Lexapalooza was born in 2006 as the brain child of Alexa "Lexi" Burrows. Having been a breast cancer survivor, Lexi was a regular fundraiser for UK charity Breast Cancer Campaign. The idea behind the day was to raise awareness of breast cancer within a format that our own peer group could relate to. She invited 13 artists to GJs in South London with the rally cry "Rock Your Tits Off" raising over £1200 for Breast Cancer Campaign in the process.

Several months after the first show, Lexi was once again diagnosed with cancer. Unable to continue organizing the event due to her health, she asked her friends to take the reins on her behalf. Lexapalooza 2007 took place at The Lark In The Park in June, attracting over 180 people over the course of the day. A notable addition to the bill was troubadour Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly! who performed a special acoustic set (on Frank Turner's guitar) to open the day. Approximately £1400 was raised for Breast Cancer Campaign.

In September 2007, Lexi finally lost her battle with cancer. She left two wonderful children and a sea of broken hearts behind her. No one who met her will ever forget her. Finding the words to remember someone so unique is nigh on impossible, so instead we offer the annual Lexapalooza Festival as homage to one of the greats, and as a way to never forget the influence she had on us all.

On the anniversary of her death in 2008, 14 artists played across two stages to a 300 strong sell out crowd at Nambucca in North London. The day was hosted by Frank Turner (whose 2008 single Long Live The Queen is about Alexa. All proceeds from the sale of the single went to Breast Cancer Campaign) and featured a wealth of quality entertainment including Chris T-T, Beans on Toast, Jim Bob and Dave McPherson. The highly emotional event sold out a full four months in advance with minimal advertisment, and raised over £2400 for Breast Cancer Campaign. We had people travel from as far as Bournemouth, Birmingham and even Glasgow for the event. The atmosphere and enthusiasm of the audience is what made this day so special, and thankfully has been a key factor to all our events to date.

The 4th Annual Lexapalooza Festival took place in June 2009, at The Gaff on Holloway Road. Selling out 2 months in advance, up and coming artists such as Ben Marwood, Jim Lockey and The Justice Force 5, shared the bill with more established acts such as Chris T-T & The Hoodrats, and The Xcerts. Over 200 people attended, raising in excess of £1200 for Breast Cancer Campaign.

In October 2009, we decided to branch out a little bit and mark National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a special acoustic only show at North London's newest venue, The Flowerpot, under the guise of Lexapalooza Lite. Although the show was free entry, we still managed to raise more than £1200 with a a sterling bill of artists including Chris T-T, Ben Marwood, Beans On Toast, Dave McPherson, Emily Barker and two unbilled performances from Frank Turner and Get Cape.Wear Cape.Fly. The 200 capacity venue was full to bursting point by 6pm, with almost as many people being turned away, and eventually the Police showing up to clear the crowd trying to see in through the windows. The bar record was shattered, our home for all future events was found, and everyone left with a smile on their face.

October 2010 saw a return to The Flowerpot for another free show. Headlined by Left Side Brain, this was (mostly) a return to the heavier side of things. Another sell out crowd packed the venue all day long, raising nearly £1400 in the process with the help of Carnivores, Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun, Ben Marwood and a host of others.

In February 2011, it was decided to return to the Lexapalooza Lite format for another mostly acoustic show. Originally due to take place at The Flowerpot, the whole event was put into question when the venue was uncerminously evicted by their landlord a couple of months before. After some soul searching, it was decided we would plough on and find a new venue to stage the event, which eventually ended up being The Old Queen's Head in Islington. Advance tickets for the show sold out in a grand total of 1 hour and 4 minutes, with the final batch of 30 being snapped up in approximately 20 seconds when released a week before the show. Superstar MC for the day was our old friend Mr Frank Turner, who also played a secret set under the moniker Francis E. Rutner. With the help of Stage Hand Pete and his completeion of the Tough Guy competition the month before, we raised the best part of £4000 for Breast Cancer Campaign, bringing our overall total for the last five years to an excess of £10,000.

Lexapalooza will return in 2012 with a slight difference. More news on this soon...

 

 

Alexa "Lexi" Burrows

1968 - 2007