London on 24th October was properly miserable. Cold, wet, the kind of rain that makes you question every decision you’ve made. Drumsheds swallowed all of that the moment you walked in.
False Idols Halloween took over North London’s biggest warehouse venue for a full day-to-night session across three rooms, and whatever was happening outside ceased to matter almost immediately. The scale of Drumsheds does something to you. You feel the bass before you’ve found your footing, and then you’re just in it.
The crowd was cooler than expected and slightly less costumed than anticipated for a Halloween event. The general aesthetic of Drumsheds runs dark and edgy rather than festive, and most people had leaned into that. I had come as a fisherman in bright orange and yellow, which was very on theme for the weather outside and a slightly different energy to everyone else. The Halloween vibes were admittedly a little understated. But the partying more than made up for it.
The three rooms each had their own distinct personality. The X room was the beating heart of the night, warm in the way that only happens when everyone has committed to the same moment. Room Y was heat and energy, the kind of space you stay in longer than you planned. Room Z was all bass and beats, smaller and more intense, where you’d go when you start to miss music with lyrics. Across all three, Cashu, Cakes Da Killa, Lady Shaka, UNIIQU3, Goth Jafar, Julie Desire, Tedesco, Donnie Sunshine and LEXII. kept the floors moving throughout the night, each bringing something different, ballroom to house to techno to bass. VTSS and Patrick Mason delivered for the techno contingent exactly as promised. The range across the lineup was the whole point and it showed.
The dancers were a genuine highlight. The range of styles, the outfits, the energy they brought to every set they appeared in – they elevated the whole night and gave it a visual life that went well beyond standard club production.
Rose Gray led the False Idols Ceremony and set the tone for the night early. COBRAH brought exactly the kind of chaotic, high energy pop the room needed. DJ Joshua James and Little Gay Brother kept things moving between the bigger moments seamlessly.
Meg Stalter made her UK music debut and it was exactly what it needed to be. Her lead single is called ‘Prettiest Girl in America‘ and her entire musical persona has just enough obvious satire mixed with all the elements of a pop star. She wasn’t doing much on stage, and that is entirely the point. The comedy lives in the commitment, and the room understood it completely. She was my personal highlight of the night.
Kim Petras delivered a set that the crowd gave everything back to. I did not get to hear my personal favourite ‘Coconuts’, which I will survive, but the energy in that room during her set was exactly right and she held it all the way through. She was the perfect headliner.
What False Idols does well is something harder to manufacture than a lineup. It creates a space where a predominantly queer crowd can take over a venue that size and just exist together, loudly, on Halloween, in North London. Presented by Broadwick Live and Little Gay Brother, the LGBTQ+ collective that has been building these spaces for years, the event carries a spirit that feels genuine rather than marketed. The dancefloor has always been where community gets made. False Idols knows that and builds around it.
It was a night worth getting wet for. Get your costume ready for next year.
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Words: Lola Carron