The Govanhill Street Music Festival: In Pictures

Aug 18

The sun shone as music, movement and solidarity spilled across the street of Govanhill on 10 August for the return of the Govanhill Street Music Festival. Our photographers were out capturing the colourful performances.

*The Duende stage on Westmoreland Street | Photo by Laura Vroomen*

On Sunday 10 August, the sun shone as The Govanhill Street Music Festival once again turned the streets around Govanhill into a cacophony of cultures and sounds. From midday until evening music, dance, spoken word, and spontaneous performances spilled into streets, cafés, courtyards, and shopfronts.

Read the full line of the festival here.

The festival lineup wove together Latin American, Caribbean, African, Irish, Gaelic, punk, folk, and electronic sounds reflecting the diversity of the neighbourhood. Whether you were drawn to the SNACK Magazine takeover at The Cooperage, Duende’s tropical beats on Westmoreland Street, or Love Music Hate Racism’s rallying performances on Victoria Road, every stage offered a reason to stop, listen, and connect.

For a first time this year, our Community Newsroom joined the venue list, being renamed as the Community MOVESroom for the day and hosting the Buff and Sheen mime act by Moonslide, contemporary dance from Vince Virr and Kiel Jonathan Clarke-Davis, Capoeira from Ponta-Cabeça as well as music from Queer Voices, Rainbow Ukes and Trans Bloc Soundsystem

The atmosphere was as much about solidarity as it was about celebration, with each stage championing community spirit, cultural pride, and anti-racist unity – in line with the Govanhill International Festival and Carnival ethos.

Acoustic sessions, queer joy showcases, capoeira demonstrations, and grassroots activism all filled the streets. It was another example of how Govanhill is a joyful testament to what happens when a community refuses to be divided – and instead sings, stomps, and shouts together.