One Love Festival 2012 kicked off with maximum chill on Friday! And by the time we arrived on Saturday the festival was in full swing with beats pumping out of the main stage echoing across the Hop Farm in Kent.
The sun was shining down as people soaked up the Jamaican vibe from spectators chillaxing on the grass until the bass driven reggae and dub tunez took over your body and mind drawing the crowd closer to the stage as the night drew in, shaken their way to the front.
Freddie McGregor was one of the acts that stood out for me, a living legend! Memories can't describe the feeling of joy that was upon everyone’s faces at we all showed our respect for such a reggae guru! Check out this video of his performance from youtube below!
Small and friendly, the perfect package for a festival. Not over complicated with lots of areas, bars and food stalls, just the right amount of each and with plenty of recycling stations dotted around it was nice to see people making the effort to clean Britain tidy! Bars were cheap at £3.50 a beer or cider you cannot complain about that.
There was some stunning artwork from Graf artists displaying their skill upon boarding in the centre of the stages with a huge Bob Marley image and one that stood out for me was a Usain Bolt piece that we had seen being worked on throughout the day, very fitting for the moment with what he had achieved for Jamaica at the Olympics.
Camping was clean and spacious, security was polite and friendly and the whole arrangement of the festival gave off a peaceful message. The camping areas were fully equipped with all that you can ask for, showers, toilets, and an onsite shop to gather supplies and plenty of room for tents of all sizes, campervans and stationary onsite caravans.
A few issues with noise level control complaints from some of the local residents causing an early shut down on Friday night didn’t spoil what I think was a great festival, despite having one of the stages shut down with all the acts cancelled on Saturday and constant volume control issues (not the DJ’s fault) from the poxy council laws! We can only live in hope that maybe next year one love will find a venue that allows maximum volume!
Celebrating 50 years of Jamaican independence at the One Love Festival was the perfect way to spend the weekend. Yes it had its teething problems, but doesn’t every festival! Yes some of the artists may not have performed to the standard expected, yes there was a little sound clash mashup between stages if you were chilling or hanging in between, but hey! Who cares, get dancing and enjoy it!
All in all this was exactly what I have been looking for in a festival.
At a cost of £100 for the full weekend camping experience it would be hard to find anyone who was truly disappointed with the festival!
I know one thing, I will be back next year, and I’m 100% confident about that!
Published on 14 August 2012 by Wayne Feltham
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