Sundown Festival 2016 – Review. One of the biggest Sundowns yet

A Great British downpour lashed over festival goers as ponchos and true grit became standard for the first day of Sundown Festival.

“It's raining so hard my fingers are wrinkly,” bewailed one glitter-sodden music fan who said it looked like she had sat in the bath for an hour.

Yes. The rain was bad.

But remarkably the ground stayed mostly mud-free and the musical maelstrom kept the crowd in good spirits as three stages blasted out a mix of urban, pop and dance.

Kicking off proceedings on the main stage were Cambridge rapper Big Heath and Norfolk neo soul artist Mullally who stepped in at the last minute to replace Emmi.

Skipping on to the stage afterwards was a total style switch with trio MO who DJ Mistajam has described as the only girl group you need worry about.

They were followed by the earthy, jazz infused voice of  Espa, then Kiko Bunn, who brought a good times, deep dance reggae sunshine vibe to the day.

Next up the ever youthful Ms Dynamite, whose energy shone as strongly as when she first topped  the charts in 2003 ,with her hit single signature tune which heard the crowd sing in unison – Miss Dynamite-ee-ee!

Becky Hill stood out for her effortless performance show-casing her mind blowingly powerful voice, especially during Wilkinson's anthem Afterglow.

She is a truly likable artist with a great energy and simplicity of style.

Kano showed why his fifth album Made In The Manor has become a high seller with an edgy performance that ripped up the crowd followed by the unmistakable grin and good times set of tunes from original UK rapper Dizzee Rascal.

Jess Glynne stormed the stage with a set that engrossed the sodden masses encompassing her five number one UK singles and showing why she is a rising star on the other side of the pond as well as in the UK where she is preparing for a 10 date arena tour in the Autumn.

Duo Chase and Status closed the night with a show stopper of lights and kicking drum n bass as part of their summer of festival headlining while also producing their much anticipated third album.

By Sunday ,the Norfolk Showground venue, filled with 40,000 fans, had transformed thanks to some of the last of this summer's  rays rolling through the clouds.

BB Diamond broke the musical ice on main stage with an easy set of dance tunes followed by an absolute whirlwind of energy that is Imani Williams.

This 16 year old  is going places with her passion, unmistakable voice and style.

Signed to Sigala's label it is clear to see why he has snapped her up with her timed to perfection dance moves and big voice.

Next up was rapper Yungen who is among a new wave of rap/grime acts sweeping the British music scene.

He was followed by girl trio Stooshe whose high energy was a big hit with fans.

Anne Marie brought her big vocals to the stage where she compellingly lost herself in the moment and was enthralling to watch.

DJ Sigala followed with a big impact live set embracing a Caribbean theme with a guest slot by Imani followed by Krept & Konan who powered in, packing a mighty grime punch with lyrics that screamed pure London boy genius.

A turn around style switch followed, thanks to X factor contestant Fleur East who was a massive hit with the crowd. Think Beyonce and Tina Turner, blend them up and you get some kind of idea of her style, and panache. She was a joy to photograph with a star quality performance.

Next up was Years and Years – watching singer Olly Alexander is like seeing somebody emotionally throw their entire life and a handful of glitter into every word. Riveting.

Closing the festival was American star Jason Derulo who left the crowd in no doubt about why he is such a hugely successful global act.

This man can sing, he can dance and with a big beaming smile his performance was incredible to watch – not least when he picked out a girl from the screaming crowd and brought her up to dance on stage

A great performer with slick backing dancers and musicians to boot.

Over in the red and blue tents weekend highlights were David Rodiggan, who smashes it every time he takes to the stage, Jaguar Skills and his Asian babe dancers, Dimension, Red Light,  Goldie and Wilkinson with thanks to stage hosting by Ministry of Sound, Defected In The House, UKF and the drum n bass arena.

Laurence Bagnall, one of the festival organsiers said: “This has been one of the biggest Sundowns yet.

“The weather failed to dampen the good vibes, the sun came out for some of the biggest acts and with no incidents to report the festival would like to thank everybody for their ongoing support.”

See you in 2017!

 

 

Sundown Festival 2016 Preview

The countdown is on to Sundown Festival 2016 in what is becoming renowned as the music happening to see out the last rays of the summer season.

With a third stage added at the Norwich venue for this year, there are more acts, more music and more choice.

An easy vibe, friendly crowd and variety are key in this urban, dance, pop and drum n bass mix and this year is no exception.

Warming up on Friday night is the big top campers party with Radio 1 DJ Danny Howard, best known for presenting his show Dance Anthems, which kicks off proceedings with stomping tunes until the small hours.

