It's a Labyrinth London: Black Coffee on the Thames

This summer once again proved why the UK is unmatched for live music - from its packed festival circuit to the wave of international artists flying in for headline shows and independent tours. My own festival calendar was lighter than usual, but there was one outdoor event I refused to miss: Black Coffee on the Thames.

July and August found independent promoters Labyrinth Events presenting an “on the Thames” series, a six-date extravaganza held across 3 consecutive weekends that hosted an outdoor concert at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Labyrinth started in 2017 as a Thursday night in Notting Hill which has now grown massively over the years due to their curiosity in untapped and historical venues, successfully holding events in many renowned venues including Royal Albert Hall, Roundhouse and Tofte Manor. To be able to add this UNESCO World Heritage Site to a very strong CV is something that shouldn’t be underestimated.

With the beautiful backdrop of the city in front of you and Greenwich Park right behind you, this was a very appealing location to host a music event. The historic Greenwich site has hosted a plethora of productions and functions, including food festivals, film sets and fashion shows. It does seem that this was the first concert of its kind at the location for a significant amount of time, which was very exciting to me and must have also been a big deal to the organisers. The acts that were programmed for ‘On The Thames’ were all within the electronic/dance genre (no complaints from me!). When I saw that they had booked International South African DJ Black Coffee, I knew that this current season for Labyrinth was about to start with a bang. 

I was kindly invited to see Black Coffee on his second date performance (he did two nights back to back) and to also join a small number of creators and writers at a pre-game dinner sponsored by Estrella Damm. What was so special about this dinner was the fact we were eating in the famous Painted Hall, a privilege that overwhelmed me, with the walls completely covered in beautiful and intricate artwork. Every corner of the room was a new experience to look at. We had Spanish chef and restaurateur José Pizarro cooking us a specially crafted menu, which were all sharing plates, adding to the intimacy of the experience. Everything you could tell was made with love and a lot of creativity. And as someone who enjoys being in the kitchen myself, I was introduced to new ways of reinventing everyday ingredients (he dressed baby gem lettuce with cheese, hazelnuts and capers - his mind is incredible).

• 

• 

This dinner was a perfect prelude to the night itself, there’s no better way to start a party than with a full stomach and some new connections made. Once we had been served our dessert, which was Flan con nata (a caramel pudding with whipped cream), we were free to roam and explore the site. 

A core memory was formed that evening, as I had the rare experience of being able to see the sun set across the Thames, seeing the skyline of the city, without the National Maritime Museum blocking the most beautiful parts. It was an experience that even pictures will not be able to successfully capture, regardless of how much I tried.

The programming was perfectly paced, with the evening opening with musician and DJ Fiona Kraft going back to back with popular French House DJ Manoo. The sounds for the whole night prior to Black Coffee’s appearance were soulful, deep and tribal house sounds. The crowd were full of energy and moving way before the 8pm start time of the highly anticipated headliner, which is a credit to the DJs who were on the line up before him as well as the team that were in charge of curating the line up itself. 

The organisation and logistics of the day were smoother than I’ve ever experienced. There were no blips, from entering the venue to queuing for food and drinks, to the “dancefloor”. The site was so large you didn’t feel like you were trapped at any point - being outdoors made a huge difference to people’s moods too. 

With such a faultless experience, I look forward to more of what Labyrinth Events have to offer us in the future. They have recently announced the return of Black Coffee at the prestigious venue in 2026: make sure to keep an eye on their mailing list and socials. If you can’t wait until then, they will be hosting Dlala Thukzin Oct 3 at Village Underground as well as a whole season full of events to keep you stepping the summer blues away through the autumn months.