Month: July 2014

Noisily Review 2014

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Three (Main) Stages. Three Days. Plus a few extra if you camp, for the line up and the price you can’t miss this up-and-coming festival!

With an obvious focus on electronic music and art, it brings something unique to the festival scene. From big names on intimate stages, to newer underground DJ’s as well as residents, with a variety of
genres; House, Psy-trance, Dub, Glitch-Hop, Techno, and more, there is something for
everyone here.

I get on my way with a flurry of activity, as dramatic clothes, camping equipment and festival essentials are crammed into a bag and
slung heavily on my back. The ‘far to real’ train journey starts my descent into all things “Noisily”.

When I arrive, the sun is beating down on the festival, which is beautifully situated in Noseley Hall Grounds. People start to intermingle, connect and share snippits of information
as a ‘BoomBox BassBin’ (Thanks to Wonkay Records/Duskky) fills the air with music, the mind-expanding vibes are already flying as strangers become friends.

The festival site (and camping area) is compact with showers and plenty of ‘porta-loos’, easy to get from stage to stage and
a really nice layout within the site itself, each stage had a definite individual style, however Noisily has its own distinctive ‘theme’.

With easy access to get to the front if you wanted, and usually a seating area around the stage, this gives people of all ages and abilities a chance to enjoy the music. Some festivals you spend most of your time having to fight your way to get to the front and see the DJ you’ve paid for! Noisily gives you the best access to the most current live acts around being able enjoy and discover new artist’s on intimate stages for the price and the line-up.

Noisily’s music goes on until so late that the festival stays open till six am  (Food closes at 10am) ! Although a small capacity of 5000,  you feel as if you have met everybody and know everybody, there was a real community spirit where people felt as if they had known each other for years. The people are like minded and have travelled from all over the country and some from different part of the world but all brought here by one common love, Electronic  music. Mostly veteran festival goers, with a real old school ‘free-party’ feel. A Noisily community is born, strangers become friends, after setting up camp, everyone around me was sharing food, tea, stories and laughs. 

Music starts at twelve every day (a great wakeup call) after finishing at six on Friday and Saturday but then finishing early on Sunday at Eleven.

Although a small site, there is plenty of different food with vegetarian options as well;
Piri Piri Chicken, Wood-fire Pizza, Curry, Cake, Smoothies, Game and more. Plenty of Bars on every corner, which means small queues! The cost of booze is average festival prices, as is the food, varying from £1.50-£10, however you can bring your own food and drink (don’t forget to decant into plastic bottles though!) but always nice to get some hot food in you at some point!

Hallucinatory eye’s erupt around me as the décor appears from the woods, this festival definitely has a psychedelic feel, with UV lights, jellyfish, UFO's, sculptures and ‘holographic’ art. As you walk around the site and start to look at the finer detail, you realize that a lot of creative ideas and work have gone into the décor itself. The crew  have worked hard to construct seating areas within the site, from cute wooden benches, to sofa seating, the decorations are unique and create a great vibe, however the site really comes alive at night, with lasers and smoke machines creating the essence of the ‘rave’. Paths are well lit but some more light in the camping areas wouldn't go amiss!

Stalls are dotted around, selling some of the most beautifully unique handmade crafts ever! From textiles, to jewelry, juggling equipment and face paint! A real shame they were not on the main path, but plenty of people exploring their wares! By talking to a few stall owners, if you’re new to the festival scene there is definitely money to be made.   Noisily stall prices are reasonable and with the right crafts you could make some decent money.

The systems are all Function One, except one Opus Audio sound system, however they all have achieved the highest quality sound possible. A lot of thought has gone into creating the perfect sound, on all the stages. Function One monitors for all the DJ’s shows the high quality professionalism taken towards the quality of the sound.. A variation of technological hardware used by DJ’s creating unique sets, and live performances, enhanced by their own unique mixing style and equipment, you not only see some of your favorite DJ’s but some of the newest and unique equipment available on the market.

There is a focus on Art as you see things develop around you over the weekend, you can defiantly feel the creative souls and ideas put into the decoration of the festival.

I really enjoyed seeing the graffiti work progress during the festival and I think they should get some more people to do more graffiti work,  however the art work I saw around the festival was beautiful. All you artists out there should get in contact next year if you think you could participate, this will definitely give you some great exposure.