The festival proper begins on Saturday with a headliner classic of  Chase & Status after main players including chart topper Jess Glynne, UK rapper Kano, British rap favourite Dizzee Rascal, future pop sensation Becky Hill and respected British rapper and politically motivated icon Ms Dynamite

The Defected in the House stage includes Sonny Fodera, Sam Divine and DISKT while over in the UKF stage are mash up legend Jaguar Skills, reggae DJ pioneer David Rodigan, My Nu Leng and MC Dread.

Sunday fires off in all directions in the musical maelstrom that is Sundown with a main stage headliner of Jason Derulo. He takes to the stage after acts including Years and Years, grime duo Krept and Kronan, breakthorugh X factor star Fleur East and Sigala Live.

Over at the second tent the stage is set today by global dance brand Ministry of Sound with headliner Amine Edge and Dance, Redlight, Blonde and Low Steppa among the acts.

The third tent on Sunday becomes the drum n bass arena with crowd pleaser Wilkinson, Friction, the ever popular Goldie, Warning favourite Hazard, Dimension, Dillinja and Culture Shock.

Alongside it all throw in some fairground rides, stalls and a crowd that never feels overwhelmingly large making it both a perfect season closer for die hard festival fans or the ideal place for teenagers to cut their teeth in a safe and manageable sized festival world.

Either way, enjoy. The line up is randomly eclectic – but is sure to keep those dancing feet happy all weekend.

TICKETS: Sundown Festival 2016 is from Friday September 2 to Sunday 4. Tickets start at £46.75 for a day pass up to £121 for a weekend pass with camping at the Norfolk Showground venue. 

Fusion Festival announces Jason Derulo & Olly Murs as headliners

Today Fusion Festival and 107.6 Capital FM Liverpool announced a stellar line-up of pop royalty to perform at Fusion Festival, Otterspool Promenade on the 3rd & 4th September
 
Serial chart-topper Jason Derulo will headline Day One, along with Tinie Tempah, Labrinth, Craig David, Sigala, Fleur East and Krept & Konan. On Sunday the 4th of September an exclusive festival headline 90-minute performance from Olly Murs will bring the two day event to a close. Also performing on Sunday are Busted, The Vamps, Nathan Sykes, Lawson, Ella Henderson and Jamie Lawson
 
The massive line-up was revealed this morning exclusively on the 107.6 Capital FM Liverpool Breakfast Show with Adam, Gemma and Imogen. There are many more acts still to be announced – listeners should keep it Capital to find out who else is going to be added to the stellar line-up. 
 
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday 8th April via www.thefusionfestival.co.ukand Fusion’s official ticketing partner StubHub on www.stubhub.co.uk. StubHub will also serve as Fusion’s official Ticket Marketplace. 

In an exclusive headline festival performance, Olly Murs and his band will close the show on Sunday night with a breathtaking 90 minute show featuring all his classic hits from ‘Troublemaker’ and ‘Heart Skips A Beat’ through to his recent hits ‘Wrapped Up’ and ‘Kiss me”. The six time BRIT Award nominated artist was catapulted into the limelight when he stole the hearts of the nation with his cheeky charms on the X Factor 2009.  Murs can now boast 3 Number One albums and a sensational live show that sells out arenas all across the country. 

 
Olly Murs says: “This is going to get crazy, Fusion Festival! I cannot wait to get out on that stage and get everybody moving. It’s going to be a send off to remember, you better be there!”

Jason Derulo has brought us mega-hits ‘Talk Dirty’, ‘Ridin Solo’ and ‘Whatcha Say’ and the massive number 1 single ‘Want to Want me”. The American singer, songwriter and dancer has sold over 50 million singles, with three singles going platinum in the UK. He is now hitting Liverpool’s Otterspool Promenade for Fusion Festival 2016 with all of the hits to headline the first night of the biggest pop event of the summer. 

Derulo says: “I’m honoured to be headlining Fusion Festival 2016, it’s a great line up and I can’t wait to get out there to perform in Liverpool with Fusion Festival & Capital FM – it’s going to be amazing!” 

 
Fusion Festival is teaming up with Liverpool’s number one hit music station, 107.6 Capital FM, continuing its long-term partnership with Global Radio to bring music fans the most exciting festival line up of the summer on the banks of the River Mersey. 

Now in its 4th year, Fusion has grown into one of the UK’s most popular music festivals. The move to Liverpool coincides with the city being declared a UNESCO City of Music due to music’s place at the heart of Liverpool’s contemporary culture, education and the economy.  Liverpool has a rich music heritage and the team at Fusion Festival are excited to become a part of that. 

