The festival started slowly, with the venue feeling sparse of any excitement until the midway point. Clearly dampened by the wet weather and long queues to top the laborious cashless wrist bands mandatory to purchase drinks, Mainstage DJs looked bored and utterly unimpressed with the whole event, changing tracks to keep the crowd dancing between short but needed power naps.  

 

However, at 5.30 PM the whole tone of the festival seemed to instantly change as the self-titled “bubble-gum-dance-hall" rapper Alicai Harley took to the Hot Wuk stage and pumped some much-needed energy across the park. Donned in a giant fluffy pink hat, it was clear that Alicai came to the festival to have fun, and despite battling poor audio mixing (a problem that plagued the festival's smaller stages) was able to create an impeccable “vibe” as she described it as countless times.  

 

Later, across the beaten and incredibly slippy muddy path from the Hot Wuk stage, '90s funk/disco/R&B heroes Brand New Heavies took to the We Love Soul stage armed with funky basslines, smooth horns, and a young child playing the shaker to keep the band and the audience in the groove. The Brand New Heavies bought easily the best performance of the whole festival, the band embodying everything the festival stood for. Love, happiness, and a sense of community radiated from the stage as the band grooved their way through the set, with gospel-esque call and response sections acting as a prominent feature throughout the performance; leaving the crowd chanting and singing long after the group made their way off the stage.  

 

Unfortunately, the festival once again plateaued and lost its footing, with act changes on the smaller stages leaving the festival once again in the hands of the dreaded sleepy DJs to perform acid house lullabies to the punters in the pouring rain.  

 

However, the dreariness was short-lived as tin men dressed in shiny suits and top hats took to the main stage to bring some life back to the now tiring crowd. And by the time that the incredible Jocelyn Brown was bought on stage, the event had once again peaked. 

 

Jocelyn joined the stage armed with a message, “everything will be alright” and “don’t worry about no covid”, and perched from the front of the stage, with DJ’s behind her, she belted her songs through her self-confessed painful teeth to perform her first live show in two years. Her happiness was infectious and her talent undeniable, and paired with funky basslines and a giant smile her performance was so fun even the worms were dancing in the mud.

 

As the evening came to an end the performances started to become slower, and the crowds became smaller with many people leaving before the end of the show. By the end of the night, the festival started to feel sleepy and hazy under the cover of the light-polluted sky, with the We Love Soul tent taking the opportunity to honour the passing of their founder with a DJ set. The stage was accompanied by a large picture of him throughout the whole day, so even first-time visitors to any We Love Soul events could appreciate the moment and feel involved with the members of the group that filled the then-packed stage.  

 

Unfortunately, the (for the want of a better word), headliners, of the main stage Masters at Work left the end of the night feeling tiresome. Accompanied with the same three scantily clad dancers that had boogied their way onto the big stage throughout the day, the “Masters” stood at the back of the stage surrounded by smoke so still that there were times they blended into the background.  

 

Their performance, like their songs, was without thrills and emotion, clinical and repetitive. These traits aren’t necessarily bad, it’s common for '90s DJs to play the same song for what feels like a lifetime, however, compared to the heights that had been felt by the smaller acts during the previous hours, it was disappointing to have the evening end so nonchalant.  

 

The festival ended in the same way the closing act did. Quietly, without warning, and with no spectacle. The evening fizzled away and the park was vacated by thousands. However, the event was a success. Throughout the day there were some incredible performances, wonderful scenes of love and happiness, and a great sense of community created by the acts and people that worked at the festival. The sour notes didn’t bitter the taste of the festival and managed to keep the damp day honey sweet.