Summercamp festival, Liverpool, 24-25 Aug
It's a bank holiday weekend, and Liverpool International Music Festival and everything else that's going on seem perfectly aligned as the sun beams down on the first ever Summercamp festival.
The two-day, three-stage event treats us to a delectable line-up, and the imposing Camp and Furnace buildings feel like an industrial musical haven away from the madness of the city.
Kicking off proceedings Saturday afternoon, Parisian trio We Were Evergreen take to the Furnace stage crafting electro-indie with calypso beats and synth-pop to an appreciative crowd. Twee might not be your cup of tea, but their twinkling melodies are ideal for raising the energies of the audience.
As darkness sets in, London duo Mount Kimbie deliver a seamless, hypnotic set with the assistance of a drummer and trippy lighting and effects – and a visceral excitement runs through the crowd during Blood and Form and Made to Stray, both of which bring attention to Kai Campos' delicate vocals. The echoing atmospherics they create reverberate around the walls of the historical warehouse, and tonight's performance solidifies their status as an innovative, ascendant live act.
On Sunday, Summercamp returns with Obaro Ejimiwe, aka Ghostpoet, whose unique blend of lyrically driven, electronically infused R'n'B has the crowd engrossed. Steve Mason, formerly of The Beta Band, gets the evening soirée underway as his selection of anti-establishment tracks seems to strike a chord with the crowd. "Violence is a tool of society; we need to use more subtle tools like love, compassion and forgiveness," Mason preaches emotively in between songs, and his set ends with the brandishing of an anarchist flag.
Competing with Creamfields and various free musical events across the city, Summercamp fails to draw in huge numbers, yet it accomplishes a leisurely, family-oriented atmosphere with a fantastic line-up; and it isn't until the night draws in – the crowds in the vast spaces dwindling, unfortunately, during The 2 Bears and Ewan Pearson – that you feel as though the festival has failed to reach a satisfying finale.