It’s been widely reported that the house party is dead. With many young people squeezed into homes without communal spaces, economic pressures that necessitate longer working hours or multiple jobs, and wellness becoming a priority, many people just aren’t as willing or able to host ragers at home. But that’s where Farrago comes in – a London group that throws weekly events to replace the real thing.
Farrago is a “community of creatives who come together at house parties to celebrate the best grassroots music talent”, founder Alan Hughes-Hallett tells Broadsheet. Its mission is to platform smaller musical artists and encourage community with the people who come to see them play.
“When you go to a house party, there’s lots of people you don't know. But because they’re mostly friends of friends, you have that permission to speak to them,” Hughes-Hallett says.
It’s those organic connections that Farrago wants to foster between its attendees. To do this, it’s made its events as similar to a house party as it can, starting with the venues, which Hughes-Hallett says are always “house-like”. This means spots with multiple rooms on multiple floors, including an open-plan kitchen, (at some events, with food being cooked by Mama Ky's Caribbean Soulfood; a living-room-like space with sofas; and a chill-out nook.
Farrago’s events are usually at Bread and Butter Lounge in Shoreditch, where for £13.50, around 150 people get entry and a free drink. At the end of each month, it does a bigger event at a Little Door Co venue (such as Little Violet Door in Soho and the Little Neon Door in Shoreditch), bringing together 250 to 300 people and costing a little more at £17.50.
Farrago has a no-phones policy, requiring attendees to put their devices in magnetic pouches that can only be unlocked for emergencies. “It’s a rare opportunity to just be present and not be distracted by social media or have the pressure of capturing the moment,” Hughes-Hallett says.
And the entertainment goes beyond live music. There are always board games set out, and depending on the night, there may also be a magician, a live painter, a tarot card reader, or even a flash mob.
“Being in London, [with] the lasting results of Covid, a loneliness epidemic – people are struggling to meet others and make friends in an authentic way,” Hughes-Hallett says. “But we create an environment which makes it very easy to meet people and make friends.”
They always have ice-breaker games, and the Farrago staff circulate to help introduce people. So, while people are encouraged to come alone, they often leave having made friends – or even with a date.
“I know at least five people that have had romantic relationships as a result of coming to a house party,” Hughes-Hallett says. He also recently spoke to two women who had met at a Farrago event earlier this year and have since attended a few festivals together.
Farrago also facilitates creative partnerships: a photographer who met the artists playing at one party went on to do shoots for them, while a dancer who saw another artist play has since appeared in their music video.
All of the house parties Farrago hosted this summer sold out, and after a short break, it will be back to hosting weekly events from September 30. It has also just launched a membership for people who have come to five or more events, which Hughes-Hallett wants eventually to expand all over the country.