The Stages

Noisily Stage

The Noisily stage’s music floods the campsite and keeps the party fuelled all day long, it has a large dance floor and easy access to get to the front with a big bar at the back, as well as an awesome lighting rig. This stage is definitely one to watch, also, as it is the first stage you see,  it makes an impact as well with the light show which cascades through the trees at night.

Liquid Stage

Liquid stage is fuelled by psychedelic flowers and patterns reaching high into the sky, this is also the Opus Audio sound system, however it again had a great light show that took over the stage, easy dancing access to get to the front or back and a great little sloping seating area on the right hand side of the stage, a real ‘free’ vibe up here, as well as lots of juggling dancers.

Tree House Stage

Tree-house stage was up in the woods – a great stage – with a disco-ball in the center as well as Urban shamans laser box. Also nice seating areas to relax in! It’s a hidden Gem at the top of a wood chip path, however it was obvious from the line-up most people came for the psy-trance artists, however all weekend the Tree-house stage had some awesome beats pumping out.

In addition there was also two mini stages, one was the ‘Boombox’
and one was the ‘Taurus’

The Boom Box was a great idea, submerging the DJ in the box itself, and when it lit up at night it looked awesome.  There were also some great DJs playing on it at random times.

Taurus Stage

Taurus stage was a mechanical bull – it reminded me of the Midas bull story where they put a human inside a metal bull and heated it up! The DJ was encased in the metal – it must be an awesome stage to play on! The Taurus spat flames and had an unfinished but amazing feel as the flames pump hard into the night.

The Line up had some time changes etc so you had to keep checking on the information boards, however they were updated regularly and festival was small enough that if you needed to run to a stage, or from the campsite, you could.

Daily Break-Down

Friday

Friday was all about Noisily stage which was also broadcasting on Bassport.Fm (http://bassport.fm/) which I thought was a great idea to not only get more people aware of Noisily but give the DJ’s more promotion. This should defiantly be adopted at every stage next year! Bringing the music community together in a bigger way this means it can reach a big audience etc and promote underground radio stations.

Starting off the day with M.O.M, Bunkle
& Dusky, Terrorbyte, Krymes, William Breakspeare, Your Niece, Head of
State,Tom Bull, and others vibes were flying as the dance floor fills up although other artists were playing today’s line up was all about Noisily

The evening kicks off with Skope, Joe Ford, Gaudi, Far Too Loud, Atomic Drop, Free
Fall Collective. This stage kicked off as the dance floor went mental the first night was a raging successes. With curt de solely girls spitting fire to Joe Ford you couldn’t miss this stage it defiantly started noisily off with a bang.

Joe Ford’s set and Gaudi’s set were my favorite of the night however Far Too Loud knows how to get everybody moving.

This stage captivated me on the first night and I think a lot of people felt the same!

However on Liquid stage on Friday was Alex
Story, Renegade DJ, Neuroplasm and more. So depending on your personal preference their was plenty to see!

Renegade DJ played a wicked set and was nice to see a female DJ giving the boys a run for their money!

However I have to say the Treehouse stage was a secret Gem on Friday every time I went up their some awesome beats were flying, when Groove Assassin, Ben Mccabe and Seascape celebrated (seascapes) birthday in style!

Saturday

Saturday was all about Liquid this stage had a huge following every time I went up their the same smiling faces, dancing to the beat of trance, with Brainiac, Avalon, Lucas, Master
Blasters, Antispin, Scorb, Beardy, EVP, Psymmetrix, Sasha.

Avalon’s set stood out much like the shiny blazer he was wearing! However the mixing was spot on at liquid every time I was there and as the night drew in people continued to stomp into the night.

As the sun beat down the skin started to show as people enjoyed and relaxed in the summer heat! However the heavens opened at midnight but this did not dampen spirits as people made a quick change and continued to party in the rain. A euphoric moment at the psy-trance stage when the heavens opened and the tribal dance continued.

Although the site became very wet the crew had pre planned plenty of straw to make it safer but again more couldn’t of gone a miss!

The Mud added another angle of fun as people danced barefoot and became one with nature.

Saturday evening on Noisily had with Nanoplex, James Monro, Neurodriver.

Neurodrivers set was talked about by most of the people I spoke to and was defiantly another big hit.

