The Anti Social Camp is coming back to the UK next week.
For the uninitiated, this is - reputedly – the world’s largest songwriting camp, and in the words of its organisers, “the only festival where the industry comes to creatives and not the other way around”. It started up in New York in 2021, but a UK edition first emerged last year.
The idea is simple – it’s a series of songwriting workshops, sessions, talks and panel discussions, where established names rub shoulders with up-and-coming grassroots creatives. And it has attracted some hefty names in the past - Nile Rodgers, PinkPantheress, Linda Perry, Miranda Lambert, Moby, Cigarettes After Sex, Ava Max, Billy Bragg and Glass Animals have all lent their expertise to either the New York camp or last year’s debut London event.
Next week’s London event takes place between 16 and 20 November at the Tileyard in North London and like last year’s, it’s absolutely free, though don’t just turn up on spec - you will need to register in advance.
A long list of artists have been confirmed for next week’s festival, but a few leap out. There’s veteran UK garage producer and DJ Zed Bias, and Mae Muller, who, in a very meta fashion, will no doubt recount the tale of how she very much didn’t win the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest (she finished second to bottom) with a song called, er, I Wrote A Song.
There’s also Bastille, aka Dan Smith. He’ll be presented with the camp’s 2026 Anti Social Foundation ICON Award, which apparently “recognises Bastille for creating work that has reshaped the sound and culture of modern music while inspiring generations of songwriters, producers and performers.”
The event has also signed partnerships with a number of big players in music and tech worlds – Tidal, TikTok, DistroKid and PRS For Music are all involved in the London event.
Anti Social Camp’s founder Danny Ross has said in a statement: “Everyone knows the power of music to bring people together, and the brilliant people behind our favourite songs deserve a sense of community. Anti Social Camp was built by artists, for artists - a place to share experiences, find collaborators, connect with industry and perform for our peers. We’re so thrilled to see it grow across the globe to London, spotlighting and elevating those who enrich our lives with their art. Anti Social Camp is an opportunity for artists to shape the future we want to see.”
Anyway, if you’re interested and have the spare time next week, head over to the Anti Social Camp website at antisocialcamp.com for more information and registration details.
