Photo: WENN
Day two of Lovebox brings a mixed bag of genres to East London with Jessie Ware, Annie Mac and Hot Chip topping the bill. The urban festival closes with the legendary Snoop Dogg performing decade-spanning hits and he absolutely steals the show.
The afternoon saw Lion Babe, the New York neo-soul duo, kick off the second day in style. Frontwoman Jillian Harvey, with gorgeous lion-like hair, brings funky beats and uplifting vocals that ease the crowd in for another great night at Lovebox. They bring a nineties vibe and the glamorous ‘Wonder Woman’ gets everyone on their feet. Their new single ‘Trigger By Fire’ seems to be a favourite and warms up the crowd nicely.
Raury’s set is an eventful one despite his short slot. Undeterred by the initial sound issues, he gets the audience’s energy up by jumping into a huddle of fans and singing side by side with them. Later Raury plays his acoustic guitar and asks for a moment of silence for all those “murdered in the world illegally”. It’s an attempt but not many follow suit. For the finale Raury enthusiastically performs one of his most well known tracks ‘God’s Whisper’, afterwards he beckons “for a revolution!” It’s hard to believe that this wise head sits on a 19-year old lad from Georgia.
In the last few moments of sunshine, soul singer Jessie Ware proves to be a favourite act on today’s set list. Spanning across two albums, Jessie brings complete joy to the Main Stage. ‘If You’re Never Gonna Move’ gets everyone bobbing and singing. Later she is joined by “the best soul singer in the world right now” Dornik, who also played at the Big Top at Lovebox today. Jessie ends with the emotional and booming ‘Wildest Moments’ and finally the anticipated ‘Say You Love Me’. As the stage-camera sweeps across the audience you could see a group of teary eyed fans singing along – this talented lady brought a very special moment at Lovebox.
In defiance of the murky clouds, Annie Mac brings her summer soaked dance remixes for an hour-long set. There are neon palm trees, big bass beats and streamers. It’s her birthday and everyone is celebrating with her. David Zowie’s ‘House Every Weekend’ gets everyone jumping but to end her set she plays Skrillex feat. Justin Bieber’s ‘Where Are Ü Now’. Annie shrugs “I just LOVE this song”, and it seems like it’s everybody’s guilty pleasure as well. As it’s her birthday, naturally thousands of people sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her.
The penultimate act tonight ‘Hot Chip’ is perfect Saturday night entertainment as the electronic band graces the stage. The sextet brings a cacophony of beats, percussion, guitars and synths to Lovebox and their danceable tunes get everyone moving. Synchronised dancing to ‘Night And Day’ brings a degree of charm to the set whilst ‘Over And Over’ gets the fans really bouncing. In the last moments of the performance some of Hot Chip’s kids join the stage and dance away: “Hot Chip 2.0 - coming soon!” frontman Alexis Taylor jokes. It’s beyond adorable and brings a feel-good atmosphere to end to their set.
Making a glorious return to Lovebox, legendary Snoop Dogg performs an array of hits. The audience go wild as he saunters on stage and launches into the 1999 single ‘The Next Episode’. He wears an England football jersey and sings into a diamond-encrusted microphone; Snoop’s authority commands the audience as the slim six-foot ‘gangster’ elegantly slides across the stage.
Snoop is out to please the crowd moving from one track to the next. ‘Sweat’ gets thousands jumping in unison and you forget just how many hits this man has made. Later he launches into ‘California Gurls’ and ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’. ‘Who I Am’ is met with whoops and arms in the air as Snoop wears his signature thin smirk – he may very well be enjoying this as much as we are. During ‘Gin And Juice’ a kid leaps on stage and is soon body tackled to the floor.
Snoop isn’t fazed, he laughs it off, lights a joint and carries on. To demonstrate his musical scope, he asks if we love rock music and starts playing The Black Jet’s ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ – only he could make it fit. After paying homage to The Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur he plunges into another string of singles including ‘Peaches N Cream’.
Overall, the set could only be described as triumphant. No matter what happens in the music industry, Snoop Dogg will always be relevant.
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