The tiny riverside arts village of Merton Abbey Mills, once a bustling, thriving creative hub in South West London, is today largely neglected and uninhabited. This is largely due to many of the restaurants (some of them award-winning) and shops not being able to afford to open during the week, as days pass by without a single customer.

The remains of Merton Abbey, formerly the biggest abbey in the country (larger even than Westminster Abbey) before it was torn down by King Henry VIII in 1538, can still be found on and around the site with a tiny ancient children’s theatre and the country’s only working watermill (which powers the local potter’s wheel). Only a short walk from Deen City Farm and Morden Hall Park, Merton Abbey Mills is home to a small craft market and shops, and is truly something to be celebrated.

On the first Sunday of every month, The Sound Lounge, a small, independent music studio and arts organisation based on the site, host a free music festival with all sorts of live music being played from noon until the early evening. The event is family-friendly and showcases unsigned artists and bands from all over the country and beyond.

Hannah White of The Sound Lounge says, “these fantastic musicians, who are donating their time and their talents to support our endeavours, have helped to create a wonderful atmosphere. We need the community to get behind the site; to come back, spend time here; and to populate it to save it from being turned into yet another project for commercial developers.”

You can find out more about this Sunday’s event on the Sound Lounge Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter and Instagram. This Sunday’s line-up is as follows:

20 Cent Dreams (up and coming rock trio from France)
Lounge Cat Ideals (gypsy trad jazz band from Brighton)
Frank Statesboro (blues solo artist)
Gian Luca (Italian born, London-based singer/songwriter)
Julie Diano (French singer/songwriter who performs with a pianist)
Amir Haider (acoustic singer/songwriter)
Guy Padfield (an original artist who sings and plays autoharp)
Jacob Szulecki (a percussive fingerstyle acoustic guitarist)
Chloe Ray (acoustic singer/songwriter)
Emily Capell (rockabilly singer making a big impact in London)
Marcus Raja (acoustic singer/songwriter)
Dick Philpot (folk singer who writes lots of songs about the Wandle)