The laid back, carefree atmosphere of Love Saves The Day has been the backdrop to some of the biggest and most memorable dance music line-ups Bristol has ever seen.
Things have escalated quickly for the festival, which first appeared in 2012 as a one-day event at Castle Park, and has since grown so much in and popularity that it has not only become a weekend event (2014), but also recently moved to the larger venue of Eastville Park (2015 was the festival’s first time at this site). This year, the Love Saves team have pushed their boundaries further still, stretching beyond their electronica roots to incorporate performances from a plethora of genres; the main stage on Saturday will host the alternative Rock sounds of Everything Everything and the electro-pop collective Hot Chip, while on Sunday it will see huge pop/rap name Dizzie Rascal playing the headlining spot. Anticipation for this year’s performances is decidedly high, with tickets for the festival completely selling out well in advance of the festival’s date. And despite the main-stage venturing into slightly more alternative and commercial ground this year, the dance music line-up across all other stages is still remarkably impressive and diverse.
With such an array of quality music being showcased, ticket holders may struggle to prioritise who to see. Here at Cone, we have compiled a list of the acts we are personally most looking forward to across both days of this festival; not the headliners that might have initially drawn in the big crowds, but the acts we know are going to put on great performances. If you know what’s hot, you won’t be missing these:
Everything Everything – Saturday, Main Stage
Following the success of their third album ‘Get To Heaven’ which dropped in 2015, Everything Everything are touring this Summer, hitting several UK festivals along the way. The 80s-influenced, spacey rock collective seem to be on the verge of full blown commercial success, with The Evening Standard recently telling us that they’ll ‘be very massive, very soon’. Their slot at Love Saves really represents an opportunity to see one of the UK’s most forward-thinking bands in the prime of their musical career.
Skream – Saturday, Cloud Nine Stage
Skream, AKA Olly Jones, has played with and pushed the boundaries of a variety of different tempos within the electronic music sphere since his emergence on the scene as one of the original dubstep founders in 2005. He is a DJ of world class calibre who never fails to put on a cracking show whatever bpm he is spinning. Due to his recent work in the Techno-sphere, our prediction for Saturday is an upbeat disco-influenced techno set; definitely one to dance to!
Roman Flügel – Saturday, Paradiso Stage
Roman Flügel has to be one of the most exciting names on the Techno scene right now. Pushing lucid, experimental and progressive soundscapes, Flügel’s sets are always creative and an absolute pleasure to listen to. Check out his boiler room to get yourself in the mood for the progressive sound.
Ivy Lab – Saturday, Arcadia Afterburner
Ivy Lab have been making some really cutting edge stuff recently, veering away from their DnB roots towards more down tempo sounds. It will be interesting to see if they drop any of this new sound, or stick to spinning their personal brand of dark, gritty DnB. Either way you can be sure this set will be exciting. Ivy Lab will also be at Lakota on Saturday night for Love Saves the Night.
Nightmares on Wax – Sunday, Main Stage
Nightmares on Wax is one of the funkiest names on this year’s line-up. Spinning a diverse range of soulful cuts, always on vinyl, Nightmares on Wax often incorporates incredibly skilful scratching into his sets. His sets are always a delight to listen to – perfect for chilled Sunday afternoon vibes to prepare for some of the harder stuff later on.
Egoless – Sunday, Brouhaha Stage
Egoless is one of the only dubstep names on the Love Saves line up. With two solid releases via J:Kenzo’s seminal label ‘Lion Charge Records’ under his belt, the Croat will certainly put on a performance not to be missed. Likely to be one of the sets carrying the heaviest bass, his sound is very much dub and reggae influenced and will be nice to hear on a weighty sound system (which we hope the Brouhaha Stage has!)
Amy Becker x Kahn – Sunday, Arcadia Afterburner
Bristol’s own Kahn goes back to back with Amy Becker as part of the Who Cares’ Girls and Boys takeover of Arcadia Afterburner. This is going to be a really interesting B2B, not only because both are such talented DJs – Becker usually spins tunes around house and techno bpm, decidedly more light-hearted than Kahn’s heavy grime vibes – and it’s exciting to speculate how the pair are going to structure their set due to this. Both Becker and Kahn will be heading two Love Saves the Night parties following their daytime performances – Becker at Motion and Kahn at Lakota.
Goldie – Sunday, Arcadia Afterburner
DnB godfather Goldie never fails to deliver a heavy set, and at Love Saves he is playing a ’20 years of Timeless’ set which is sure to be full of nostalgia. Expect to hear pioneering anthems from the history of DnB and some of Metal Head’z biggest and best releases. You can also catch Goldie playing Lakota and Coroners court for Love Saves the Night on Sunday.
Partying will begin when the gates at Eastville Park open at 11am on Saturday. This is going to be a truly mad weekend in one of the UK’s craziest and most lively cities. See you at the front!