Last Saturday saw the Pace garage on the Highgate Road in North London turned into The Kerouac Shack, a secret 1950's pop up American diner and Blues showcase curated by The Gastronome, a creative trio of friends, Ian, Ash and Joseph.
They created a bespoke 5 course Americana inspired menu for the event and accompanying the excellent food from Chef Joseph Curtis was Beat poetry, Bourbon, and music from Kitty, Daisy & Lewis and Dollar Bill & His One Man Band.
Dollar Bill dropped an absolutely astounding set of stompers which woke the crowd up and had the whole place up and jumping in between courses.
I've seen him live before but his performance at The Kerouac Shack surpassed that as he seemed to feed off the crowd and the quirky venue which really suited his style down to the ground!
Following Dollar Bill were local group Kitty, Daisy and Lewis who have been making waves across Europe recently with their sell out shows. This was the first chance I'd had to catch them live and they certainly didn't disappoint as they played old and new material and took us on a journey across several genres of music including Ska, Rockabilly, Indie and Jump Blues.
Definitely one to look out for!
I was privileged to have been asked to guest DJ at the event which was an intimate affair with a fantastic crowd. I dropped a short set of 50s R&B and Rock 'n' Roll 45s which got the crowd up and dancing before everyone headed over to my night, Shake! for the after party.
On hand to document the night was local photographer Lucy Williams who captured the energy of the night perfectly. She continued her ongoing project NOWportrait on the night which involves meeting strangers, getting their story and capturing a photographic portrait, all of which get posted HERE. Be sure to check it out!
The Kerouac Shack was a perfect evening and it really felt as if you were part of something very special!
Props to The Gastronome crew for the effort and detail they put into making the event go off and rumour has it there is a 1920's Great Gatsby night already in the planning!
As this is a secret pop up you'll need to follow The Gastronome HERE for details as and when they become available. One to watch!
(All photos by Lucy Williams)
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