The two days of Wide Awake were like night and day. Besides sharing the same settings, almost everything else is different. While a lot of festivals mix things up over their respective days, Wide Awake offers attendees a more bespoke experience based on their music tastes. For a London based festival, it feels like the perfect way to give festival lovers exactly what they want.
The first day welcomed hordes of individuals who appeared to have stepped out of a Boohoo ad. A swarm of bucket hats and Hawaiian shirts descended on Brockwell park for the electronic music filled Friday. Craft ale and cocktail tents faced off food pop-ups from all over the world. The option to order your drinks on the designated app kept queues to a minimum. DJ booths were dotted between stages, ensuring the party never stopped. The sun was out with hardly a cloud in sight. People were dancing with their jaws to the floor and clutching cans of White Claw by the early afternoon. Safe to say, the vibe was more than ideal for all in attendance.
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Jessica Winter was one of the first acts. After easing her way into the set, the artist whose music thrives in darker settings began to draw passersby with her entrancing sounds and 80’s synths. Elsewhere, three-piece Mandy, Indiana, stumbled on stage with the lead giggling and swigging drinks unceremoniously between songs. Sofia Kourtesis basked in the sun with her flower crown on the main stage, transporting audiences to an island paradise with her serotonin infused beats.
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As the sun started to set, Caribou delivered a blissful electronica set with an infectious smile. Hidden away under the cover of darkness, smoke shrouded Leon Vynehall as he crouched over his decks. The producer was so intensely focused, as if he were carefully mixing volatile chemicals in a lab. He seemed unphased by the elaborate light show playing out around him, and by the pure ecstasy oozing from the crowd.
Closing out the dance filled day was Bicep. The duo towered over the stage as smoke machines blasted the front rows and their signature visuals frolicked hypnotically behind them. The packed out crowd burst at the barriers, elated by the mesmerizing set and dancing the night away before being treated to a spellbinding laser show.
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The second day saw an entirely different crowd trapse the grounds of Brockwell park as indie dominated the lineup. The perfect balance of heritage acts and promising new talent made it an enticing day for music fans of all ages and walks of life. Nation of Language played their first UK festival to an enthusiastic crowd. A welcomed new discovery for many and for some, the first opportunity to enjoy the three bands own brand of 80’s nostalgia and euphoric melodies. Surfbort brought their usual cheek and punk rock attitude to South London. Dani, their ringleader, grinned wildly into the crowd and sauntered around the stage before jumping into the front line of fans. It’s difficult not to love this band and if you did, they probably wouldn’t give a toss, which is all part of their charm and what makes them a quintessential live act.
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On the mainstage, a bizarre series of events was about to unfold as Fat White Family entered the ring. Rumours of front man Lias performing in the buff circulated at the back of the crowd. Given their reputation, many seemed unsurprised yet repulsed by the prospect. For those with front row seats, very little was left to the imagination as he launched himself into the crowd, covered in baby oil and donning nude shapewear.
Lias marched backwards and forwards through the crowd, jumping over the barrier and back again, riling up the fans who became increasingly bloodthirsty and savage. Fans pushed and shoved him around like a pack of dogs chucking around a fresh kill. He remained stoic and in a trancelike state as he failed to break an eternity of chanting, screeching and screaming. Once they decided the crowd was sufficiently feral, they launched into hits from their back catalogue. Say what you will about the Fat White Family, but they never fail to put on an unforgettable performance.
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The Horrors changed the pace in typical gothlike fashion. Faris stormed onto the stage in a long black vinyl coat and grabbed hold of the microphone. At times stopping and silently surveying the crowd, like a dark overlord looking on his minions. They raged through their set and guitars rolled like thunder. The penultimate act was Amyl and the Sniffers, a band who never ever disappoint. The irreverent singer wasted no time running around like the Duracell bunny. It was easy to lose track of her as she stomped around shouting out lyrics to a willing crowd who threw it all right back.
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The headliners and most highly anticipated act were Primal Scream, who for the first time in a decade, played Screamadelica in full. It was a beautiful sight as Bobby Gillespie walked on stage and the opening bars of ‘Movin’ on Up’ began. Fans young and old were elated. Things reached new levels with ‘Come Together’, as groups and couples embraced and sang along. Gillespie roamed up and down the stage as he stared down the crowd. Every so often directing the microphone towards them as they sang every word. It was a truly spiritual moment.
“This next one goes out to the Fat White Family,” Bobby announced in a wry manner as ‘Higher Than The Sun’ began. The gospel choir took things to celestial heights, as exclaimed by the man himself. For the finale a piper took the stage to pipe out the night with fan favourite ‘Loaded’.
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Words + Photography: Yasmin Cowan
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