Caleb Kunle brings sunshine to the capital at SON Estrella Galicia's latest microfestival

Allying themselves with some of London and Brighton’s best independent venues, SON Estrella Galicia has been curating nights of music, food, beer, and workshops all year under their micro-festival banner. In the shade of a Christmas tree at Two Palms Hackney, they put the star on top of their success.

Opening the festivities, which sometimes felt at odds with the surrounding yuletide cheer, were local Hindustani psychedelic rock purveyors Karma Sheen. Blasting through a set of dad rock riffs with added sitar and North Indian-inflected synth scales, they delivered a dynamic take on an old trait.

“We’re about to go on a musical adventure,” Kunle told the undulating front row before ripping off his coat and launching into his bright cuts of narrative-driven soul. Tracks like the early release “Boogeyman” were direct and instant, while the Marvin Gaye lilt of “Mountain,” recently recorded in a session for Best Fit, lifted the room with its soaring melody.

Flanked by a full band of slick musicians and a grinning backing singer, Kunle cut a captivating figure, all bulging arms and warm charisma. Bringing things down for a moment to talk about his brother who was in prison during Covid, he held the crowd’s attention with his recent single “Ease Your Strife” before whipping things up with the jubilant semi-encore of closer “Source,” commanding the crowd to shake it out.

Apart from a brief interlude of Christmas songs played from the bar, the night wrapped up with a DJ set from one-half of world-music selectors Kit Sebastian, bringing together everything from Czech electronica to Latin pop and signing off a diverse and captivating musical series.