Our review of London’s Getahead Festival 2024

The next panel saw Victoria Davies, Eve Horne, Karen Emanuel and host Emma B take to the stage to discuss women’s health. Arguably the panel with the largest amount of laughs, it also centred around discussions around the attitudes towards women in the workplace, such as how menopause is largely not understood to be an issue worthy of giving women adequate support for, such as teaching colleagues about how they can better understand its effects on women’s health.

Over in Rae’s which is connected to Omeara, there were all kinds of pop-up activities happening, from mindful drinking to financial well-being advice and a range of traders promoting products such as supplements for neurodivergence and food/drink to help you reach a greater sense of wellness. Back at the panels, Shadow Child and his manager Matt Stuart were discussing his unique journey and the reciprocal relationship they have which allows them both to thrive.

It was then time for a panel titled ‘Music is our healing medicine’ and it saw Krystal Roxx, Bruno Cabral, Keri Perkins, Emma Marshall and Aneka Johnson discuss how not only is music something for us to enjoy but a genuine tool in helping us heal physically and mentally. Cabral runs workshops that use specific frequencies of sound to calm the mind and relieve stress, whilst Marshall runs Movement Is Medicine, which takes dance and rhythm that step further by combining it with neuroscience studies.

Krystal Roxx later hosted a session of yoga over in the fitness lab as part of the many other activities you could take part in throughout the day. You would have also seen a few dogs running around including a Labrador and a King Charles Spaniel, with The Cuddle Club dog therapy taking place in the main bar. If things were feeling overwhelming at any point, you could also go grab a complimentary massage. No one was overlooked at Getahead Festival, there was something here that would appeal to everyone, from a male and female perspective as well as from an LGBTQ+ point of view.

One of the last chats we attended was between the DJ Fat Tony and Grace Flynn, who quizzed him about his unique journey. Having been an addict for a large period of his life, as documented in his book ‘I Don’t Take Requests’. He was on top form, cracking jokes constantly but also remarkably authentic in the way he spoke about his struggles with substances and how he became someone he didn’t recognise. He’s now sure that there’s “A real f****** power in JOMO”, the joy of missing out as his life begins to settle down. 

Overall, Getahead Festival served as a reminder of all the ways in which we can help ourselves when we’re feeling at our lowest. There was discussion around plenty of key issues in the creative industries and a lot to be learnt from a diverse range of panellists, who were all experts in their respective fields. But, alongside plenty of heavy topics, there was a lot of fun to be had too.

Keep your eyes peeled for our video review of the event, including interviews with the founder of the event, Jenni Cochrane, and special guest speaker, DJ Fat Tony, coming to the Promotion Centre Blog and Skiddle’s social media pages in the not to distant future.

To stay up to date with all future Getahead events, check out: www.instagram.com/getaheadlife