Before anything else, programming, location, food and music, Citadel did one thing right for their 2016 festival – they picked what happened to be one of the hottest days of the year. And for a summer like the one we’ve had to endure this year, that’s no mean feat. The sun shone gloriously over Victoria Park, and after two days of the madness that had been Loveboxx Festival taking place in the same location, I’m sure a sigh of relief was breathed for this far more chilled out affair.
Billed as ‘summer Sunday’ and a ‘refreshing one-dayer’ it certainly didn’t disappoint on both accounts. One thing that’s strikingly clear about Citadel and makes it stand out from other urban festivals is that as well as the main stage music, which offered a fantastic calibre line up, the quality of the programming elsewhere was also top notch.
The festival site itself was bigger than your average one dayer, with arguably more on offer than possible to fit into ten hours but allowing ample space to wander and discover parts of the line up that may have been overlooked. A particular underdog that kept drawing crowds throughout the day was the The Park Bandstand. A stage set up behind Victoria Park’s bandstand had an eclectic line up of live bands and dancing, with Swing Patrol kicking off the day with their high energy swing dancing – even roping the audience in for a try. Between the programmed acts there were brief interludes delivered by acts to keep the audience bopping along. One such act that particularly stood out was Bring Your Own Brass, who played jazzed up versions of noughties hits and hip-hop tunes through a cacophony of brass instruments. I caught the tail end of a rendition of ‘Get Busy’ by Sean Paul, which while unexpected, had the whole Bandstand jumping and totally warmed up for the next act. This was Barbarella’s Bang Bang, another eventual crowd pleaser that offered their accordion based European Gypsy folk to a mesmerised audience who at this point in the afternoon were happily bouncing around, ciders in hand.
As the day wore on, the bigger billed bands began to fill their slots with the first obvious big crowd drawer of the day being Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats over at the Main Stage. A quintessential festival act, their soulful melodies and the stirring voice of their eponymous lead singer’s vocals soared over a crowd that danced from the beginning of the set to the end when they finished with predictable but welcome performance of their hit S.O.A.B.
The gaps between acts on the main stage were lengthy, perhaps too much so, but allowed for more time for wandering and strolling past the main stage to the back of the site led to the Sunday Papers Live tent – exactly what it sounds like. Sunday paper sections read with topical and sometimes hilarious commentary by various performers throughout the day, which included Akala reading the Business sections and Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards reading the Sport sections. Unfortunately the Winter Olympic hero clashed with Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats on the Main Stage, but as with all festivals, there are difficult choices that need to be made thanks to programme clashes!
As afternoon turned to evening, even more flocked to the main stage for electronic mastermind Caribou. A style of music that while perhaps not to everyone’s taste, certainly cooled down the vibe (as well as the weather) for a chilled session with a mixture of people laying down and relaxing to the music towards the back of the crowd and the more excitable lot down the front and bouncing to his beaty basslines. Overlapping slightly with Caribou on the Main Stage was the Communion stage headliner, Lianne La Havas, which I’m sure was a conflict for some as the two stages were some distance apart. But with enough determination and a quick walk, it was definitely feasible to experience the best of both worlds before all eyes turned to the Main Stage for the headline act, Sigur Rós.
The Icelandic post-rock superstars had a sunset slot and their set was beautifully poised to turn day into night as they paired their haunting music with stunning visuals around the stage and screens. Beginning with familiar hits from across their discography including classic from 1999’s breakthrough album Ágætis byrjun ‘Starálfur’ back to back with ‘Sæglópur’ from Takk, they took us across their discography with stirring imagery and lights accompanying the music. Beginning the set with more recognisable songs drew a captivated and noticeably moved audience in right at the start and suspended them there for the hour and a half long set. Whether familiar with them or not, its hard to not be impressed by lead singer Jonsí Birgisson’s stunning vocals which at times stunned the crowd to silence.
Citadel you were wonderful from start to magical finish.