Happy August! – here’s a Weekend Combo to unwrap, love and then discard in a week or so…

Ooh ooh baby
Having premiered to rave reviews at Venice Film Festival last year, Bill Pohlad’s Dreamin’ Wild is hitting cinemas this weekend. Telling the incredible against-all-odds true story of musician siblings Donnie and Joe Emerson, when the album the duo recorded as teens in 1979 was rediscovered after three decades of obscurity, propelling them into newfound success. HERO Winter Annual star Jack Dylan Grazer stars in the biopic as a young Joe alongside Noah Jupe as his brother, while Casey Affleck and Walton Goggins take on the pair in older age alongside Zooey Deschanel.

Dreamin’ Wild is out in cinemas now. 

Art, and lots of it
The Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition has been a highlight of the city’s artistic calendar since 1769 – this year sees that stat continue. Curated by British painter David Remfry, the exhibition meditates on the theme ‘Only Connect’, taken from the famous quote, “Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its highest. Live in fragments no longer,” in Howards End by E.M. Forster. Comprised of 1,614 works, you can expect to see Richard Malone’s dramatic mobile installation in the Wohl Central Hall and towering sculptures by the late Phyllida Barlow, plus pieces by the likes of Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk and Hew Locke.

RA’s Summer Exhibition runs until August 20th, more info here.

Pleasure seekers unite
Ever since Peggy Gou released (It Goes Like) Nanana a couple of months ago as the first taster from her upcoming album, the early 90s Eurodance-inspired track has been the soundtrack to every good time. Luckily, she’s returning to Finsbury Park for her annual Pleasure Gardens day festival for a wild night of open-air beats. Curated and produced by the South Korean DJ herself, she’s invited a line-up of artists to join her across two stages throughout the event, including the likes of Paula Tape and DMX Krew.

Peggy Gou’s Pleasure Garden will take place at Finsbury Park on June 6th. 

Love on drugs
Eleven years after the critically acclaimed original, Billie Piper-starring production, Jamie Lloyd is bringing Lily Prebble’s rom-com The Effect to the National Theatre stage. Starring Bones and All’s Taylor Russell and RSC regular and Lazarus star Paapa Essiedu in leading roles, Prebble’s story is a devilish take on boy-meets-girl. As two young volunteers in a clinical drug trial, their illicit romance poses dilemmas for the supervising doctors, unable to decipher whether the pair are actually falling in love or whether it’s just an undiagnosed side effect.

The Effect runs at the National Theatre until October 7th, more info here. 

London’s newest festival
Inspired by DIY culture and grassroots movements, the team behind Peckham’s GALA festival have birthed a new one-dayer with a lineup full of London’s finest talent and international ones-to-watch. Taking over Southwark Park, the likes of New York rapper Princess Nokia, NTS regular OK Williams, hip-hop artist Louis Culture, Nigerian musician Obongjayar, Brixton native Wu-Lu and Danish singer-songwriter Erika De Casier will take to the stage. Although it’s the festival’s first time appearing on the summer festival calendar, we’re putting our money on RALLY becoming a regular fave for the city’s party-goers.

RALLY will take place at Southwark Park on August 5th, more info here. 

Capturing life
The first solo exhibition of German-American photographer Evelyn Hofer has arrived at The Photographer’s Gallery. Known for her large-format portraits, landscapes, cityscapes and still lifes, each image is imbued with Hofer’s signature quirk as her lens finds the character in each and every subject. From shots of life in quiet corners of London and Dublin in the 60s to the vibrant characters who roam the streets of New York and Washington, the showcase compiles over 100 images from the photographer’s archive spanning 45 years of image-making.

Evelyn Hofer runs at The Photographer’s Gallery until September 24th, more info here. 

We want the finest wines available to humanity
From the team behind Natty Boy Wines, Dan’s is a haven of over 600 hand-picked wines you’ve probably never heard of before. Founded with the intention to make good wine accessible, the fuss-free environment lets the drinks take centre stage as candle-lit interiors and distressed wood sharing tables make it feel like you’re chatting with mates in your living room. Accompanied by a selection of rotating small plates and cheeses from Newington Green’s Jumi N16, the pavement seating in the summer means it’s a perfect spot for people-watching as you gradually get more and more pissed.

Dan’s is located at 2-4 Tottenham Road, N1 4BZ, check out their Instagram here. 

Holiday on the TFL
If you feel like you need a weekend out the city but can’t be arsed booking flights/hotels/trying to fit all your clothes into a backpack, simply take the train down to Birch Selsdon, the hotel-slash-retreat’s new site in South London. Here, surrounded by a 200-acre wildland – which you’re free to explore – the 17th century mansion is the perfect zen escape from London’s constant buzz.

While there, book yourself into their excellent Elodie restaurant, run by Michelin star chef Lee Westcott, and dive into a tasting menu that looks as good as it tastes. The Cornish crab with heritage tomato and green almond is fresh and delicious, while the grilled courgettes with gooseberry, sorrel and elderflower is a tasty example of innovative British cooking.

Explore Birch here.