Free London light and music festival starts next week, and lasts for two days only

The two-day Vibrance light and sound festival kicks off in the centre of London next week - and everyone's invited.

It’s created by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and not only is it free, you don’t need ticket to attend. You just rock up and see what’s happening.

Vibrance takes place near to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama itself, which sits between the Barbican and Moorgate tube stations. It consists of a whole bunch of light installations, some of which are combined with performances from genuine, live, flesh ’n’ bones people.

“You might stumble upon an opera performance, lose yourself in an atmospheric soundscape, or see ancient ruins illuminated in ways you’ve never experienced before,” says the event’s description.

The installations are spread across five areas in the wider Guildhall campus, around Guildhall Yard, Salters’ Garden, Milton Court, the St Alphage London Wall and St Giles’ Cripplegate.

There are six works to see at the first three of those areas, each of which loops throughout the festival, which runs from 5:30pm to 8:30pm on Thursday January 29th and Friday January 30th.

Vibrance Festival - YouTube

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At Milton Court, for example, we get Surface Shift, a collection of six light pieces projected across the building’s facade.

“Beginning with precise architectural mapping, the building's clean lines and glass surfaces gradually dissolve and reconfigure, challenging our perception of solid and void as the installation reveals the fluid nature of our urban environment.”

Or in the Guildhall Yard, there’s Luminata Vocalis, which features a live singer, “an illuminated fibreoptic costume, projection mapping and an electronic soundscape” and seeks to turn the area “into a moment of operatic spectacle.”

There’s also a VR experience, Array Infinitive, at St Giles’ Cripplegate, which uses a Meta Quest 3 headset.

This is the first time the Guildhall School of Music and Drama has held this festival. And while it’s not packed with food stalls like the average music festival, you will be able to grab a drink or two.

“Hot desserts” and drinks will be served at the Guildhall Yard, while there’s also a pop-up bar at St Alphage London Wall & Garden.

You can read up on all of Vibrance’s light and sound installations over at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama website.

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