Tree-house stage had: Elphino, 2562/AMUS Low Steppa, Kashi, however big shout out to Want More who played on Saturday they played an awesome set when I was up at the stage, although I was only their briefly they deserve a mention.

Sunday

Although it had dried out quiet a lot the mud was hear to stay but to be honest most people didn’t care. The Tree-house stage needed more straw to say one thing however you could still enjoy the music on Sunday. People put it all into Sunday I could feel the anticipation of not wanting to go home, as people continued to party hard to the music all day long.

On liquid stage you were blessed with : Monk3ylogic,Hedflux,Bad
Tango,OOOD,Lurker,Dexter, 2CBEEBIES, to be honest it finished off the night with a bang. Noisily stage  finishing off with SYMPHONIX and PHAXE Treehouse finishing off with PANDA and TEED however I am not sure what time TEED played as I think they did not get on until later than planned!

As I pack up my gear and head off I feel sad to say goodbye to Noisily and the people I have met this is definitely a festival to watch this is only going to snow ball with bigger names, more people, more stalls, I can see this becoming a gem in any electronic music lovers festival crown. I cant wait to see what they plan to do and how they plan to expand next year.

 


Created with flickr slideshow.

 

NASS Festival Review – Sunday 2014

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Sunday

After pottering about the arena to see some of the other sites (mainly the dressed up  festival goers, including Mario Kart), Decade played the Slammer to an unfortunately empty crowd of about 30 people. However, this didn’t mean that they didn’t give it their all as they asked the crowd who had seen them before, or even heard of them, to which 3 people responded. Should the crowd of been bigger, then the atmosphere would have been incredible. Unfortunately, this was completely the wrong festival for them to play.

Astroid Boys played on the Main Stage attracting a decently sized crowd with the warehouse being a third full. However, although it wasn’t full, when the crowd were asked to chant the other half to “Olly Olly Olly”, to which the sound of the crowd chanting “oi oi oi” filled the venue. The vocals of the band were extremely on point, with the two vocalists both bouncing off of each other with tremendous results. The crowd seemed ever so pleased to have them play as most people who attended were fans, singing along to all of the words and cheering with roars at the end of each song.

Blitz Kids received a disappointing crowd in The Slammer with only 20 people turning up to their show. Whether it was because they didn’t fit into the line-up well as most people playing on that stage didn’t, or they just wasn’t known too well to many, they deserved a lot more than what they were given. Playing songs from their new album ‘The Good Youth’ they did lure in a few more people as the set went on. However, guitarist Jono Yates didn’t let this phase them as he bantered about there being “thousands” of people out there, but the tent being too “dark and poorly lit” for them to see all of the crowd. Nevertheless, they performed to their full potential and created a brilliant show to people who may not of heard of them before, therefore hopefully creating a name for themselves to the people who hadn’t heard of them before. With dedicating songs to the drink Hooch, they clearly weren’t affected by the lack of turn out as they later went on about how they were getting free beer for performing, although it was Carlsberg, so it may as well of been piss. Finishing with On My Own, they clearly felt the wrath of the small crowd as the song is normally one to attract a lot of audience interaction with the crowd singing along, this didn’t happen. Frontman Joe James didn’t let this phase him as he was still more than content to give it his all and climb and hang off the pole that was directly in front of him, and sing passionately to it.

On the Main Stage Skindred collected a rather large crowd with their set being incredibly interactive with the audience as they ridiculed the crowd for being like the French as frontman Benji Webbe shouted to the crowd “Is this NASS? ‘Cause you’re acting like a bunch of French cunts” before thanking everyone for attending with “I wanna see your fucking horns. Rock and Roll isn’t about Youtube, so thanks for coming to the concert and supporting live music, rather than sitting behind your computer screens sitting on your own.” The Reggae Nu Metal band lifted the roof with their incredible iconic songs to which the audience responded immensely too, with fists pumping, moshes breaking out and a lot of singing occurring. A phenomenal addition to the Line-Up, who really set the standards for the people following that night.

Reel Big Fish followed on the Main Stage where their Ska Punk sound half-filled the warehouse where they sang about everyone else besides the crowd being Assholes, to which the audience roared the lyrics back to them. The Brass instruments in the band really brought forward the performance as it was something that wasn’t going to be seen anywhere else at the festival. With the whole performance being incredibly laid back and banter-filled, it fitted in quite nicely with the whole atmosphere of the festival.

