The standout plan for the Thursday 3 September–Sunday 6 September weekend sits south-east, outdoors and in motion. On Saturday 5 September, Brassworks takes over Woolwich Works from 10:30am to 9pm as a free festival of horns, marking five years of the venue with live music, workshops, pop-up performance and a programme built for lingering across the day. This is a useful alternative to the usual late-night weekend itinerary: arrive early, follow the activity through the Royal Arsenal and let the changing scale of brass ensembles set the pace.[1]

A brass festival with room to wander

Brassworks gives Woolwich Works’ courtyard and Workers’ Yard a practical role in the programme. The venue frames the day around marching bands, jazz, funk, Afrobeat and Balkan sounds, with food, drink, garden games and a stretch tent on site. That setting matters because the event is designed as an all-ages public gathering, with music encountered between workshops and informal moments instead of being sealed inside a single concert room. Woolwich’s long association with Arsenal artillery bands also supplies a local frame for the festival’s emphasis on horns.[1]

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From parade to the courtyard stage

The clearest route begins with the 10:30am workshop activity, then moves toward the festival parade, scheduled from noon at General Gordon Square and continuing through Woolwich to Woolwich Works. From 1pm, the courtyard programme opens with Crystal Palace Band, a long-running traditional brass band whose history reaches back to 1901. The day therefore begins with a recognisable bandstand language before moving into more hybrid approaches. Readers looking for a short visit can treat that opening stretch as a compact afternoon outing; those with time can stay through the evening headliner.[2][4]

NYJO supplies the jazz hinge

National Youth Jazz Orchestra is central to the day’s internal logic. NYJO’s Emerging Professional Musicians present Miles Davis 100 at 2:30pm, using a nine-piece band and the original nonet format of Birth of the Cool as the programme’s reference point; new arrangements are led by trumpeter Tom Stringer. At 4pm, NYJO Second Line takes horns, trombones, saxophones and percussion into a New Orleans-inspired street-band format. NYJO also runs tuba workshops at Brassworks, making the festival’s invitation to participate literal as well as atmospheric.[2][3]

The late programme widens the map

After NYJO, the festival shifts further from the brass-band template. Ramshacklicious bring trombones, tubas and electronic drums into their performance work at 4:30pm. Brass Funkeys follow at 5pm with their nine-piece approach, then Balkanatics arrive at 6:15pm with a London-based take on Balkan brass. Headliner Kongo Dia Ntotila closes the main run at 7:45pm, bringing Congolese guitar-led dance music, horns, vocals, bass and jazz into the same courtyard. DJ BobaFatt plays across the afternoon and evening, helping the gaps between sets feel like part of one continuous bill.[2]

Practical route for Saturday 5 September

Brassworks at Woolwich Works runs Saturday 5 September, 10:30am–9pm, within the coming Thursday–Sunday guide window. The parade begins at noon from General Gordon Square, while the courtyard stage runs from 1pm onward; the official listing describes the festival as free, with no ticket required for the parade or courtyard programme. Start early for workshops and the procession, or aim for the 2:30pm NYJO set and remain through Kongo Dia Ntotila’s 7:45pm closing slot. Recheck Woolwich Works’ official pages before travelling for access details, workshop timing and any programme changes.[1][2][4]

These concerts happened on 5 September 2026

The next dates at these venues: Woolwich Works

Sources

  1. Brassworks 2026 — Woolwich Works
  2. Brassworks Schedule + Line up — Woolwich Works
  3. What’s on — National Youth Jazz Orchestra
  4. Brassworks — Enjoy Greenwich