Mint Festival — Feels just like home

Feels just like home

Changing from one venue to another over the previous three years, it feels like the festival’s finally found its home. Set over two days, and including the option of camping from the Friday, it was the proper festival experience people were looking for – and being so close to the city centre it was near enough for those who prefer a slightly more luxurious festival experience.

It was a celebration of music across the electronic spectrum, and brought the biggest names and talent for the weekend spectacle. With all the music confined within a variety of tents – big and small, it gave the music its natural environment – and the surroundings to enable it to be fully enjoyed.

There was music on the Friday, but it was a dulled down version of what was to come. It took a little while for the festival to fill up on the Saturday, and due to the size of the grounds itself, it probably looked sparser than it actually was. On the plus side there was never a wait for the bar – this was in part due to the token system operating, which hugely reduced waiting time.

The crowd was predominantly late teens/twenty-somethings, many of them looking like they came straight out the 90’s – although this is very much a festival mainstream nowadays. With the sun blazing down over Wetherby Racecourse, people relaxed in the sun whilst the continuous beat bounced from one tent to another, textured electronic beats from George Fitzgerald melodically surged the crowd into the evening, followed by Waze & Odyssey hyping the crowd with the ‘Bump and Grind remix’ amongst many other hits. The Martinez brothers then drew everyone in with their fist-pumping inducing techno rhythms – ‘Never Grow Old’ went down particularly well. There was a difficult choice to make between Sven Vath and Duke Dumont, but it was the latter that was chosen. He’s one of those DJs you don’t realise has so many hits – which, to your unsuspecting (slightly inebriated) attendee makes it all the better when they come on. The crowd were lapping up every beat and the set matched the high expectations people had for his performance.

For those camping who had the energy, the after party was at the silent disco tent, where Jake Wheatley provided the continuous wave of happiness. And for those heading into the city, Mint Warehouse went on deep into to the night with their fantastic resident and guest DJs.

Sunday came, and the morning was as beautiful as the day before. With many dreary-eyed, the beat re-energised even those in the most comatose state. The Jungle Jam tent was kicking off from mid-afternoon – with Vital Techniques playing a very good set to a small crowd. Respect for them keeping the hype. Sunday was all about the Elrow tent though, going for the deep-in-the-jungle feel; the superbly unique décor added fantastic value. Eats Everything put on one of the best sets, and within the whole production it worked so well. There were inflatable items you’d never know existed wielded into the crowd, along with massive multi-coloured balls and enough confetti powered out from the stage to drown yourself happy in. The huge warriors on stilts (yeah you heard that right) wandered the packed crowd, creating even more energy. It really was one of the best overall sets of the summer. Over to the Jungle Jamm tent, Randall was lively – and an apt warm up for Skepta (who was a bit worse for wear from his birthday celebrations the night before) but despite this, amped the crowd and gave it everything. The set was short, although he was on the edge of losing his voice.

Unfortunately, that was the end for us. Mint Festival has solidified its name within Leeds, the only shame was that more people didn’t know about it. Tucked away in Yorkshire it may not be a festival that automatically springs to mind within the summer festival calendar – but the way it’s progressing, it definitely will be soon.