Music Review: Love Saves the Day 2021

Saturday review - A Love Letter to Love Saves the Day

Words by Jasmine Khan

Festivals, f*cking festivals, finally! A space for human beings to just exist. Festivals like Love Saves The Day are hidden adventures - unique breaks from social expectations which allow us to feel free, to be completely ourselves. And gosh haven’t we all needed to feel free for the past few years?

Coming across from Brum to Bristol on the train, I travel light and sweat through any pre-applied make up before I get my first connection. No bother, festival Fems are always fire and always more prepared than me. A simple, ‘Hey, are you going to Love Saves The Day? Sweet. No chance I could pinch some concealer?’ and I was sorted. Before I'd even made it to the gates, two groups of womxn had offered me a place to stay should I get stuck after Little Simz finished her set.

The sun was shining and it was great to see that as well as taking Covid seriously by requiring a clear test within the last 24hrs for all attendees Love Saves The Day also had a drugs advice tent. A necessity in my opinion, to ensure that everyone’s safety is accounted for at festivals.

This was the first time I had gone to a festival by myself, and I must say it’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Upon entering the press tent I quickly made friends with two radio presenters, Danni and Dawn, and we set on seeing Shy FX before conducting our interviews with Bristol’s own Elder Island. Von, an old school raver and the Everyday’s esteemed photographer, jumped at the chance of seeing some DnB, so we grabbed GnT’s (a coke for Von) and into the festival we went.

It had been such a long time since I’d listened to Drum and Bass and such a long time since I’d been around so many people, that I forgot about the raw energy which radiates from crowds of that magnitude. For me at least the vibe is so intensely human, it’s animalistic. I grabbed Dawn’s hand, looked her straight in the eyes and mouthed ‘Shall we go in?’. A quick nod from Dawn and we started weaving in and out of people, heading straight for the heart of the dance.

On the way we saw groups of Bucket Hat Boys and Raver Girls covered in glitter. Somehow we picked up a bloke called Josh whose boyfriend didn’t like DnB, which obviously meant he hung out with us for the rest of Shy FX. A shuffle here, a ‘sorry excuse us’ there, and we were practically at the barriers. I must say, one benefit of being small at festivals is that people are usually in a loving enough mood to sympathetically let you pass.

Shy FX took command of the crowd the minute he stepped on stage and we danced as if our lives depended on it. He brought great vibes, heart-stopping drops and a consistently dirty bassline for the duration of his set. The tropical melodic rings were perfect in the summer heat and the surprise pyrotechnics only added to the crowd’s elation. Although they definitely contributed to me sweating through my make-up yet again. Overall, Shy FX was the perfect start to what would be an incredible day of shows.

Next, was my interview with Elder Island. I managed to catch the Experimental Folk turned Electronic/House/Pop fusion three-piece for about five minutes before they went on stage, which was both a blessing and a curse. Every writer wants to capture the feeling of musicians who have just had a chance to interact with an audience, but I was also really interested in how the pandemic had affected artists, especially those who thrive on live shows.

Elder Island said “It’s been surreal not being out. You normally use performing, especially when you’re writing new music, to gauge how stuff is going and it can help dictate a track. You might try out a single or two that’s on the album you’re working on, and be, like, okay that went really well or that didn’t go so well.”

“We definitely got a lot of anxiety over the lockdown period. It's hard when what you’re creating should help you out with those things. But it can be even harder because you’re writing yourself sad!”

However, Elder Island also said that “We were lucky enough that when we started the writing process for the album [Swimming Static] it was pre-lockdown, so we were already in a creative mindset, so the timing wasn’t ideal, but it was okay.”

I can only describe Elder Island’s set as a dynamic, mystical journey. Their building sound walls and almost harrowing vocals in tracks like Bamboo and Wasteland were ambient, emotional expressions that rolled through the crowd. Their set at Love Saves The Day made it abundantly clear how much Elder Island feed off the energy of their audiences. Furthermore, how this connection to the audience is reciprocal and driven by the energy of environments like festivals.

As the crowd moved quicker and grew more eager, Elder Island’s performance became more intense and they whipped us into a frenzy. They also played some tracks from their new album including Purely Educational, which had a heavy party vibe - as the sun started to set we danced through dusk.

At last, it was time for my most anticipated gig of the day, Little Simz. Now, I won’t claim to be a lifelong fan of Little Simz or to have the capacity to truly understand and thus accurately review her music, but she’s an artist I was introduced to by fellow writer Adwoa Owusu-Barnieh and lockdown gave me the opportunity to really delve into her music.

Her new album, particularly the song I Love You, I Hate You, helped me to reflect on my relationship with my dad. This new understanding of my emotions has been invaluable, so I’m extremely grateful to Little Simz for her music. When she performed it live I was brought to tears, which reminded me, yet again, of how important live music is. It’s a shared emotional experience, one which allows us to reflect, process, communicate and sometimes even overcome and release difficult, complex feelings. Outside of spaces which are designed specifically for that purpose, I can’t think of others apart from gigs which provide the same opportunity for healing.

Little Simz’s performance was phenomenal, as was her band’s. She relayed the full spectrum of her musical talents, from mellow Soul and RnB vocals, to Hip-Hop and Rap tracks. The audience was hanging off every note.

