There’s a strange moment just before you open the doors to something you’ve spent months thinking about.

The room is ready. The wine is cold. The DJs are somewhere nearby. Someone texting asking “Do I need to bring ID?” or “Sorry babe, can’t make it!“. And for a brief moment, you’re left wondering whether anyone is actually going to turn up. Thankfully, they did.

On Sunday 20 September, We stepped out from behind the screen and into NT’s Loft for our first ever Day Party. The very first real world chapter of what we’ve been building.

What started as an idea, a website, a few late-night conversations and a slightly overzealous amount of enthusiasm became a room full of people, music, dancing and the sort of afternoon that seemed to disappear considerably faster than it should have.

Donnie Sunshine, Jacksmatee, YGMT & Act On took care of the music, moving the room through the day with exactly the kind of energy we’d hoped. There were drinks served by the lovely team at Table Wine, and everyone dancing like it was Saturday (it was Sunday), and no one was standing still.

But the music was only half of it.

Fine Tune has always been about the space around the music too. The photographers, designers, artists, DJs, writers, friends and general creative oddballs who make a scene feel like a scene. The people who might not always fit neatly into one category, but somehow end up in the same room anyway.

That was the real point of the day. To make Fine Tune feel like a community you’d love to be a part of.

We would have been happy introducing just one person to one new artist, and calling it day. But to have a room full people, engaging with the musicians, was a heartwarming moment.

For us, this was Act 1.

Fine Tune began with a fairly simple idea: to shine a light on emerging artists across the UK, Australia and New Zealand, while making space for the wider culture that surrounds them. We wanted somewhere that could move between music, fashion and creativity without taking itself too seriously.

The Day Party felt like the first time that idea properly came to life.

Of course, there were things that didn't go perfectly. There always are. There were things we forgot, things we improvised and probably a few moments where “we'll figure it out” became the official strategy.

But hey, that’s a part of the process.

Fine Tune is independent, still growing and very much figuring itself out as it goes. And we'd rather be making something slightly imperfect and genuinely ours than waiting around for the perfect moment to arrive.

So, thank you to everyone who came down and made Act 1 what it was.

You made the first chapter feel like a beginning.

And now, naturally, we're onto the next one.

Act 2: the magazine.

The first Fine Tune print issue is coming.

More pages. More artists. More stories. More beautiful things to leave lying around your house.

And hopefully, something to continue platforming these amazing artists.

See you in print.

Fine Tune x

Fine Tune Day Party: Act 1

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