With summer comes live music – a combo that never misses – and as the sun finally starts to hit London, UGG is wasting no time getting involved. As part of its new SS26 Golden Collection, the brand launched Sunroom last weekend: an immersive community and creative event series designed to bring people together through music, workshops and culture.

Rooted in UGG’s artistic SoCal spirit, Sunroom transported a slice of West Coast summer to the capital, handing curation duties to London music collective Nine8 for a multi-media line-up. The programme featured live performances from Zara Larsson and Sasha Keable, alongside DJ sets from Rickinzi, ELLADHC, and Reenie, plus a series of hands-on workshops spanning cyanotype collage-making, screen-print and heat-press customisation, and collaborative beat-making sessions. Having recovered, we caught up with Nine8 post-event to reflect on what happened, and why championing live music is more vital than ever. 

Can you tell us about working with UGG on Sunroom – how did you want to curate and programme the space?
Nige: UGG were very open to our interpretations of Sunroom, and ways in which the room could represent what moving into the summer season means and how it feels. We wanted the space itself to feel bathed in light, with the orb above the stage being the final centrepiece on that journey.
Lloyd: It’s rare to work with a brand and [for them to be] supportive and encouraging of your ideas. UGG have been very accommodating and the workshops couldn’t have gone better!
Oli: Bringing community together is a fundamental aspect of a Nine8 event, we’re happy UGG allowed us to present this angle through workshops and immersive interior design.

And what were your highlights from the weekend?
Nige: From the daytime, my highlights were the collaging and music workshops. Seeing people really engross themselves in the collage and cyanotype individually, whilst on the music workshop, seeing the collaborative side to creativity. It was just how we had hoped things to be. From the evening, Sasha Keable was incredible! Such a reward from the printing and pasting of the day, to then relax and enjoy a wonderful performance.
Lloyd: My highlights were the happy faces at the end of each music-making session, and seeing people who may not have made music before or played with any analogue gear getting involved.
Oli: Working on the songwriting workshops with Mac was a highlight for me, but the best part was definitely performing our music from the last ten years as a collective. 

Club and gig culture has had a huge influence on Nine8 – how important are open live music spaces like this in the current creative climate?
Nige: It is ever more important to provide spaces like this given the rate at which live venues are closing. It’s also important to share in the community aspect of music, from dancing to creating songs, it is a time to come together and champion our similarities and differences.
Lloyd: In a time where music venues, clubs and pubs, etc., are closing at alarming rates, not to mention the division pushed on people by the media. It’s so important to have free and open spaces where people can feel a sense of community without judgement.
Oli: More important than ever, especially in a time when information travels so quickly – live music allows people to be present in a space that can give people the escape they deserve for just being there.

In terms of collaboration, how does being part of the NiNE8 collective encourage experimentation and learning, nd how would you encourage others to explore this?
Nige: NiNE8 encourages experimentation by being an open canvas – no leader or front man, no manager. What helps with developing your own voice is the collective being underpinned by friendship, so mistakes or experimentation are never feared between each other. I couldn’t encourage people enough to collaborate in whatever medium they want to, it broadens perspective and tools, and the shared collective experience builds deep, lasting bonds.
Lloyd: Most of what I’ve learnt in music making has come from collaboration – it’s the happy accidents and the friendly challenging of ideas which helped me find my footing. I recommend young creatives who want to get more involved in their craft to find local artists who you like and reach out – who knows where it could lead.
Oli: As artists we generally need to be reflecting what the world is like around us, if you’re with friends or people you’re inspired by (or both), then I think it’s easier to find your style when creating.

And what does the rest of the year hold for you?
Nige: We’re participating in an exhibition at the Bomb Factory Marylebone on Collectivism, which runs until 13th June.
Lloyd: I personally am focusing on working on my own solo project (Mac Wetha) and my band, Salmon Cat.
Oli: More music, more creating.