Love Saves The Day — The expectation and wonder of the west

The expectation and wonder of the west

Bristol almost feels like an untapped resource. The city, so vibrant and innovative, is often overshadowed by its ‘bigger brother’ London. However the continuation of showpiece events like Love Saves The Day maintains the expectation and wonder only Bristol provides. Everyone has a soft spot for this extensive metropolis.

Brought to the forefront by members of the team behind Glastonbury Dance Village’s Wow! Stage, the In:Motion series and GlobalGathering, Love Saves the Day blends the best of Bristol’s underground scene with global music pioneers – providing an endless spectrum of sights and sounds.

Starting back in 2012, the event has grown rapidly from a one day ‘rave’ in the inner city, to a two day musical spectacle on the outskirts of the city. As the Bank Holiday weekend is the unofficial beginning of music festival season everyone was full of hope and anticipation.

The venue was a great size and layout. You could easily jump from stage to stage, and unlike many other festivals it wasn’t packed up to capacity (despite the whole event selling out for the weekend). The sun was out and everyone was on a Bank Holiday high. With plenty of activities including roller skating alongside a vast array of bespoke food and (of course) the music – it was a powerful combination.

We were only able to go on the Sunday, which in hindsight was very unfortunate! As we entered on the Sunday the place was truly buzzing. To our left was the ‘Cloud 9’ stage, where Giggs – part of BBK and renowned across the grime circuit, automatically drew us in, followed later by a massive set by Benji B. As you wander through the grounds you can’t help but constantly dance. The massive robot at the Dance Off stage was surrounded by a sea of colourful fancy dress and glitter whilst the hordes surrounded the fire blasting Arcadia stage seeing the likes of My Nu Leng and Redlight – you can imagine what happens when you mix lively music with fire…

As the sun came down, most of the crowd made their way to the main stage where Dizzee Rascal was making one of his few festival appearances this year. With the crowd amped, the smoke cannons exploded and he delivered banger after banger, bringing old skool grime to the present, alongside some fan favourites – ‘Fix Up Look Sharp’ will always be the one! As the festival came to a fantastic close, the night wasn’t over – there was the matter of ‘Love Saves the Night’ in Motion.

The most popular of the festival after parties, the huge former skate park played host to the likes of Section Boyz and massive hip hop producer Just Blaze deep into the night – the party never stops in Bristol!

This festival has only just started to grow, and where it could be in another five years is very exciting. You missed out this year, but make sure this is securely within your plans for the next!