Ceremony Festival — Summer's not over yet...

Summer's not over yet...

Found Series provided another instalment of their summer of music festivals, each with it’s own unique identity – but all coming together as one. For Ceremony, this chapter provided a 360 degree view and celebration of dance music.

With the end of the summer becoming ever apparent, it was a chance to dress up, act silly and enjoy the freedom the music festival lifestyle inevitably induces. The positioning and set-up of the festival at Finsbury Park, while not huge, was just right for what was there. The performances were all in tents, allowing for the stages to be relatively close without the music cannibalising each other.

Set over eight stages, the festival was filled with an eclectic mix of dance music genres from the past, present and future. With its roots in boutique parties in Shoreditch, the popularity and demand for a music festival of this kind is obvious to see.

Hector Couto’s Ibiza vibes in the Avotre stage whetted the appetite; it was a nice chilled set for what was set to be a long day/night of dancing. The Little Woods tent at the top of the hill, almost hidden, was a great find – people chilled, bopped and jigged in a wholly relaxed manner. It acted almost as a half-way house, or a recovery spot before getting back into the midst of it.

Todd Terry, the true house innovator himself, made it two out of two years at Ceremony Festival, and continued on from his two decades of dancefloor domination, with a set current, classic and wholly distinctive. The 90’s dance legend that is Armand Van Helden then showed just why his set was so eagerly anticipated – playing the invariable party bangers, sneaking in My My My for a nostalgic explosion within the crowd.

The Tropical Stage then hosted Grime royalty, two powerhouses within BBK – Skepta and JME. From beginning to end this was all about pure energy, the crowd and performers bouncing off each other. Big tunes like Man Don’t Care, Shutdown and That’s not me sent the crowd wild – I Spy was a favourite as they teased the crowd into the track.

This was a surprise, a good surprise. Overall it was a very well put together music festival. The festival is only getting bigger, with the acts only getting better. If next year is too long to wait – look out for the Found Horror Series – two nights of frightfully fine electronic music this October.