We Out Here Festival

We Out Here is a festival which has the celebration of jazz, dance and community at its core, and its seventh year certainly fulfilled founder Gilles Peterson‘s original intention. In the lingering heat of the UK’s hottest summer on record, musicians and festivalgoers alike showed no sign of lethargy, with all seventeen stages alive with the sound of jazz, soul, afro, jungle, house and more during the four days and nights.

The weekend was kicked off with an electric start from the venerated jazz-rap trio Digable Planets on the Main Stage on Thursday, who were celebrating over 30 years of their album Blowout Comb. The band behind the trio was sparking with energy, while Ishmael Butler livened up the crowd; chants of ‘cool like dat’ from Rebirth of Slick began the festival with a sense of unity and shared enjoyment which would last throughout.

Friday was a big day for the Main Stage, demonstrating the depth and richness of jazz and soul. In the daytime, Bel Cobain and Anaiis’ mystical ethereal sounds offered a calm which rivalled the Wellness area (which many flocked to for a swim in the lake or yoga session to recuperate after a long night), while Dave Okumo led a large choir of outstanding musicians to commemorate the late vanguard of neo-soul in a lengthy set A Prayer for D’Angelo. Following these already salient performances was the headliner, UK vocalist Joy Crookes, whose set was a shining highlight of the festival. Feet Don’t Fail Me Now, the soulful protest anthem, was introduced with the humorous claim that it ‘pays her rent’, but was a performance demonstrating the power of her masterful lyricism. As expected, the atmosphere undeniably shifted as the guitar began to play, and feet certainly did not fail when the entire crowd began to dance and sing along as the sun set over the Somerset hills. The warmth of her sound and her joyful performance made the experience truly magical, with the last track When You Were Mine ending the set on a note of bittersweet nostalgia and hope which resonated with the rapt audience.

Following Joy Crookes on the Main Stage was the legendary Thundercat, who marked a shift from classic soul to funk as the night set in. His entrance was a dramatic one, emerging from the set, a large luminescent red cat: the striking visual which set the tone for his standout performance. Them Changes was a crowd pleaser, while his other tunes kept the crowd moving throughout the lengthy set, which included a drawn out encore. Later into the night saw movement into the smaller and more intimate tents, with each stage offering a different scene, from techno to house to jungle, making for an exciting array of exploration which stretched long into the early hours.

Saturday afternoon saw The Scientist take to The Bowl with his Jamaican dub set, bringing deep bass tones to the large tree-lined stage. Known for defining the 80s futuristic dub reggae scene, as well as his use of the mixing desk as a live instrument, his live set was dynamic, drawing great crowds to the steep concave site. Soon after at the Lush Life Stage was Aja Monet, a US poet whose witticisms and wisdoms drifted smoothly over the backing jazz, making for an interesting and thought-provoking lunch-time listen which many had on the grass behind the stage. The night saw the free roller rink transformed into its own stage; while more empty than others, it allowed for total freedom in dancing, with DJs such as JKriv and DJ Tara keeping the energy high.

London-based British-Nigerian DJ Dare Balogun brought the soul of African music to the Lemon Lounge on Sunday, an intimate set (despite the large numbers trying to fit into the small yellow tent) which evoked the unity of dancing, while being an ‘unapologetic’ expression of the relevance of traditional African music today. In contrast, the headlining English-French avant-pop band Stereolab brought indie and experimental rock onto the scene. While their ethereal electronic sound didn’t come across quite the same live, their set was well-received, with A Flower Called Nowhere producing Stereolab’s unique sound to the great excitement of the crowd.

Returning to the Lemon Lounge in the night was electric, with DJ Hunky signing off the festival with a high-energy set, which induced conga lines and rapid dancing around the small tent. The feeling of community was strong here, and there was a bitter-sweet sense of things coming to a close which seemed to spur the crowd to feel the rhythm more manically and energetically than ever before. The early close on Sunday night led to groans across the site, attesting to the festivalgoers’ insatiable desire for music, despite the myriad of acts across the four days. Undoubtedly, the festival felt like a separate world of outstanding live music, dance, freedom, togetherness and community which no one wanted to leave.