Gallows headlined The Slammer, and there couldn’t have been a better way to close that tent for the weekend. Vocalist Wade MacNeil started the set with jumping over the barrier to join the crowd and bring them closer together. Joining in with the mosh and circle pits and encouraging the ‘skinhead’ to sing into the microphone with him. After 5 songs he joined the rest of the band on stage and shouted down the microphone for everyone to draw in and go closer even though “the big skinhead looks scary, he won’t bite, he’s clearly just a big teddy bear” to which the audience chanted “We love you Gallows, We do” which showed that during the festival there was definitely some metal heads which were looking forward to the set, even if the tent was still only half full. As previously stated, to get a crowd at NASS when part of the Rock/Metal scene was quite an achievement, therefore when MacNeil thanked the crowd for turning up and enjoying the music with them, you could tell that it was sincere.

Wilkinson headlined the Main Stage and it was the greatest end to the weekend. The lightshow, crowd and general atmosphere really showed that the weekend went off with complete success. Wilkinson played his new song “Dirty Love” which received such a great response with the crowd as everyone was dancing and going absolutely mental. Even the security guards (who were the best security I’ve ever seen at a festival) were tapping their feet and really enjoying the set and atmosphere. With the crowd growing, but still not filling the warehouse, it was clear that they were an act that people were excited to see.

Overall the weekend was such a success. Everyone seemed to enjoy the festival and although police and medics were scattered about every couple of hundred feet, it meant that major accidents didn’t occur and everyone was safe, besides the incredible drug intake of most there. 

Review by Kelly Maxwell

Photos by Emma Dearie

NASS Festival Review – Saturday 2014

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Saturday

As the sweltering heat filled the whole of the site, everyone was eager to get into the showers which were scattered throughout the site,  which one festival goer seemed especially happy when walking out of one of the blocks and seeing the hairdryer and straighteners stall situated next to it as she excitedly told all of her peers.

With most acts not starting until late, the first band to play that caught peoples eye was Slaves on ‘The Slammer’ stage. With the two piece Royal Blood alike band, glided onto the stage with pride and with one in an interesting outfit, which resembled pyjamas. With the festival predominantly being an EDM/Dubstep festival, the Rock bands weren’t receiving a great reception, as there was a crowd of possibly 40 people in the tent, if that. However, this didn’t stump their performance as the quirky duo still entertained the crowd with their questioning of what NASS means, which lead onto ‘Nescafart’ and ‘Farty coffees’ which pleased the crowd as a few chuckles spread here and there. Should the crowd of been larger, then the atmosphere would have been incredible, as they carried out a performance to the greatest of their potential, despite receiving little from the minute crowd there.

Sonic Boom Six played The Slammer next, and with the gum-chewing female vocalist bouncing onto the stage in a bra-let and patterned leggings. As the crowd was filling up about a third of the tent, it was a shock to still see people joining the band in there as it wasn’t expected. The energetic front woman was punching the air between her outstanding vocals which formed excellent harmonies with the male vocalist of the band. An excellent set from an extremely underestimated band.

Despite the glorious weather earlier on in the day, once it hit 6pm the rain was flooding down, causing the outdoor skateboarding qualifiers to be postponed until Sunday.

As the rain was still coming down a little bit, The Bronx came on to the Main Stage, with a decently sized crowd welcoming them. Despite not entirely fitting into the line-up, it didn’t mean that they didn’t give it their all, even with bassist troubles at the beginning of their set. With an extremely energetic photographer almost egging on the crowd who could see him, the band was excellently received as there didn’t seem to be one person who didn’t enjoy it!

Cypress Hill received an overwhelming response by the whole of the festival, with the Main Stage filling out causing the queue to get in being over an hour long and ultimately being closed off. With the act definitely being lower down on the line-up as they should have been, they created an insane atmosphere throughout the whole of the crowd. The crowd joined in with the chant of “if I say Cypress you say Hill” to an extraordinary volume which overpowered the backing track.

