s evident from his performance that he’s been playing music for many years, and his work on the electronic drum machine was done with such ease, that immediately I knew it was going to be a fantastic show full of talent. His fusion of house, soul, funk, and jazz made for a relatively chilled out, yet high energy show. There was no moshing, or shoving, but everyone was dancing and having a great time, it was the perfect fusion of genres for the atmosphere.
He opened the show with an original track where he played both pre-recorded and live elements, using his synth and drum machine to build on the work he’d previously recorded, creating some great layers of music. He then went on to play through his EP Send A Prayer, which had everyone dancing along from the start. Although I wasn’t too familiar with the tracks, it was catchy and I went away and bough it straight after.
As well as being a talented musician, he’s a great performer and had his arms in the air, encouraging everyone to dance along, and he also had a microphone that he was calling out to the audience from. It was great to see that he was really concentrated on making sure that the audience were having a good time, a true sign of a crowd pleaser.
Back when DFA Records, the label co-founded by James Murphy, were making a real charge back in 2008, Hercules and Love Affair were pretty much right out front of it; the project started as a solo affair for DJ Andy Butler, but soon expanded to encompass a full live setup, one that did justice to the disco and house stylings of their self-titled debut album, which met with a terrific critical reception upon release after months of the group generating hype across the blogosphere. That album, in fact, was co-written, in part at least, by Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons, featuring his vocals throughout, too. In the years since, Hercules and Love Affair haven’t quite managed to capitalise upon the blindingly good start that they made; 2011 follow-up Blue Songs met with a less rapturous reaction from the critics, and saw the band back to playing the intimate rooms that they’d frequented earlier in their careers. With album number three, The Feast of the Broken Heart, released back in May, though, new UK dates - to follow up last November’s London show at the Coronet - should be announced soon; expect a frenetic live show and eccentric instrumentation, from a band who’s experimental sound hasn’t aged a day since their debut dropped.
Mr. Scruff – aka Andy Carthy – is one the UK’s most legendary DJs, famed for epic sets that can span hours and hours, his obsession with tea (he even owns a tea shop) and for his allegiance to renowned label Ninja Tune. I first saw him DJ for six hours straight in 2008, at Beach Break in Cornwall, just before the release of his album Ninja Tune (after his beloved label). I was only just discovering electronic music and his set was the perfect introduction to dance music, featuring what seemed like the history of the genre – there was everything from disco house to hip hop and drum’n’bass.
More recently I saw Mr. Scruff at his massive all-dayer at London’s Roundhouse. Armed with a brilliant new album – which features a move away from the jazz-laced lounge-hop that he made his name with, towards a darker, more bass-drive glitch-hop sound – he span discs for three hours, often in innovative, unexpected ways.
Title track ‘Friendly Bacteria’ and ‘Stereo Breath’ were particular stand-outs, and once things turned delightfully grimy at the end the whole place showed their appreciation. Naturally, the older, enjoyably silly material went down a storm, and he was backed by huge screens featuring his impressive hand-drawn cartoons brought to life via an inventive AV show. Scruff is one of the UK’s most consistent DJs who never fails to deliver a great set.