Festival Season has Arrived With Project 6, Cross the Tracks & City Splash Kicking Things Off! [Live Review]

Festival season has landed and Brockwell Live knows just how to pull off the perfect day out in South London’s Brockwell Park, which was the home to all of the festivities over the May bank holiday weekend! 

Photo creds: @garryjonesphotography / @DaveBurke / @sjp_p

To kick things off was Project 6 Festival, which collaborated with Rinse FM to celebrate 30 years of being on air, so what better way to celebrate than putting on a festival with some of the station's beloved DJs, musicians and talent? Genres like rap, garage, jungle and hip-hop were amplified throughout the day. Personally, the Places + Faces stage was the place to be, selectors like P-Rallel, Virgo Deep and Juls provided an unlimited stream of goodness with their mixes and track choices and for garage, dance and jungle heads, the Fabric Live stage had all of that on lock with acts like Eliza Rose, DJ Seinfeld, SBTRKT and the legendary Shy FX who played all his classics to close in the night. 

When it came down to range and variety on the main stage Project 6 didn’t miss with some of London's finest rappers gracing the stage including Chip, Unknown T, Nines and special guest AJ Tracey, alongside the one and only international musician, Pusha T! 

Photo cred: @Clarke Redd

The ladies of the moment were Rinse FM alumni Katy B, who put on a stellar performance singing some of her biggest tracks including ‘Perfect Stranger’, ‘Lights On’ and ‘On a Mission’. Garage legend Ms Dynamite, performed ‘Boo!’, ‘Gold Dust’, ‘Wile Out’ and so many more classics, giving all the nostalgic vibes of the early 2000s. 

Photo cred: Clarke Redd

Next up for me was Cross the Tracks Festival, same park, different day and a completely different sound as Neo Soul, R’n’B and its surrounding genres filled Brockwell Park with joy and serenity. The Derailed stage had my heart with the best selection of musicians and artists the UK has to offer gracing the stage including the likes of Jamilah Barry, Sekou, Ama Lou, and sweet-sounding saxophonist Venna. Instrumentalist Mansur Brown also deserves an honourable shout-out, as he seamlessly fits the tranquil theme of the day with his beautifully curated guitar-led performance. As an everlasting lover of Neo Soul and a true fan of Erykah Badu, I can’t shy away from the fact that her presence was truly missed, after pulling out due to illness, however, the one and only Eve stole the show for me, from her outfit to her stunning green hair, Eve performed some of her greatest hits including ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’, ‘Gangsta Lovin’, ‘Tambourine’ and so many more, a spectacular mid-day performance that will be remembered for years to come. 

Photo creds:@elisamzz_ / @garryjonesphotography / @mettyunuabona

Last but certainly not least to close off the weekend of music at Brockwell Park was City Splash and a splash it was as if it rained all day, however, a little rain never hurt anyone and attendees proved that with pure vibes. Everyone danced their way through the mud to the sweet sounds of the Caribbean and beyond, with reggae, dancehall and bashment dominating the stages. 

The Rampage Sound stage could’ve had its own festival in my opinion, as they had an endless lineup of 10/10 acts and DJs dominating the stage, standouts were most definitely Saxon Sound, Heartless Crew, Terminal 4, Supa D and DJ Pioneer, all legends in their own right who shelled it down by playing the best in dancehall, reggae, jungle, funky house and everything in between. The Yaad stage aka the main stage had a sensational lineup from start to finish, providing back-to-back vibes all day, some of Jamaica's best exports shut down the stage including Busy Signal, miss ShenYeng herself aka Shensea stunned fans with her dance moves and hot girl anthems, beloved legend Beenie Man blessed fans with ‘Dude’, ‘Who Am I’, and ‘hmm hmm’ and so many more. As the sun went down the iconic, fiery Rastafarian that is Capelton united fans, as he closed in the night with many well-known tracks including the one and only ‘Slew Dem’.  With horns, whistle’s and flags blowing in the wind, as the sun shined down, City Splash made it feel like Notting Hill Carnival had come early. 

Photo creds: @NEWMOTION / @haruki.design / @nanaking

No matter your taste in music, there was something for everyone over the Bank Holiday weekend at Brockwell Park, no matter the weather it proves that Londoners know how to have a good time, City Splash, Cross the Tracks and Project 6, I can’t wait wait to do this all again next year!!