Funeral For A Friend received a full crowd for their headlining set in The Slammer as everyone headed over to see them due to the queue to see Cypress Hill and the rain. An unfortunate reason to have a crowd, but nonetheless, they still welcomed everyone there and potentially gained some new fans outside of their genre. At the start of the set Frontman matt Davies-Kreyes vocals seemed to be weak, however as the crowd grew and the set went on, his vocals dramatically improved. The thankful frontman threw out a speech thanking the crowd for spending time with “the granddads of the emo movement” rather than Cypress Hill, to which a failed crowd surf followed. The alcohol fuelled mosh and circle pits were continuous throughout the whole set, which unfortunately, included crowd killing as well. However, although everyone was out of their face, it didn’t stop everyone looking after each other if someone fell on the floor, which unfortunately did include myself as a result of a group of guys crowd killing, yet six people helped me to get back up, which restored the faith of everyone in the crowd. With the frontman asking everyone to sing because “I’ve got a fucking stitch”, everyone seemed more than happy to help. Interestingly and absolutely brilliantly, at the end of their last song, a 50+ woman who had been moshing all night, jumped the barrier and joined the band on stage before being escorted off by the security that had jolted to remove her from the stage.

Review by Kelly Maxwell

NASS Festival Review – Friday 2014

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NASS Festival features the most up and coming DJs, skateboarders and Rock bands over the three day weekend at the Bath & West Showground. With Headliners of the Main Stage including Let’s Be Friends, Mistajam and Wilkinson, the crowds were indefinitely going to be filled with drug fuelled party goers who seemed to be pretty closed minded about the other stages there, for example ‘The Slammer’ which was sponsored by Kerrang!.

Friday

Upon arrival on Friday, the overall festival vibe was clear to all. Everyone just wanted to have as much fun as possible, whilst listening to a few of their favourite DJs.

With the festival still filling up at 10pm on the Friday, more chanting and Hip-Hop was filling the campsites as everyone was eager to pitch their tent so that they could start their weekend.

As you walked into the Main Stage Warehouse for Andy C, there was no questioning what the crowd would be like during the set as they welcomed Andy C on stage.  They were chanting his name religiously. The light show fuelled the energetic crowd who were ‘skanking’ vigorously to the drops in the songs. The multi-coloured lightshow fuelled the crowd as it was partially on them, which was more than the MC did as there was no crowd interaction.

With Let’s Be Friends headlining the main stage with their remixes, it was very difficult not to sing along as they kicked off the set with a Swedish House Mafia remix, enticing the half full crowd to sing along and move closer to one another and the front of the warehouse. Shouting “Let me hear you say Hey!” to the crowd, it instantly was clear why they were headlining as the crowd’s reaction to any interaction between them and the act was phenomenal. Dizzee Rascals ‘Bonkers’ seemed to be a huge crowd pleaser as “Put your fucking hands up” was screamed through the microphone as the crowd started to jump up and down moving forward to let the ever growing crowd to join in. The crowd was incredibly dependant on the light show and the songs that were on. As if the original was popular in the charts, then the more that the crowd would enjoy it and dance along too. Thanking the crowd for being there came towards the end as “This is a raving start to the summer, and it’s all thanks to you guys” was spoken the most calmly out of the whole set to which the crowd cheered at an incredibly high level as they clearly had a lot of love and respect for the act.

Overall, the few hours that music was on during the Friday, the atmosphere was ever growing, as was the manic crowd. There was a lot to be expected of the music and sport filled Saturday…

Review by Kelly Maxwell

T in the Park 2014 – Saturday Review

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So, I’m not taking the blame for jinxing the weather because I’m sure a few people are grateful for the rain to cool down their sunburn from yesterday but armed with a waterproof jacket down to my knees with rain inconveniently dripping in to my wellies, it wasn’t the best atmosphere to start the day off.

So setting the scene of thousands of grumpy, hung-over festival goers Clean Bandit definitely had their work cut out for them which made their set that much more impressive. Made up of Jack Patterson on bass guitar/keyboard, Luke Patterson on drums, Grace Chatto on Cello and Milan Neil Amin-Smith on Violin, Clean Bandit are the new twist on Pop/Dance music. I’ve never thought their songs have been breath taking but seeing them live has put me in a completely different prospective. Mixing classical instruments with deep dance beats should be a recipe for disaster but each members input merges perfectly with the next and creates an impressive basis for all their guest vocalists. Don’t just take my word for it, they have several tour dates over the UK this year. Their fearless take on dance music means they are definitely a live act you have to see this year!

