Reminisce Festival Review

Photo: Reminisce Festival Credit: Lee Clayton

The date of September 5th had been highly anticipated by us since the start of festival season, and once it arrived, it didn't disappoint.

The first thing we noticed was the good location, being just a few minutes walk from nearby Lea Green station. We could hear the bass pumping as we headed across Sherdley Park, the sun shining and the excitement growing as we couldn't wait to get inside, and thanks to the well organised door staff we didn't have long to wait.

Our first impression on entering was that the site looked a bit smaller than we imagined, although once you explored it the true scale became apparent.

The Reminisce Tent alone was rammed to full capacity - the energy was highly charged as the eager masses were catapulted back down memory lane. A particularly memorable moment was when Robert Miles' piano epic 'Children' brought everyone together, hands in the air, swaying as one.

We spent a lot of time in the Love House arena enjoying sets by Paul Bleasdale, Denny Dowd and Robbie Edwards, who were banging out the classics with a modern twist, sending everyone into a frenzy.

The production levels were great. With the lighting and lasers being particularly impressive, it was clear the production team had put a lot of effort into the staging and set up to produce some spectacular visual effects.

As for the Clubland Arena, we can only describe it as a hardcore raver's paradise. Think sunglasses, glow sticks and whistles reminiscent of the days of Club Kinetic and Wigan Pier... it was absolutely bouncing.

One stand out performance for us came from Baby D who tore the roof of the Reminisce Tent by belting out classic hits 'Let Me Be Your Fantasy' and 'I Need Your Loving' (above), which for this reviewer brought back memories of the glory days of Rat Pack and co.

Overall we would highly recommend Reminisce especially for anyone into their old skool or hard dance sub-genres. The event was professionally organised, boasting good facilities and a brilliant atmosphere which continued throughout the night.

We were expecting a slightly older crowd if we're honest, but the age range varied from 18 through to 40 plus, proving that the influence of the old skool is growing and is reaching a new generation who are doing a great job at keeping the music alive.

We felt it might have been a good idea to spread the ladies toilets out in a couple of separate place just to reduces queues, but they were well maintained throughout the day which is always a big thumbs up at festivals.

The event closed at 11pm, however that didn't mean the party had to stop as there was an after party held in Liverpool, catering for the hardcore ravers amongst us.

As an up an coming festival in only its second year Reminisce certainly has the potential to grow and grow and we'd love to see it become a full weekend event. It's definitely an exciting prospect to witness the progression of Reminisce festival and how it will develop over the coming years.

More like this? Try BPM announce Dance Classics Party

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