Live: British Summer Time Hyde Park (London, July 13th, 2019)

The National, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

The second event of our London visit was the penultimate date of the British Summer Time festival at Hyde Park, headlined by Florence + The Machine and The National.

Florence + The Machine, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Finding a festival with the kind of line up that I would enjoy from start to finish hasn't been easy this summer, but the July 13th event in Hyde Park looked like it was tailor-made for me. First of all it was The National's presence that got the festival date on my radar as I had not seen the band live for many years (here's when was the last time), while this year's "I Am Easy to Find" is certainly one of their best albums yet as well as one of the highlights of 2019 so far.

The National, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

It's also been a long time for Florence Welch and her band (since her Athens live debut at Synch 2009 festival), so this was a good opportunity to see her in her hometown, but what closed the deal for me was the fine line up of support acts that ensured this was a festival date we would enjoy from start to finish. And as Florence pointed out during her set, the event's line up was 70% women ("Welcome to the matriarchy!" as she jokingly said), a rarity for festivals these days, although it's clear that women are responsible for a large percent of the best new music around.

Welcome to the matriarchy: Florence + The Machine, headlining B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019

Add to the great line up, the fine weather of that weekend (no rain and no heatwave either) and what you get is a great festival day filled with fine music in one of London's finest parks. Here's what else we enjoyed until The National and Florence + The Machine performances closed the day:

Cherry Glazerr

Cherry Glazerr, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Clementine Creevy and her band came on the main stage around 13:30 for a strong 30-minute set, a fine blast of 90's indie-rock influenced guitar music, culled mainly from their recent album "Stuffed & Ready".

Goat Girl

Goat Girl, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Goat Girl's debut was one of the highlights of 2018 and we had the opportunity to enjoy several tracks from it early in the afternoon at BST's second stage.

Nadine Shah

Nadine Shah, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Back on the main stage it was time for Nadine Shah and her excellent five-piece band who presented us one of the strongest sets of the day, based mainly on her 2017 album "Holiday Destination". If I am not mistaken, we also got to hear a couple of new songs as well. In any case, after this great performance we are certainly looking forward to her next releases.

Let's Eat Grandma

Let's Eat Grandma, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Childhood friends Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth have great chemistry together and the fun of their modern electropop sound is certainly infectious. Their dance routines during some of their songs is something else!

Blood Orange / Lykke Li

Blood Orange, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Lykke Li, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Dev Hynes' Blood Orange presented their latest work "Negro Swan" adding some R&B flavors on the main stage's proceedings, while Sweden's Lykke Li brought to Hyde Park the melancholic pop of her last year's album "So Sad So Sexy". Having seen her set last summer at Gothenburg's Way Out West we took the opportunity to have a lie down in the park and gather our strength for what was to come.

Aldous Harding

Aldous Harding, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

New Zealander Aldous Harding is responsible for one of our favorite folk albums of 2019, the excellent "Designer", and along with her four-piece band she presented us one of the finest sets of the festival on the second stage, featuring one of our top songs of the year, the wonderful "The Barrel".

The National

The National, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Back on the main stage it was time for The National. The band has book-ended this decade with perhaps their two greatest albums, 2010's "High Violet" and 2019's "I Am Easy to Find", they are undoubtedly one of the finest live acts around and as this awesome 90-minute set proved, this year is a great time to catch them live. They played highlights from most of their albums and of course presented us their latest work accompanied by four excellent singers, Gail Anne Dorsey, Mina Tindle, Lisa Hannigan and Eve Owen.

Khruangbin

Khruangbin, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

Khruangbin's mostly instrumental set closed proceedings on the second stage and were also joined by Dev Hynes for one song. More about the Texan trio's blend of psychedelia, surf, soul and dub on our next post about Ejekt Festival as a few days later we watched them again in Athens.

Florence + The Machine

Florence + The Machine, live @ B.S.T. Hyde Park 2019 (July 13th, 2019)

I may not be the biggest fan of "High As Hope", Florence + The Machine's fourth album, but undoubtedly Florence is an excellent performer and a great vocalist, so her headlining performance at Hyde Park (her second time on this stage) was certainly an entertaining experience. Full of energy and emotion, she presented a set covering all her albums so far and celebrated the ten years of hard work that brought her to the enviable position of topping this great bill here, in her hometown. A triumphant show to close the promotion of her latest album in the UK, before some rest and more headlining sets, this time in Athens, under the Acropolis.

BST 2019 highlights including The National, Aldous Harding, Nadine Shah, Goat Girl and Cherry Glazerr

Live: Way Out West 2018 (Gothenburg, August 9th - 11th, 2018) - Part 2

In Part 2 of our coverage of Gothenburg's Way Out West festival we have the performances that stood out for us during the second and third day of the event that took place at Slottskogen Park between August 9th and 11th, 2018. You can check out the highlights of the first day here.

Fever Ray, live @ Way Out West 2018 (Aug. 10th, 2018)

Day 2 - August 10

Friday was less busy for us in comparison to the full first day of the festival, with fewer artists on our "must see" list, so after spending the morning checking out record shops and switching to non-vegetarian options for lunch, we made our way to Slottskogen Park in the afternoon, where Lily Allen was presenting on Azalea stage her comeback album "No Shame". I have nothing against her brand of dance pop music but it's definitely not my cup of tea, so we enjoyed some churros instead and waited for M.I.A.'s performance on the nearby Flamingo stage.