Soggy yet cheerful I went to watch John Newman’s set. The only word I can use to describe that man is sass. So much sass. I don’t know if my eyes were more drawn to his fancy footwork or his jazzy jacket but it’s safe to say his voice stole the show. John Newman is the full package and watching him, with a smile on his face, enjoying every minute makes him that much more enjoyable to watch.

Now forget about the stigma The View left for Dundonian bands, with harmonised, vocally driven rock pop Copper Lungs have the perfect formula for amazing music. Now you may have never heard of them before but a packed tent full of festival goers chose to watch these four guys over the likes of Nina Nesbit and John Newman which says a lot. Comparable with the likes of Twin Atlantic, Don Broco and Biffy Clyro, Copper Lungs are setting the standard high for under the radar, undiscovered bands, so if you haven’t yet, take two minutes out of your day to listen to a few tracks on their SoundCloud and if you like what you hear, there’s a link to their Big Cartel page where you can buy their self titled EP. https://soundcloud.com/copperlungs.

Elliphant is a Swedish pop artist with a twist, I’m so thankful for the organisers of T in the Park for bringing her to Scotland as I’ve been a crazy fan girl of hers for a few months and having been touring around Europe recently and soon to be supporting Charlie XCX on her North America tour this Autumn she’s a busy girl. Elliphant is fearless and bold with her music, rapping over Dubstep it’s not hard to see why she caught Skrillex’s attention. Having worked with him on “Only getting younger” off her Look At Me Now EP it won’t be long until she’s a name on everybody’s lips.

Any N.E.R.D fans out there? Still patiently waiting on that N.E.R.D album Pharrell promised us in 2013? Me too. It was an issue I was going to raise with him but after his unbelievable set on Saturday night, I’m going to let it slide for now. Joined on stage with a group of dancers, Pharrell put on an unforgettable show, performing a selection of songs off his current album G I R L and a few N.E.R.D songs including “Lapdance” and “She wants to move”. Pharrell also did a few covers including Snoop Dogg’s “Drop it like it’s hot” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback girl”. Pharrell is the perfect choice for a big festival like T in the Park, even if you have never heard of him, he has been such a consistent and constant talent over the years that everyone will know some of his work which ensured some of the most impressive sing alongs of this weekend.

Continuing on with the Scottish theme, an act everyone will know, Calvin Harris.

Not only did Will Smith introduce him but he absolutely nailed his closing slot on the main stage on Saturday night. With an extended license for a longer set, Calvin Harris put on an unforgettable set. Now Scottish crowds have been praised every year from some of the biggest acts and I urge you to take a look at this clip from Calvin Harris’ set to see why. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doYBd6yTn4g 

Photo courtesy of T in the Park

If you would like to be part of one of the best crowds in the world early bird tickets are already for sale for T in the Park 2015, but get them quick, because next year T in the Park is moving site to Strathallan Castle and with everyone’s curiosity for the new site, tickets are bound to go fast!http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/T-in-the-Park-tickets/artist/28658

 

Exit Festival 2014 Review

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Voted the ‘Best Major European Festival Award’ in 2013, we had massive expectations for Exit and now come the end of the weekend, we can tell you that our expectations where well exceeded.

With one of the biggest festival lineup’s in Europe, Exit’s headliners this year included Damon Albarn, Skrillex, Pet Shop Boys and more.

Unlike many other festivals, Exit starts off in the evening around 7 – 8pm and goes through to the early hours of 6am.

As we mentioned in our previous review, Pet Shop Boys kicked off Thursday evening in spectacular fashion, if not to the biggest crowd, but to an appreciative crowd, leaving us to ponder what the rest of the weekend would have in store for the Summer Festival Guide crew.

Disclosure also took on the revamped Dance Arena and were billed to bring their live show to the Novi Sad Castle.  However a last minute press release stated that the production duo could not do their full live show however their Wild Life themed night would go on.  Getting on the one’s and two’s Disclosure had packed out the amazing Dance Arena at Exit.  This is one of the most exciting and spine tingling arena’s at Exit due to its awesome layout and setup and it made for a perfect setting for Disclosure.  Hits such as ‘White Noise’ and ‘Latch’ had the crowd singing their hearts out but it was the end of the set with surprise hits Chic’s Le Freak’ and Outkast’s ‘Miss Jackson’ that really topped off the night.

