Bristol’s marquee event series In:Motion will finish this year after a decade in the game. With the area facing challenges in the city, there can be no guarantee of a future so this will be final dance.
Say the club: “This year marks the tenth year of In:Motion, it will also be the last season. With the surrounding area of the club continuing to evolve, Motion is facing certain challenges, which means there is no guarantee of another season of In:Motion. It’s pertinent that the tenth instalment truly signifies what the club has brought to Bristol and the UK in general. This will be the last chance for dance music lovers to experience In:Motion as we know it. While we face uncertainty at the club, our passion towards developing high-quality events and bringing the biggest names in dance music to Bristol remains stronger than ever. 2020 will see a new wave of events and the start of a new chapter in the Motion history books. We look forward to sharing the dance floor with you for this last season of In:Motion.”
For their 10th anniversary the team have announced their line ups with none other than Four Tet, Sven Vath, Mr Scruff, Pearson Sound, Willow, Dungeon Meat, Sub focus, Nicole Moudaber and more all performing over the birthday period. A Drumcode Day and Night session alongside a scintillating 3D show, plus the likes of Sven Väth, Four Tet, Shy FX, Annie Mac, Mr. Scruff and Paul Oakenfold will also play.
Pre-sale tickets for the majority of the newly announced shows go live on Monday 2nd September at 1pm, 24 hours before tickets go on general sale. Fans can sign up for tickets or purchase tickets to previously announced parties via bristolinmotion.com
The Bristolian two day event kicked off to a sunny start, bringing in flocks of hipsters from far and wide to Eastville Park. Saturday was a sell-out with queues of up to two hours to get into the festival site and huge lines for both the bar and toilets too. Despite the lack of amenities the curation of the festival was really well done, with all tents hosting an array of sounds for all tastes. With lots of Bristol performers, caterers and exhibitors, Love Saves the day 2015 definitely seemed a joyous celebration of the cool and diverse city.
Established as one of the best and biggest selling electronic acts, Groove Armada was one of the most legendary names to perform at Love Saves the Day this year. The relaxed and chilled vibes of daytime main stage instantly filled into a crowd of avid fans eagerly awaiting the electronic music duo. At the first kick drum the crowd went wild, kicking off the party atmosphere at main stage. Playing samples of 'I see you baby' the duo quickly move on delivering to a sea of raised arms and shoulder riders. Towards the end, the crowds attention began to slant just before teasing us with the legendary party anthem 'Superstylin' then kicking into it in full at the end just in time for sunset.
Cloud 9 presented by Apex proved to be tent for the party atmosphere hosting the likes of Tourist and Gorgon City. Tourist- a Grammy winning artist is certainly grabbing the musics lovers attention and 2015 has been a good year for him. As well as an excellent musician, he proved himself as a phenomenal DJ for Saturday Love Saves the Day. At no point did the crowds attention seem to stray. Gorgon City also provided a high finish to a night for the house/ garage fans.
The London singer/songwriter Jessie Ware, turned out to be a wonderful wind down a predominantly DJ and dance night. With some technical difficulties at the beginning Jessie Ware smoothly brushes it over by greeting the crowd. Her soulful and flawless voice eased us into sways of utter blissful happiness. Right before the end of the set Ware announces to 'slow dance with person you are standing next to' to which we complied singing the heart stopping 'Wildest Moments'. With the stage lights now turned off and heading back through the cold, the atmosphere of sheer satisfaction was upon the crowds face as you could hear passers-by singing Jessie Ware lyrics.
Saturday’s sunshine and atmosphere was the perfect way to really kick off the festival season and although the prior weather reports suggested otherwise, Sunday’s proceedings started in much the same way. Again, queues for the bars and toilets were a slight annoyance, even though tickets were still available on the door but it was nowhere near as bad as the first day. Perhaps the fewer people seeing the entire festival through were really making the most of the penultimate bank holiday before Christmas!
