Reviews / Bristol festivals
Review: Love Saves the Day 2016 – Saturday
Continuing to better itself each year, Love Saves The Day has now arrived in its fifth annual instalment and once again has a lineup, venue and attendance to compete with the top band of festivals in the UK.
Originally created as a one day, all-out party from the same team who put the energy and organisation behind the Wow! Stage at Glastonbury’s Dance Village, Love Saves The Day has now grown into a huge two-day event that Bristol is very proud to host.
Inner-city festivals can have a bad rep but every year the organisers seem to be able to pluck you from the concrete jungle and place you within a heart-shape bubble that makes you feel as though you are at a festival deep within the sticks rather than next to the M32 in Eastville Park.
is needed now More than ever
Before we even got through the gate I noticed the glitter beards, leotards and sequins out in mass which once again reminds us of the type of outfit you would wear to a Bestival-y sort of festival and not one you find on your front doorstep. As we walked through the gate, true to form the organisers created a scene only to instantly lift us away into a 12-hour adventure.
One of the first of many musical highlights was Maribou State. Similar to Bonobo and Groove Armada, the duo’s sound is largely eclectic and downtempo yet the neon synths and rhythmic glitches along with their emphasis on live musicianship still makes them almost impossible not to dance and sing along to.
If that wasn’t enough, we were convinced that Holly Walker would not be featuring live but then there she was. Holly emits a classic yet soulful sound that delivers such a wonderful sense of emotion in to her lyrics and the whole crowd fell completely in love with her. We could probably listen to this lady sing all day.
If you wanted a break from the music or were simply bumbling around from stage to stage there was still plenty of things to keep you entertained. You could have a little skate over at the Bump roller-disco, treat yourself to some incredible, unique items of clothing created by some of the most talented local designers or even get married at The Chapel.
The crowd went wild for the old-school garage classics from Artful Dodger at the Dance-Off Stage like their own dance floor slammer Rewind with Craig David and Daniel Bedingfield’s Gotta Get Through This.
I could go on and on about the talented bill featuring on all of the stages, but as soon as the sun started to go down the Arcadia Afterburner began to come to life. The festival crowd gravitated towards it like moths to a flame and became completely engrossed.
The installation features a 360-degree stage built around a central flaming spire with dance platforms radiating out a ring of exploding lamp posts. Local legends Roni Size and Krust once again made us proud to live in Bristol banging out all the classics including TC’s Where’s my Money? and Full Cycle Records anthem Slippery Slopes by DJ Clipz.
Before we knew it it was 11pm and the music stopped. We watched as the masses zombied towards the exit gates ready to flake off into bed after a long day of drinking or descend on the multiple after-parties hosted at an array of Bristol’s finest nightclubs.