Exit Festival wasn’t blessed with the best weather this year and it didn’t matter one bit as the crowd didnt really care and still enjoyed Exit to the fullest.  It almost resembled a typical Glastonbury!

Rudimental have featured heavily on the festival circuit this year and after a cancellation at the 2013 edition they more than made up for it at the Friday night slot.  Bringing raw energy and drawing a massive crowd to the Main Stage, the UK band smashed out hits from their “Home” album including “Waiting All Night”, “Free”, and “Not Giving In”.  Serbia was definitely treated to what we picked as one of the best live shows weekend and it really did lift the bar for what we expected by the other artists this weekend.

One of Exit’s biggest draw cards is their Back to Back sets and this year we were treated to some of the best B2B combinations we have ever witnessed.  Carl Cox & Danny Tenaglia joined forces on Friday to bring their house & techno vibe to Novi Sad.  Both Carl and Danny are legends in the electronic music scene and it was an immense pleasure to see them playing together.  As the sun set on the Dance Arena the lads had the crowd grooving from start to finish.

Other notable B2B sets that we managed to catch were Afrojack & Quintino, their high energy electro house set in the early hours of the morning keep the crowd going right up until the end.  Exit regular Green Velvet joined forces with Carl Craig to deliver a house and techno infused set pleasing those that like the harder side of electronic music.

The biggest drawcard for Exit this weekend had to be ex Blur frontman and Gorillaz head honcho Damon Albarn.  Being his first trip to Serbia, Albarn treated the packed out Main Stage crowd with tracks through his back catalogue as well as tracks from his critically acclaimed “Everyday Robots”.  Kicking off with his the chilled out “Lonely Press Play” and “Everyday Robots”, it didn’t take long before he had the crowd singing along to Gorillaz tracks “Kids with Guns” and Blur’s “All Your Life”.  However the biggest tune of his set had to be “Clint Eastwood”, Albarn really seemed to enjoy his time on the stage at Exit and his performance was one of the highlights of the weekend.

Another massive name on the festival circuit is Sonny Moore, better known by his stage name Skrillex.  Skrillex arrives slightly late to the party and already has the main stage packed out waiting to see this grammy award winning artist.  If you haven’t seen this guy live then you don’t know what your missing.  Not only is the guy like an energiser bunny on stage, but his stage presence is like no other DJ.  You would not know that its 2am when Skrillex comes on as the energy around the main stage drives you to keep moving and dancing.  Kicking off with “Try it Out”, Skrillex is already bouncing around behind the decks and instantly has the crowd moshing and going crazy.  His mixing is fast and his set is powerful and energetic and by the end of the set we are soaked with sweat.  Talking to a few people on the crowd after his set, you can tell that Skrillex delivered exactly what they came here to see.

Sunday sees the likes of Hurts, Suede and Pretty Lights take on the main stage as well as the return of Deep Dish and Jaymo vs Andy George in the Dance Arena.

Hurts kick off our night in the Main Stage and play to a packed out crowd.  This English synth pop duo have the entire crowd sing through the majority of their set with standout hits “Mercy”, “Wonderful Life”, “Excile” and encore “Better Than Love”.

We managed to catch up with grammy nominated producer Pretty Lights in London prior to his Exit performance and we made sure that we caught him on the Main Stage in his early morning slot.  Pretty Lights genre infused music is something fresh and pleasing to listen to over the huge sound rig and he rightly has a massive crowd on hand to enjoy it.

Deep Dish reformed this year after a hiatus to bring their house music to Novi Sad.  Playing in the Dance Arena they played massive set full of huge drops and fat baselines to those that ventured to see them perform.  It was great to see these guys back together as their productions were hugely popular back in the day.

Exit Festival has come a long way since its inception back in 2000 and now see’s over 200,000 people go through the gates each year.

As we walk around the festival we are gutted that its almost about to be over, the weekend has flown by and Exit has captivated us, the crowd have been amazing and the lineup even better.  It was our first Exit experience and it definitely will not be our last.  If there is one European festival that you need to experience in your lifetime then Exit should be at the top of your list.  See you in 2015!