Love Supreme Festival — When a sleepy village turned into a full on jazz festival

When a sleepy village turned into a full on jazz festival

Four years old is the perfect age for a festival; comfortable and established yet eager to impress. And that can be seen everywhere at Love Supreme as it visited East Sussex for its fourth instalment of jazz and joy.

Cosily nestled in Glynde, unlike other festivals, Love-Supremers are treated to the idyllic countryside views of the South Downs, while being a short walk from the train station for easy access. All the while you’re overlooked by the picturesque Glynde Place, which contributes to the festival’s famously characteristic combination of small town quaintness and big festival excitement.

Immediately upon entry you’re met with a refreshing sense of relaxation that’s rare at modern festivals. It’s all about the chilled jazz vibe. There’s no FOMO (fear of missing out) to be had at Love Supreme as everything is spaced out perfectly between each other. Frantic running between acts is replaced by leisurely strolling, perhaps enjoying food at one of the festival’s many and varied food vendors, before choosing one of the festival’s four unique stages to make some memories at.

And what stages they are! The small bandstand stage merges effortlessly into the centre of the festival, offering intimate performances in a classically musical inspired setting. The Big Top and The Arena stages offer strong showcases of all the many branches of jazz that have sprouted from the original, while the Main Stage presents its audience with a tantalising mix of funk, jazz and soul from dawn till dusk.

Saturday saw Riot Jazz Brass Band kicking things off to wake us up with their electrifyingly distinctive upbeat boogying, Moon Hooch, a band of three who started out as buskers on New York subways, had a thunderous energy that completely captivated the audience, and Lianne La Havas soothed everyone’s soul and gave everyone’s spirits a rocket boost. As for Grace Jones, her constant outfit changes and acrobatic staging sent the crowd into a frenzy.

The jazz-bass sounds of Manchester trio GoGo Penguin threw festival goers off their familiar jazz train, though still managing to get them to shake their booties away. The Correspondents, no longer the band people stumble upon, competed with Jazz legend Burt Bacharach in the headlining spot. Lead singer, Ian Bruce, drew in all the crowds with his crazy outfit and elasticated dancing, leaving The Arena crowd buzzing, while the Burt fans calmly swayed away, enjoying his first ever Sussex performance.

Whether you’re looking for authentic old school jazz, or a new, up and coming jazz synthesis, Love Supreme accommodates for the entire jazz family, and more. Simply take the word ‘jazz’ with a pinch of salt; jazz at Love Supreme is almost all encompassing.

Though this is a music festival, like a cake without icing, no festival would be complete without the little details. And the icing comes in the form of inspirational flow yoga classes to give your body a break from the nonstop of a festival, and Mindful Breathing classes, where discussion and teaching of gentle breathing practice is imparted. Both excellently represent the atmosphere that Love Supreme promotes; one of peace, love, and relaxation.

If you’re thinking what a wonderful environment that sounds for children, rejoice; the festival is entirely family friendly! They have a range of family friendly activities, with attractions including a kids’ play area and bouncy castles, to hula-hooping and swing dance lessons for the whole family to enjoy!

Saturday’s arrival of rain was the perfect example of why Love Supreme truly is a supreme festival. Rather than run for cover the audience embraced the rain as a celebratory shower and partied on all the harder. You can see this everywhere at Love Supreme; smiling faces of families, eyes of wide-eyed wonder at undiscovered bands, and an underlying sense of true contentment. I’ve wished for weekends to never end before, but secretly been thinking about my bed and TV shows. With Love Supreme, I could have stayed there forever.

Limited amount of super early bird tickets for 2017 available here!

By Alexandra Michael