After 13 years on the Isle of Wight, Bestival moved to the site of its sister festival Camp Bestival in Lulworth Estate. Although the bad weather tried to dull the festival’s colourful theme, it failed to dampen the festival spirit. With the world’s biggest bouncy castle and biggest disco ball and a giant Kanye West head – the site seems more vibrant than ever.
BLOSSOMS
Blossoms opened The Box Stage, showing exactly why they one of the biggest success stories of the last 12 months. The Stockport five piece have been performing sell out shows across summer with huge headline slots, making them one of the hottest bands on the planet to see live. With covers of Oasis, Cher, Wham and even Madonna – this headline show kept the audience in high spirits before Thursday’s headliner Jamie T. With fan favourites, ‘Blown Rose’, ‘Cut Me And I’ll Bleed’ and ‘Charlemagne’ keeping the huge crowd belting out, it seems only a matter of time before they move up to the top slot and own the main event.
SOULWAX
Although the Belgian electronic band was pulled in to replace Justice just days before the festival, it’s clear from rave twitter reviews and epic Instagram posts of their trademark live set-up that they were the highlight of most people’s Sunday. Opening with recent single, ‘Do You Want To Get In Trouble?’, the tone is set for an energetic hour-long set filled with excitement both musically and visually. With the Bestival favourites all donning white lab coats in front of a monochrome futuristic set, the crowd gave their biggest reaction to closing track ‘NY Excuse’– matched with a stunning light show.
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DJ SHADOW
The torrential downpour and high winds didn’t stop DJ Shadow drawing in a huge crowd with his with his geometric rap sampling that literally puts him into his own category of music. DJ Shadow first played Bestival back in 2011, and since the late 90’s has been a UK festival favourite, playing Glastonbury earlier in the year. His unpredictability is key and the trust his fans have in him is immense. Twenty years since Shadow’s first full-length work ‘Endtroducing’, his 2016 release ‘The Mountain Will Fall’ shows that he is still pushing boundaries and his live shows will continue to be as inventive and impressive as it’s always been.
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LUCY ROSE
Lucy Rose is back! Following the sensational ‘Something’s Changing’, it truly seems that she is better than ever. Her stunning performance at this year’s Bestival showcases the heart and craft that Lucy brings to each live show. Her delicate, English folk music packs more of a passionate punch this time around, after a tour across Latin America ignited a change of heart for the songstress, pushing her to return to recording music. Lucy Rose’s sincerity and genuine openness creates a performance that is not to be missed.
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DIZZEE RASCAL
Dizzee Rascal has the incredible ability to turn any muddy British field into a sunny holiday destination and it is exactly what we need as this summer draws to a close. Dizzee’s setlist boasts pop favourites such as ‘Bassline Junkie’ and ‘Dance Wiv Me’ with more recent singles such as ‘Space’ and ‘Wot U Gonna Do?’. The new album, ‘Raskit’ echoes his 2003 breakthrough ‘Boy In Da Corner’, following the huge resurgence of grime music over recent years. Although people might not be as familiar with Dizzee’s first album in four years, the energy of the crowd is no different to when he plays number 1 hits ‘Bonkers’ or ‘Holiday’ – which of course causes a frenzy.
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PET SHOP BOYS
Pet Shop boys brought the weekend to a close with an almighty bang. The 80’s icons performed a set of major pop classics that transformed Bestival into a disco inferno. The tracks from new album ‘Super’ fitted in seamlessly alongside the encores of ‘Domino Dancing’ and ‘You Are Always On My Mind’. With regular outfit changes, insane visuals and lighting, with euphoric pop melodies – this was a headline intended to have festival goers stumbling back to their campsites with grins on their faces.