Radio Presenter Dawn Limbu said: “After listening to her latest album, Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert, I just knew I had to see her perform live. As we ran to the front of the main stage, the anticipation and excitement was rising through the crowd. Everyone was excited to see Little Simz.”

“Her stage presence was incredibly mighty and energetic. The audience was clinging on to each and every word that left her mouth. She was bold, beautiful and magnificent.”

Dawn also said: “One of my favourite tracks that Little Simz performed was Woman. As a young Black woman who grew up in a society that favours whiteness, I felt so empowered in the presence of a beautiful Black woman who was rapping about other beautiful Black Women. “All I see is Black stars and I friggin love it’.”

Me and Dawn saw off the day by going to watch Brum based M1llionz, who itched my grime scratch, and drill scratch I didn’t even know I had. His energy was electric and I still have (entirely self-inflicted) bruises from frequent mosh pits which broke out in devotion to his heavy bass and witty, yet impactful flow.

If it wasn’t already obvious, I had the best time at Love Saves The Day and the only thing I have left to say is thank you. Thank you to all the volunteers, staff (Corinna especially), foodies, techies and artists who made such a brilliant experience possible. Me, and I’m sure everyone else who attended, desperately needed it and we’re forever grateful.

Sunday Review

Words by Issy Packer

When Glastonbury was cancelled two years in a row, my faith in whether the music industry may persevere through this pandemic was dwindling (thanks, Boris)! However, the announcement that one of Bristol’s most famous festivals was making a return in September 2021 instead of May offered a glimmer of hope.

And I am so glad I dared to hope!

The music industry is slowly but surely rebounding from the difficult struggle of the past few months and this weekend was proof that not only things can get back to the way they were but that people want and need things to return to some semblance of normality.

The two day festival kicked off at a new location on a different weekend and still the atmosphere was even better than we’d imagined. I was fortunate enough to go on both days and walking up to The Downs amongst thousands of others was thrilling. The outfits, the hairstyles, the glitter… It was an ode to Bristol.

The sun, that hadn’t appeared at all in August, was present all weekend, giving The Downs a hazy glow as we walked around. We decided to head up earlier on the Sunday to get in as many acts as possible during the day before heading home.

After collecting our press passes, we headed to the Paradiso stage to watch Olivia Rose perform. A Bristol native, her music is influenced by R&B and rap and she was the perfect artist to kick off the day. Her enthusiasm and gratefulness at being able to perform at LSTD was genuine and it was lovely to watch her feel so comfortable on stage.

One of my favourite spots during the day was Lost Gardens. One of the best places to have a boogie in the sunshine with a drink, it featured artists and DJ’s from Bristol based label Durkle Disco, Ghost Phone and NGAIO. DJ K Stylz and Koast were two of my favourites, both part of Durkle Disco, they brought pure sunshine vibes with some old school classics and some of the latest remixes.

By this time, we had worked up the courage to visit the press area (hello, imposter syndrome!). It felt surreal flashing our brightly coloured wristbands at the steward and then being surrounded by other guest list and press attendees. There were actual toilets (well, sawdust, drop toilets) instead of portaloos! There was a crowd-free bar! There was a… mobile barber shop? We grabbed some drinks and some photos before being asked if we would like to be on Radio Bristol to discuss what our thoughts were on the festival. All we could do was gush about how happy we were to be back at an actual festival, a festival that was so full of happy people and positive vibes, it was infectious.

Our 10 minutes of fame over, we headed to centre stage (or the Lego stage as my mates referred to it all weekend), we got there in time to watch Kara putting out some incredible dnb tracks. Hailing from London, her set at LSTD featured Carasel AKA Cara. Their debut live performance blended lyrical ingenuity with drum and bass beats. The crowd adored it and it was a performance I’m so glad we didn’t miss.

Even as the sun was getting lower and lower, the good times continued over at the main stage with Pa Salieu’s energetic set. Luckily, the main stage’s sound seemed to have improved from the night before (Little Simz’s performance was both phenomenal and disappointing due to how quiet it was) and he gave the crowd everything they wanted; performing his hits and then some. He was definitely having a good day as Slowthai later brought him out on stage during his performance.

We returned to the Paradiso stage for our final performance of the weekend, back where we started the day. We enjoyed London artist Jelani Blackman who put on an upbeat show, his smile and energy as infectious and as catchy as his tracks. It was the best performance to end the weekend on and despite the sun beginning to fade, the atmosphere never dimmed.

Love Saves the Day was a much needed respite from the dark days of the last year and a half. With so many amazing live performances, the crowd full of happiness and laughter and the sun shining down on us, it was the perfect return to Bristol’s biggest music festival.

Hi, I’m Issy, the Music and Film Editor at The Everyday! I’m an English Literature graduate and have been passionate about all things to do with writing and journalism from a young age. I am interested in a number of things, including politics, feminism and music and am a firm believer that Bristol is ONE of the best cities in England for anything to do with culture, art and music. You can find me either at the cinema watching all sorts of films or trying to work my way through the long list of books I’m desperate to read.

Jasmine Khan is a journalist, public speaker and mental health advocate. Having achieved a Masters in Global Ethics and Justice, she now hopes to use this knowledge to promote practical changes for social justice across the UK and beyond. Jasmine also runs bespoke mental health masterclasses, for inquiries please see @jazwritesjazspeaks

My name is Von, I’ve lived in Bristol since 1992 and I’ve lived a lot of lives since then. https://www.vonalinacakephotography.com