Photo: WENN
Lovebox once again makes a return to East London’s Victoria Park for a weekend of sun-soaked tracks and beats. With some fresh faces and well-established acts taking to stage for a 50,000 strong crowd, there’s no doubt that this is the ultimate urban music festival.
In the hot, dusty space of the Main Stage, newcomer Karen Harding helps kick off the afternoon. Bouncing back onto the scene from her days on X Factor, her debut single, the MNEK-produced ‘Say Something’, is an obvious favourite summer track and truly gets the audience on board for a great weekend.
To continue the feel-good vibes, deep house duo Blonde joins their vocalists on-stage for a set of absorbing tracks. To the delight of many, they open with ‘I Loved You’ and later on they continue the party with their spin on ‘Rhythm of the Night’, which gets everyone finally jumping. It’s the hands-up summer anthem ‘All Cried Out’ that boasts their ‘club-banger’ success and shows why they keep topping the charts.
Ella Eyre, a favourite on the set list, brings a touch of sass to the stage. She is confident, feisty and a force of nature, it’s clear that Eyre is a complete pop package. Her vocals are impressive but her song writing capabilities shone through as she launches into the successful Sigma feat. Paloma Faith track ‘Changing’, in which Eyre co-wrote. Foreshadowing what’s to come, she also performs the Rudimental track ‘Waiting All Night’ and her new single ‘I Want To’. “It’s good to be back in my home town” she beams, and it’s great to have her here.
Adorning a blue hat and multi-coloured shirt, sexagenarian and disc jockey David Rodigan, MBE, brings his selection of reggae and dancehall sounds to the stage. The younger members of the audience may have been bemused at first, as he monologues about his passion for Jamaica; but soon after he educates them in the narrative of reggae and grime, showing us how he got that MBE. One particular young sceptic later on exclaimed “he’s actually sick!” as Rodigan played key tracks from Major Lazer and explains how he had a part in OMI’s success with ‘Cheerleader’. Not only did Rodigan share his sheer love for Jamaican artists but also his influence in the genre.
Cypress Hill at Lovebox (photo: WENN)
Skepta later joins the Main Stage, this particular set gets the audience jumping and moshing in three large pits. It’s an impressive set and he is joined by other Grime greats; but its tracks like ‘That’s Not Me’ and ‘Shut Down’ that fires up the crowd. He ends the set by taking selfies with his adoring fans and despite the grandeur he’s very humble despite his success.
Mark Ronson’s eagerly awaited set seemed a tad underwhelming in the shadow of his legendary Glastonbury set, but the special remix of the ever-prolific ‘Uptown Funk’ gets everyone in the mood to party. With vocalists getting the crowd pumped, Ronson shouts, “this is my favourite track of the summer!” as he plays D.R.A.M’s ‘Cha Cha’ and the crowd lap up every second. As Skepta looks on from the VIP area, Ronson ends his DJ set with ‘Shut Down’ and once again, the fans go wild.
The greatly anticipated Cypress Hill triumph Lovebox as they bring their stoned aesthetic and Latino-American hip hop to East London. ‘Hits from the Bong’ and ‘Insane in the Brain’ get the crowd belting back at them. After getting the audience to ‘battle’ each other in sing-offs and dance-offs, B-Real lights a fat spliff and smokes his way through ‘I Wanna Get High’. They’re a lot of fun and a band you definitely need to see; with a new album and tour out in the new year there’ll be more antics to come. Cypress Hill are impressive in their musicality on decks and drums, and as they close with ‘(Rock) Superstar’ they’re without a doubt a main highlight to the festival.
To end the night, London’s homegrown Rudimental makes an awaited return to the Main Stage as headliner. They explode onto stage with flares and galvanize the audience for the rest of the night. The set is filled with their biggest hits from their debut album and older tracks like ‘Not Giving In’ gets everyone pumped. They also try out new material on the audience and their newest single ‘Never Let You Go’ is the anthemic comeback everyone’s been waiting for. “This is our home!” they shout, and their homecoming is a fitting and meteoric close for the first night at Lovebox.
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