April 13, 2026 |
For 2026, Gala Festival has adopted the motto “the floor is ours”. As we tremble under mountains of online content and the addictive pull of our screens feels unrelenting, this guiding maxim presents Gala as a weekend-long antidote. Positioning connection and community at the heart of the festival’s ethos, Peckham Rye Park will transform from a grassy expanse into a sun-dappled dancefloor, bordered by towering sound systems which see punters laugh, twirl and groove below. Running from May 22-24, Gala has enlisted an arsenal of impactful selectors and cultural trailblazers to give people a break from the algorithm and spread the message that nothing tops time spent together.
Friday’s lineup gathers hometown heroes and heralds of dub, jungle and garage. D-Double-E, Mia Koden and Novelist precede Giggs’ headline booking, aptly titled The Homecoming as the grime linchpin returns to his South London stomping ground, whilst Saturday enlists Midland, Sonja Moonear and Call Super to celebrate all things electronic. Culminating on Sunday, the likes of Jennifer Loveless, Palms Trax and Seth Troxler are gathered to get people moving, spinning sets rooted in dance music’s most uplifting sounds.
Photography by Jake Davis
As part of its community focus, Gala has enlisted various radios, collectives and club nights to host stages across the weekend. One notable booking, that doesn’t fit into any of these distinct categories, is Dreamland. Founded by Canada-born, London-based DJ and producer Peach – a staple in the European club scene, either solo or as part of Sass, a quartet with Saoirse, Shanti Celeste and Moxie – Dreamland launched almost a year ago. Described as “a worldwide network of dancers, DJs, promoters and people working across club culture”, that swirl in Peach’s orbit and using it to build a community “around intimacy, connection and belonging”, Dreamland has Gala’s message threaded through its soul.
Dreamland takes many forms. It’s a digital community, where members gain access to special guestlist spots to Peach’s club nights, as well as a zine spotlighting the significance of intimate clubs to music’s broader ecosystem that dropped its first issue in January. Fed up of entrenched systems that encourage, as Peach puts it, “gaming the algorithm to maximise audience reach, accepting certain gigs only because they elevate your status [and] measuring your worth via ticket sales and gig volume,” the artist sees Dreamland as a means of bringing it back to what really matters – the music, and the joy it creates.
Taking over The Pleasure Dome stage on Saturday, Peach’s curation represents her Dreamland community by paying homage to those who inspire her. “[Curating this line-up has] come straight from the heart… Every time I book someone to play it’s because I immensely admire what they do and the passion around [what] they do,” she says. Kicking off with Danish DJ and producer C.K., known for his energetic blends of house and techno, Germany’s DJ Sweet6teen will then take over with a set pulling largely from ‘90s rave culture. Following this, Steffi and Virginia, one of clubland’s most adored duos, will perform a live set, after such Midland, who Peach describes as “extremely supportive and pivotal” in her growth as an artist, will hold down the fort until Peach goes back to back with Prosumer to see things off.
Gala marks a new chapter for Dreamland. “Until now, Dreamland has been focused on intimacy in clubs,” says Peach. “While a festival is obviously outside this realm, Gala is an independent festival which we believe, carries similar values in community to Dreamland.” Peach is very protective of the Dreamland ethos and breaking this new ground may be exciting, but she hasn’t allowed breaking new ground to distil its message. “When they asked to collaborate, we were unsure at first if it would be a fit. We decided the only way it would work is if we took over the Pleasure Dome for the day, with a lineup that resonates with our ethos. We [thought] we have been able to work with them closely in order to maintain the intimacy which we strive for.”
Peach
It does seem Gala and Dreamland are an exceptional match. The driving force behind both is connections that play out away from screens, with music being the means by which they hope to do so. When asked why these platforms are so important to the contemporary music landscape, Peach speaks with authority, backed by years spent playing with, and to, music fans who thrive in shared spaces. “People are craving a connection that is beyond what exists online through their screens,” she says. “They want to be surrounded by like minded people and be able to feel safe and comfortable at a party, one that is often an escape or a place for them to let go and be themselves. People want to feel part of something and want to be on dancefloors that feel intentional.”
Gala Festival is taking place May 22-24, tickets can be purchased here. Top image: photography by Jake Davis.
Photography by Jake Davis
