New location, same energy

Although an early start making our way from London to Bristol, the expectation and excitement on the train journey more than made up for it. It had been four years since we were at Love Saves The Day, previously located at Eastville Park, so the new location at Clifton Downs was a very intriguing proposition.

As we arrived at Temple Meads, we still had a couple of hours to spare before doors opened, so decided to have ourselves a little tour of the city using the electric scooters, which were SO FUN. We then made our way back to the train station to jump on the ‘Love Bus’ which was a shuttle taking people to the festival, and back from it to the station throughout the day.

The bus, as you can imagine, was full of some very excited people. The tunes were banging, drinks were flowing - the perfect atmosphere to raise the levels before entry. As we arrived, there was a short walk to the entrance of the festival, giving me a chance to chat to a few of the attendees. The general feedback being that this is their first festival back after lockdown and they were so glad to be there! We certainly echoed that view.

After the customary checks, including the negative Covid check, we entered Love Saves The Day. Even though 21,000 people were due to descend on the sold out festival, the site seemed vast with plenty of places to relax and re-charge. But also busy, and full of energy in all the right places.

We automatically got drawn towards the Paradiso stage where Emz produced a set of catchy beats and high energy to set us up for the day. Making our way through the crowds, hearing the laughs and seeing the smiles on people’s faces – it was so good to be back at festivals.

The stages were hugely varied, and came in all shapes and sizes. None more striking than the colourful block towers on the Centre Stage. We managed to catch some of the Craig Richards B2B Nicolas Lutz set which was EPIC, the shuffling was well and truly out (albeit very rusty...). We then headed over to the main stage where Crazy P, one of my favourite festival artists was finishing up their set, filled with all the summer vibes – a wonderful mix of house, disco and soul. We caught some of Elder Island, before heading over to the Aztec style set, The Brouhaha.

Such a unique stage, it was close knit and high octane. P Money definitely brought it, when he played ‘Point It Up’ the place was electric. Flava D didn’t disappoint either, somehow maintaining the already high expectations set by P Money. The light show was unreal, and when he played ‘Soul Shake’ the place went off, not to mention the countless samples he used to tease the crowd.

Making our way via the Lost Gardens, where we couldn’t help but be tempted in by the soulful sounds of Felix Dickinson. We had to tear ourselves away though to make our way to the Main Stage where Mahalia headlined. After the hype of the The Brouhaha it was probably good to level out with the soft vocals of the unmistakable Mahalia, although when ‘Simmer’ came on it was no time for chilling. It was so good to hear ‘What You Did’ and ‘I Wish I Missed My Ex’ live before my personal favourite ‘Sober’ was played.

I mean, what a day. We made our way out to the shuttle buses which were frequent; meaning getting out of the festival was fairly smooth. I must say, the new location was a very good replacement and it was one of the best festivals i’ve been to this year. Bristol, we will see you soon.