Giant illuminated signs outside the festival gates informed Sunday’s crowd that it was ‘party time’, and if any of the stages at Love Saves the Day lived up to this promise, it was the ‘Shambarber’ stage. Tucked away in the corner of the site, sheltered from the wind by the Paradiso tent and a slightly quieter bar ;) – this place was alive with festival spirit. It was a suntrap, with Dirtytalk and Jethro Binns providing the perfect accompaniment of feel-good house tunes making it really difficult to leave.
After a day outside, it was time to get some shade inside the paradise stage – one of the festival’s two larger tents. Floating Points’ stepped out, accompanied by a familiar face in Kieran Hebden (Four Tet), who must have been getting into the zone for his set later in the night. Floating Points’ impressed with yet another feel-good festival set – something he can be relied on. Whilst scatterings of electro-funk and disco took the premise, it was his own record ‘Nuits Sonores’ which really stood out as being something special.
After this a set by Daniel Avery which was again a lot of fun (although a little tamer than the last time I saw him at Manchester’s Soup Kitchen) it was the turn of Four Tet to take to the stage once again. Four Tet is an artist in the true sense of the word and once again he sculpted the perfect set to close the festival for the Paridiso tent’s crowd. He threw out tunes from every corner of the world, with samplings of African music seamlessly transitioned into deep electronic soundscapes. He treated our ears to some of his own tracks, with the reaction of the crowd to the haunting ‘Angel Echoes’ standing out as a highlight to the whole festival.
The time had come to get ready to round off a really memorable weekend and it was down to Harlem’s own Azealia Banks to close it out in style. Whilst Miss Bank$ has been known for a number of high profile arguments with other certain celebrities in the past, at love saves the day she let her music (and dancing) do the talking. Donning her sparkly purple jacket and white high tops and joined by her backing dancers, she covered and owned every inch of the stage. Singing and rapping along to songs which ducked and dived between hip-hop and popular dance in style, she brought her A-game from in the opening song of ‘Idle Delilah’, continuing to impress through to her arguably most famous track in ‘212’. There was no grand exit from Azealia – a simple ‘Thank you Bristol’ and she was gone.
It might still be a baby on the festival circuit, but Bristol’s Love Save The Day has no trouble drawing the hordes. Students, ravers, and the trendy youth of the West Country are all out to play for the festival’s third birthday.
Thick, grey clouds loom on Saturday, with a washout predicted for the day’s entirety, but spirits are high, and these wellie-clad punters ain’t afraid of no mud. Located in the heart of Bristol’s centre, attractive little Castle Park seems an odd choice of location to hold a dance festival, but a convenient one nonetheless.
With a generous helping of DJs on the line up, we are launched headfirst into the housey beats that usually form the late night proceedings. The likes of Crazy P and Kove get the party started on the Futureboogie and BB Records stages, while the main stage presents a more eclectic mix of genres.
Kiesza proves a highlight, largely due to her impressive ability to carry out intricate dance routines while simultaneously projecting note perfect vocals. The crowd seems entertained when she beckons a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs” during her most famous track, ‘Hideaway’; it’s an impressive turn out for the soon-to-be star.
Trudging through the already muddy grounds, we find a collection of smaller venues sheltered within the trees, including a ‘Cocktails and Dreams’ stage complete with a campervan selling exotic cocktails, and the ‘Dance Off’, an area for the hardcore ravers where a boxing ring has been erected in front the stage – presumably intended for busting moves rather than for competitive fighting.
Later, Hercules and Love Affair provide a rather disappointing set on the main stage, and despite their garish outfits, seem to struggle to really engage with their audience. Annie Mac picks things up again, offering nearly an hour and a half of healthy dance beats as the heavens really open.
Saturday’s final headliner, Eats Everything, is local to Bristol, and his house tracks are successful in carrying the party into the night, gearing up the hardcore ravers for the after party taking place off-site at a nearby nightclub.
A much brighter and sunnier start to Sunday sets spirits high. Kicking things off are Laid Blak, recognised for their reggae infused music and weed-themed lyrics. Joined on stage by their children and revelling in the midday sun, the group seem to be having so much fun that they appear reluctant to leave at the end of their set!
