Gaymers Camden Crawl

Head up to North London for the perfect antidote to the Royal Wedding as the trailblazing Camden Crawl returns once again this spring. The first proper musical festival of the year, the Camden Crawl may be hit-and-miss with the weather - but always delivers with a cutting-edge list of up-and-coming local bands and established stars, performing in just about every important venue in Camden over two nights of music-fuelled abandon. What makes the Crawl so special is that exactly where and when the bands are playing often isn't announced until the last minute, creating a great buzz as you sprint from gig to gig (though around the 3am mark, sprinting starts to become a bit of a challenge). As this is an event for bands on the way up, it's never an obviously star-studded line-up, but the promoters have a consistent ability to spot the artists who are just on the point of going stratospheric and this is a great way to see them up close and personal before they start playing stadiums. This year's festival takes place on a weekend sandwiched between Friday and Saturday bank holidays so there's an even bigger reason to get involved. For full line-up details and ticket information check www.thecamdencrawl.com.