It's been a long time since the first time I had the opportunity to see Maya Arulpragasam on stage. It was actually 11 years ago in a festival in Paris, where M.I.A. shone with the material from her newly released "Kala" album, including the brilliant "Paper Planes". M.I.A. and her crew still present a lively and entertaining set, guaranteed to provide good festival vibes, but the sense of innovation that used to characterize her early work is not really present any more. Not surprising "Paper Planes" stole the show once more and had everyone dancing, but for some real surprises and thrills we had to wait a little longer for Fever Ray's set on Azalea stage.

M.I.A. live @ Way Out West 2018

Karin Dreijer, in her Fever Ray guise, made a thrilling come back last year with her second full-length release, the excellent "Plunge". Her live show at Way Out West, where she was accompanied by two back-up singers/dancers dressed in impressive uniforms plus a handful of musicians adding extra sonic layers and more percussion to her electronic sound, was certainly one of the festival's highlights.

Fever Ray's set combined some of the strongest songs from "Plunge" ("Wanna Sip", "To the Moon and Back", "IDK about You") with a few choice cuts from her classic debut ("When I Grow Up", "If I Had a Heart") to create a unique audio-visual experience, a Dionysian sonic orgy whose protagonists seemed to have landed on earth from a perverted universe far, far away!

Fever Ray, live @ Way Out West 2018

After the otherworldly 60-minute Fever Ray extravaganza, it was time for Kendrick Lamar, undoubtedly the world's top hip hop star at the moment.

Kendrick, who came on stage sporting an Oasis "Supersonic" t-shirt under his yellow jacket, gave a top-notch show, drawing an impressively large crowd who seemed to know the lyrics to all of his songs. His recent hit album "Damn" provided several of the night's highlights ("DNA", "Loyalty", "Humble" to mention a few) without forgetting his past, with tracks like "M.A.A.D City", "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" or "King Kunta" raising the enthusiasm of the fans. A triumphant performance from a man at the top of his game!

Kendrick Lamar, live @ Way Out West 2018

After Kendrick Lamar closed the night at Slottskogen Park, we tried to check out Australian punk rock sensations Amyl and the Sniffers who were playing at Folkteatern as part of the Stay Out West club shows. Unfortunately the small theater got too crowded (frankly an unfit venue for a punk show) and unable to see anything we decided to call it a day. From what we were able to hear though in the twenty minutes we were there, Amyl and the Sniffers are certainly a band that deserves our attention and we will be seeking out their recently released debut album that combines their EPs "Big Attraction" & "Giddy Up".

Day 3 - August 11

We started the rainy last day of Way Out West at the Linne stage where David Longstreth unveiled the latest line up of his long-standing Dirty Projectors project.

With new players Felicia Douglass (percussion/vocals), Maia Friedman (guitar/vocals) and Kristin Slipp (keyboards, vocals) joining the ranks of the band which also includes longtime members Nat Baldwin on bass and Mike Johnson on drums, plus a new album under their belt ("Lamp Lit Prose"), Dirty Projectors played a fine set that proved that Longstreth has found a way to reinvigorate his band and add an exciting new chapter to their important history.

Dirty Projectors, live @ Way Out West 2018

Meanwhile, back on Azalea stage Fleet Foxes unveiled their fragile melodies under the gathering clouds that brought the first heavy shower of the evening.

The band had something from each of their three albums in their set, with my favorites coming from their ten year old self-titled debut - "White Winter Hymnal", "Ragged Wood" and of course "Mykonos".

Fleet Foxes, live @ Way Out West 2018

Lykke Li on Flamingo stage was next, with a new album to present ("So Sad So Sexy") and an interesting past to draw upon in order to create a respectable pop show that made our wet evening warmer and a little bit sexier.

Lykke Li, live @ Way Out West 2018

After a bit of rest and a bite to eat, we were ready for the festival's grand finale on Flamingo stage, an epic performance by Arcade Fire.

The seasoned Canadian rockers seemed to under-perform last year with their fifth album "Everything Now" not living up to their usual standards. However on stage they proved that they are still a formidable force and despite the rain that made its presence felt especially during the start of the show, the band gave a triumphant performance, combining their best new material ("Put Your Money On Me", "Electric Blue", "Creature Comfort") with several highlights from their rich history.

Their classic debut "Funeral" was well represented with "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" and  "Rebellion (Lies)" making an impact early in the set, while the tremendous "Wake Up" was saved for the grand finale. In between songs from both "The Suburbs" and "Reflektor" left their mark and chased the rain away ("The Suburbs", "Ready to Start", "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)", "Reflektor", "Afterlife", "We Exist"). Only "Neon Bible" was left completely out, but I guess you can't have it all in a 80-minute festival appearance.

As the band made its exit to the sounds of "Walk On The Wild Side", it was time for us to say goodbye to Gothenburg and the lively Way Out West festival, a well organized and constantly growing event which we would definitely recommend to any music fan visiting Sweden during August.

Arcade Fire, live @ Way Out West 2018

Check out below clips from some of the performances we enjoyed during the second and third day of the festival, and click here for our coverage of the first day of Way Out West 2018.

Arcade Fire - Wake Up (live @ Way Out West Festival 2018)

Fever Ray - Wanna Sip (live @ Way Out West Festival 2018)

Fleet Foxes - Blue Ridge Mountains (live @ Way Out West Festival 2018)


 Dirty Projectors - Cannibal Resource (live @ Way Out West Festival 2018)