Arriving to Victoria Park on Saturday (1 June), you can’t miss the sea of people sat soaking up the sun, sipping on their frozen margaritas and entertaining their toddlers (yes, it’s that sort of day).
We’re instantly drawn to the North Stage where The Staves are keeping us sane with their angelic harmonies, which is pretty fitting seeing as they’re all dressed in white. They’ve been told not to swear by festival organisers but their devilish sides come out as they urge the crowd to shout “fuck” as loud as they can. Absolute bants.
Feeling like we’ve been transported up to the heavenly gates, it’s time to bring a bit of angst to the table. Who better to bring us right back down to earth then fiery singer-songwriter Jade Bird. Her shouty country heartbreak inspired tracks from her self titled debut album are just the ‘Lottery’ ticket.
There is zero point of vacating the main stage as The Vaccines are rallying the kids up for an hour of pure indie nostalgia as they rip into their back catalogue with classics like ‘Wetsuit’ and ‘Nørgaard’. Newer tracks seem to have cemented themselves as instant classics too as the crowd erupts when the likes of ‘I Can’t Quit’ and ‘All My Friends Are Falling In Love’ are played.
It’s the moment most of us have been waiting for but never saw happening? Yep, Dizzee Rascal plays the East Stage just before headliners Mumford and Sons tune their fiddles. It’s a strange fit to say the least but it also works incredibly well. The soundtrack to the majority of our teenage years, it’s just hit after hit and song after song that you might’ve even forgot existed but are instantly time warped back to your Smirnoff Ice fuelled youth. A highlight of the day.
Grabbing what’s left of our pints (most were thrown during Dizzee), we run over to Leon Bridges as he keeps the energy up closing the North Stage. His voice is like velvet and his dance moves are way too slick for the yummy mummy’s of Victoria Park.
Following the madness of Dizzee on main stage, Mumford and Sons smash through their headline set reminding the crowd that this is their festival. Playing a mix of songs from across four albums, it’s sadly the quieter moments when they huddle around a single microphone, which are so perfectly put together at their headline tour shows, that fall a bit short due to the size of the crowd and outdoor atmosphere.
Nevertheless, it’s a very strong set that brings tonnes of special guests like Gretta Ray, The Staves and all the rest of the day’s acts to the stage for a cover of the Beatles track ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’, seeing the GOTR takeover come to a blissful end. Maybe a Dizzee/Mumford collab next time though? Bonkers with banjos? We’re in.
