Curated by Gilles Peterson, We Out Here festival is a kaleidoscope with truly something for everyone.
Embracing so many genres, cultures and arts, We Out Here is a beautiful melting pot of a festival with no boundaries.
It’s impossible to paint all the colourful experiences this event offers, but it’s easy to see why it’s won many awards in its short lifespan. We Out Here is certainly the highlight of our festival calendar this year.
The festival makes great use of its beautiful woodland surroundings in Dorset. You could avoid the main stages all weekend and chose to partake in so many activities ~ possibly go for a wild dip in the rivers; walk through the Dorset countryside; try paddle-boarding or relax in the Sanctuary and partake in yoga-sessions; art therapy; or chill-out at gong-baths. There’s even a free roller-skating rink for those willing, DJ’d at times by Mr Peterson himself – just steer clear of the cider tents before zipping up those boots!
With over 100 artists across the weekend, there is something for all lovers of good music, whether it’s laid back jazz, soul, electronic, hip-hop or even flute playing by Andre 3000 – more on that later.
There is a magic walking around the festival, with so many different sounds emanating from the stages – the appropriately named Lush Life offers the likes of the legendary Loose Ends (the first British R&B band to have a No.1 gold album in the US), while Rhythm Corner is a mix of hay-bales and superstar DJ’s including Laurent Garnier and Zero 7 bringing the large crowds and deep-beats. The crowd favourite area The Bowl returned with the likes of Mr Scruff and Hacienda legend DJ Paulette.
We were blown away by some of the performances and it’s such a joy to discover some of our new favourite artists this weekend. We’ll certainly be out there shopping in the local,and not so local, online stores for those hidden vinyl gems. The beauty of having a renowned DJ such as Gilles Peterson with his 40-year career curate the lineup is that you know there will be incredible discoveries.
Personally, and maybe ashamedly, I’d never listened to Dee Dee Bridgewater prior to heading to the festival – but now she is on heavy rotation on the AirPods and soon the turntable. Her mix of disco, jazz and soul along with her infectious smile made it clear there’s nowhere else anyone would want to be.
Elsewhere on the main stage, other discoveries included Ebo Taylor and the Family Band. Celebrating over five decades in the industry, they had more funk in their little fingers than Mark Ronson could handle.
On Friday, Sampha was a pure delight with a soulful performance, including a solo intimate performance of his hit ‘No One Know Me Like The Piano’, sending goosebumps on goosebumps throughout the warm crowd. Possibly one of the most underrated artists we have – hopefully he will get more recognition after this.
Talking of powerful performances, we have to dedicate some space to call out Kae Tempest and his emotional performance. Coming on stage clearly appreciative of the love from the crowd, Kae delivered one of the most moving powerful shows we’ve ever seen.
It truly appeared that Kae has found an inner happiness, and this was defined in his lyrics that he is no longer going around in circles following a change in pronouns. Finishing with the hopeful poem ‘Peoples Faces’, I’m not ashamed to say I wasn’t the only one who shed a few tears of joy after following him throughout his career.
Thank you Kae for speaking out with such honesty, authority and sincerity in front of the crowd – you deservedly won so many new fans today.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of all the music on offer – you could comfortably see 17 different acts each day. There was so much more it would be impossible to cover all the festival had to offer.
Corinne Bailey Rae demonstrated her mature song writing, bringing her album Black Rainbows to life on the main stage, before delivering an astute conversation for over an hour in the appropriately named Talk Tent.
As previously mentioned, Andre 3000, one half of hip-hop legends Outkast, played a collection of flutes alongside his backing band, reproducing much of his album ‘New Blue Sun‘ – many other festivals have had Andre 3000 headlining and it shows the strength of this event that he played early on the sunny Sunday afternoon. Essential powerful poet Aja Monet also played the main stage on Sunday and she is a must-see if you get the chance.
For those who wanted something a little darker, 2024 Brit award winning artist CASISDEAD, the UK’s most mysterious rapper, brought the grime and dystopian future to the Lush Life stage – he’s going to be huge and possibly should have been on the main stage, based on the size of the crowd flocking to hear his razor sharp lyrics.
As if that wasn’t enough, there was a heady mix of electronic beats from Floating Points, Mount Kimbie, Joy Orbison and Loraine James across the weekend.
There was such a strong sense of community at this festival – it’s difficult to paint with words. To help illustrate the good karma, the festival also introduced a Charity Donation Token Scheme – similar to those offered by supermarkets. Every Little Helps after-all.
Each ticket received a £1 donation and attendees could chose one of eight great local causes for part of their entrance fee to go to – whether it’s Dorset Wildlife Trust, Black Lives in Music, who address the current inequality of opportunities which exist for ethnically diverse people, or the Amos Trust who challenge injustice and build hope for those less-fortunate than ourselves. Take note other events – this is creating positive change.
Founder & curator Gilles Peterson commented: “I can’t express how much I appreciate this crowd and everyone coming together once again. This weekend was a truly unique and magical blend of love, support, and pure joy. This is what We Out Here is all about, and I’m so proud to see it growing year on year! A celebration of club culture, live music with the communities that bond it all together. Massive shout out to a growing number coming in from all around the world. Thank you.”
We Out Here truly is a joyous festival and we can’t wait for it to return to Dorset in 2025.
WORDS: GRAHAM TARRANT
MAIN PHOTO: JAKE DAVIS | KHROMA COLLECTIVE