Hospitality returned to Finsbury Park on the 21 September for another stellar dance festival. The feel-good label brought seven stages of drum and bass and jungle, with a side of 140, hip-hop and garage. Kicking off at 11am, the early-bird ravers had already descended into the park to catch the opening acts. By mid-day, the festival was in full swing with each stage filled to the brim in time for the headline acts. Hats off to security and the efficient queuing system which saw the masses searched and scanned in under 20 minutes.
The camo-decorated Outlook stage featured some of the best acts who performed at their renowned summer festival held in Pula, Croatia. The dance and DJ combo24hr Garage Girls kicked things off with the flavours of 130bpm UK garage and bassline remixes of dance classics and R&B. Later in the day Mungo’s Hi-fi takeover brought out the sounds of dub and reggae to the stage, vocalised by the talented multi-genre artist Eva Lazarus. At sunset, the South-Norwood based Deep Medi Musik label owner Mala took to the decks with the MC Sgt Pokes. Hailing as one of the pioneers of the original dubstep sound, Mala rolled through his dangerous repertoire of 140bpm rhythms, drawing gun-fingers and reloads throughout.
S.P.Y’s own Dubplate style tent was ruled by the sounds of deep rollers and old-school classic sets from some legendary artists. Fittingly, the stage was dimly lit with more effort put on the sound quality. The early-afternoon saw DLR with Hydro in a Sofa-Sound takeover. They let loose the underground sounds of Bristol with unreleased tracks from the label and remixes from the newly established drum and bass duo known as ‘The Sauce’.
In the greenhouse-style stage, was the tech drum and bass powerhouse Critical Sound. The label’s own artists Fade Black, Klax, Enei and Halogenix played throughout the day, each DJ playing progressively heavier than the one before. Highlights included an explosive double performance of Killbox andBad Company who showcased the true sound of neurofunk, followed by a genre-bending hip-hop and drum and bass performance from Mefjus.
Without a doubt, the busiest and rowdiest stage was Royal Rumble and Run, held in an open-air tent in the centre of Finsbury Park. In a similar fashion to their events at Studio 338, Kings of The Roller’s own Royal Rumble had triple back-to-back sets all through the day from artists of different eras. This included foghorn synth veteransBenny L, Limited and T>Ito newcomers Bou, Dutta and Stompz. As the sun was setting, Break, S.P.Y and Skeptical’s performance was one to remember, each artist brought their mature and unique tech roller sound to the mix.
Hospitality’s colossal mainstage tent was the largest of the festival, with its dazzling stage production, lasers and lighting. It was there where the main Hospital Records artists performed, such as Camo & Krooked, Metrik, Makoto, the label boss London Elektricity and an exclusive drum and bass set from the garage and grime DJ Flava D. Danny Byrd’s set was a highlight from this stage, his fast-paced mixing style matched his jump-up to dancefloor anthems. Sweet sounding liquid vibes were all round in Hospital's sister label Med School stage, tucked away in the south end of the festival. A selection of artists who push the soulful and melodic styles of drum and bass rolled through including Lenzman, Technimatic and the legendary LTJ Bukem.
Hospitality in the Park was the definitive festival to close the summer, timed perfectly with the last weekend of hot weather. Each stage brought elements from the bigger abroad festivals and day raves that occurred throughout the summer season, which was much appreciated by those who may have missed them. The sound engineers got it right with good levels throughout the day, something that a lot of other UK day festivals struggle with. This festival will definitely be in our 2020 calendar.
Information and pre-sale tickets for Hospitality's next major event, Hospitality in the Dock 2020 can be found here.
Photography - Cathy Whatever / Garry Jones
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