Subsequent act Gentleman’s Dub Club are equally as excitable, and prove to be one of the standout performances of the festival. A parade of suited and booted men make up this ten-man band, complete with trumpeter and saxophonist. Exuding energy, they prance, skank and bounce their way through the set, urging the audience to join them in doing so. As the clouds part, they entice the crowd into a sun dance, which subsequently works its magic for the rest of the festival.
As the day progresses, bar queues begin to snake around the festival, as the crowds line up to wash down the afternoon with a customary Bristolian cider or Pimms for such weather. The lack of bars and food stalls is one of the biggest problems at this festival, which no doubt would benefit financially by making refreshments more readily available.
Quantic and Clean Bandit are both hits over on the main stage, with the former injecting a refreshing dose of salsa and jazz into the mix, and the latter pleasing the audience with their rendition of ‘Rather Be’. Yet perhaps the biggest crowds are drawn at the opposite end of the festival, when Shy FX and then Mike Skinner take to the Soundboy stage. Skinner swops vocals for decks, and surprisingly proves to be quite the DJ.
Bringing proceedings to a close, Jamie XX spins and remixes furiously to produce his trademark electronica sound, warming up the stage for headliner SBTRKT. Joined by regular collaborator Sampha, the set is slick and entrancing, enhanced by a hypnotic light show reserved for only the biggest artists.
Aside from the food and drink niggle, Love Saves the Day is a triumph. Despite covering such a small area of ground, the sound from its six stages never muddles, and it is particularly refreshing to see artists given such long sets. Bring on year four!
The first wave of announcements for citywide music extravaganza Dot to Dot Festival have been made, and include inde-rock headliners Peace, parody group The Midnight Beast and Aussie singer/songwriter Courtney Barnett.
In addition are surf rockers Real Estate, Paris' very own We Were Evergreen, along with another exciting Brit group Wolf Alice. Grunge rockers Darlia will be another highlight, as will the soulful singing of Kyla La Grange,who adds yet another festival appearance to her schedule. Fyfe, Norma Jean Martine and Young Kato make up the best of the rest.
Peace's return to the festival will be of particular interest to Dot to Dot veterans, as their 2012 performance set them on the way to the stardom they're currently acheiving. Last year's debut release 'In Love', saw them garnered with praise from the likes of the NME, and they used summer festival appearances and a winter UK tour to further showcase their abilities. Now in 2014, they're back, with album number two being recorded as we speak!
With a couple of TV series' and over 64 million YouTube views under their belts, Midnight Beast will also be taking to the Dot to Dot stage, adding a bit of humour to proceedings. Look out for Courtney Barnett too, a frank and honest songwriter who isn't afraid to sing what she feels, the Australian is gaining a lot of attention.
Dot to Dot 2014 takes place over three consecutive days in Manchester on Friday, May 23, Bristol, Saturday May 24, before ending in Nottingham on Sunday, May 25, at various venues scattered throughout the city, with over 14 hours of music to keep punters entertained.
The likes of the XX, Mumford & Sons, Florence + the Machine and Foals have all featured at past festivals, which aim to showcase the talent of the future in initimate venues for bargain prices.
With tickets set at a bargain £20 (plus £2 booking fees), the Best Metropolitan Festival of 2013, as handed out by the UK Festival Awards, looks to be yet another success in its ninth year of running.
Full Line-Up:
Peace will headline, plus The Midnight Beast, Real Estate, We Were Evergreen, Wolf Alice, Courtney Barnett, Fyfe, Darlia, Kyla La Grange, Barbarossa, Betty Who, Caveman, Frank Hamilton, Norma Jean Martine, Gavin James, George Barnett, Horse Thief, Lapland, Laura Welsh, LSA, Marika Hackman, Mt Royal, Sean McGowan, Sivu, St Paul and The Broken Bones, Sundara Karma, We The Wild, Wonder Villains, and Young Kato, with more to be announced.
