Cafe 1001 Celebrates 25th Anniversary With Two Day Celebration
Featuring Charlie Dark and Chris Wheatley, with more guests to be announced.
Cafe 1001 announced details of its anniversary celebration, a two-day event taking place on Friday August 28 and Saturday August 29 at its longstanding home on Brick Lane.
The programme opens on Friday, August 28 with a late-night event headlined by Charlie Dark (MBE), the DJ, producer, poet and co-founder of Attica Blues who has been shaping UK underground culture since the early 1990s. He is joined by long-time Cafe 1001 collaborator Chris Wheatley, with further artists still to be announced.
On Saturday, August 29 Cafe 1001’s residents take over for an all-day party, featuring Lucide, Gaby D’Annunzio, Hannah Lamb and Eman Pav. Across the weekend, residents, collaborators and guests come together to mark more than twenty-five years of music at the venue.
Luca Pilato, Creative Director states, “Cafe 1001 is one of those venues that belongs to the people who use it and has always evolved. We've had first dates turn into marriages celebrated at our venue, staff members have become resident DJs, customers have become lifelong friends, and generations have passed through our doors. This 25th birthday weekend is a celebration of everyone who has made Cafe 1001 what it is. After taking our programming on tour around the UK, it felt right to bring it all back home to Brick Lane: “The Homecoming”. We've invited artists and selectors who have a real connection to the venue, alongside a programme of cultural events that reflect the creativity and community that have defined Cafe 1001 for the last 25 years.”
The event follows a year-long European Hi-Fi Tour, a cultural exchange connecting Cafe 1001 with audio-focused spaces across the continent. Throughout 2026, the venue will partner with communities across Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Portugal and France, including exchanges with venues such as The Big Romance (Dublin), Kasheme (Zurich), PAAK Vinyl (Nijmegen), Unkompress (Berlin) and Boavista Social Club (Porto), with further collaborations to follow.
Founded on Brick Lane, Cafe 1001 has been part of London’s nightlife landscape for more than twenty-five years, fostering both emerging and established talent. The venue has supported early-career DJs and artists while hosting internationally recognised selectors and live acts across electronic and alternative music cultures. It continues to play an active role in London’s music scene through its community-focused programming.