 
Damien Sanders, Event Director of Fusion Festival said “It’s great to reveal such an incredible line up with a few more surprises still to come. We have such a strong list of performers again this year and I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Olly Murs 90 minute headline spectacular on the Sunday night, it will be a great way to wrap up the weekend and introduce Fusion to Liverpool.” 

Graham Sarath, commercial director of Capital Liverpool, said: “It’s great for 107.6 Capital FM to be able to launch in Liverpool with such a huge local event and help bring it to the city of Liverpool – Fusion Festival will be fantastic for music fans and for the city. We know that for lots of listeners, Fusion will be one of the highlights of the Summer and we’re delighted to be a part of that.” 

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool said “We take great pride in the events we hold here in Liverpool. Each year we strive to offer something new and exciting, not only for our own residents but for those visiting the City too. That is why I am delighted to welcome such a distinguished music festival to Liverpool.” 

 
Fusion are offering a massive 50% discount on a limited amount of General Admission and Gold Circle tickets to local residents of L17, L18 and L19. To redeem this offer residents need to visit tickets.thefusionfestival.co.uk/residentsand enter discount code RESIDENTS along with a valid L17, L18 or L19 billing address on checkout. Please note this is limited to 4 tickets per address. 

Jason Derulo, Years & Years, Dizzee Rascal and more for Sundown 2016

Sundown Festival returns to Norfolk Showground in Norwich for a fourth year with a huge line-up of the biggest and best names in contemporary music. Delivering a mix of the most sought after names from all corners of the pop, urban and dance music landscape, Sundown brings together everything that is vital in music right now for an amazing live music experience. This year the festival expands even further adding a third stage and collaborating with some of the most revered brands in underground music.

In five years Jason Derulo has risen to one of the best-selling, radio-dominating pop and urban artists of the day, selling over 50 million singles worldwide and racking up over two billion views on YouTube and one billion plays on Spotify. Headlining on the Sunday, fans can expect a huge show featuring the likes of ‘Talk Dirty’, ‘Wiggle’, ‘Trumpets’, ‘Whatcha Say’ and many more. With one huge headliner still to be announced this promises to be the biggest year for Sundown yet.

With five UK number 1 singles to her name including her collaboration with Clean Bandit on huge Grammy Award winning hit ‘Rather Be’, Jess Glynne is one of the UK’s brightest stars. She will undoubtedly have the Sundown crowd singing along to a hit laden set whilst London hip hop and grime hero Dizzee Rascal will bring his signature party sound to the Showground. 

Years & Years were the big crossover success story of 2015 and their up- tempo brand of synth-pop spawned huge chart hits such as ‘King’ and ‘Desire’ and in Olly Alexander the band have a genuine, bona-fide pop star. Also performing will be Fleur Eastwho has become a household name since competing on X-Factor and released one of the biggest tracks of 2015 in ‘Sax’. 

A world famous name in house music Defected Records will host the second stage on the Saturday with renowned party startersSam DevineSonny Fodera and DJ S.K.TGet ready to raise those hands and party as one of the world’s most loved house music parties keeps the Sundown masses dancing all night long. 

Undeniable masters of bass UKF are the Hosts for Stage 3 and proudly present a dual headline show featuring Jaguar Skillsshowcasing why he is the ultimate DJ ninja and the legendary David Rodigan MBE bringing the sound of dancehall and reggae to the East Coast. Fast rising Black Butter up and comers My Nu Leng will keep it deep and on point. 

Dance music royalty Ministry Of Sound will be presenting the second stage on the Sunday with heavy bass courtesy of French production duo Amine Edge and DANCE, genre blurring Bristolian and Lobster Boy head honcho Redlight and serious bass head Low Steppa all taking to the decks.

The legendary Drum and Bass Arena celebrate a huge 20 years in the game this year and will host chart topper Wilkinsonwhose anthem ‘Afterglow’ was an instant classicRadio 1’s d&b don and Shogun Audio boss Friction and the classic jungle sounds of DJ Hazard.

Saturday 3rd September

Main Stage 

Headliner TBA

Jess Glynne 

Dizzee Rascal

Stage 2 – Defected 

Sam Divine 

Sonny Fodera 

DJ S.K.T 

Stage 3 – UKF 

David Rodigan & Jaguar Skills

My Nu Leng 

Sunday 4th September

Main Stage 

Jason Derulo 

Years & Years 

Fleur East 

Stage 2 – Ministry of Sound 

Amine Edge & Dance 

Redlight 

Low Steppa 

Stage 3 – Drum & Bass Arena

Wilkinson 

Friction 

DJ Hazard