V Festival 2016 review

Image: V Festival 

V Festival has become noteworthy in recent years for a number of reasons, one of them the fact that they are able to muster a plethora of humongous global acts to perform at the dual-site extravaganza; it always boasts one of the best pop music line ups out of any of the big-time festivals. 

This year was no exception, and with the bill being fronted by Rihanna and Justin Bieber - two of the world’s most exciting performers - you could tell that V had pulled out all the stops to celebrate its 21st birthday.

The festival takes place at both Weston Park in South Staffordshire and Hylands Park in Chelmsford. Two groups of artists perform at one location on the Saturday, and then swap and perform at the other on the Sunday.

Turning up to Weston Park on Saturday, you could sense that this year was going to be a big one. Marching along the long walk to the stages, the atmosphere built with every step. Despite the numerous security checks and questionable weather, the mood was incessantly upbeat and celebratory.

V Festival attracts a huge and eclectic crowd, partly due to the fact that despite starting out as a rock festival, it now showcases a broad range of stars from nearly every corner of popular music. For every Little Mix, there is a Kaiser Chiefs. For every Sia, there is a Jake Bugg. You can feel that diversity is key here, and no genre is sneered at or thought less of.

The first big act of the day was All Saints, who have recently engineered a moving and heartwarming return to the music scene after a decade away. Their recent comeback album, Red Flag, received major acclaim, but their entire set was focused on playing the crowd-pleasing old favorites which it is something to be expected at a festival with its fair share of casual fans.

Just one song from their new record, the exquisite 'One Strike', made an appearance.The highlight of the set was their biggest hit, 'Never Ever', which was met with roaring cheers from the crowd and brought band member Nicole Appleton to tears as she performed its iconic opening monologue.

Away from the music, there was The Glee Club comedy tent, who had big hitter Bill Bailey headlining with his irreverent and unique style of stand up. Also performing in the tent were other British comics such as Josh Widdicombe and Michael Fabbri among others.

The festival had a few changes this year, making for a more relaxing and less hectic atmosphere. For the first time, there was free wifi throughout the two sites, due to Virgin Media making the fields supercharged'.

As well as the usual fairground rides which were all present, the impressively vast amount of food stalls meant that every taste bud was catered for.

Non-musical activities on the day could be found with the table football in the Carling tent - bound to provide a few laughs from some worse-for-wear festival goers - and the launch of the new Smirnoff Ice Double Black drink, which was launched on the day.

Another notable act to perform was dance/R&B big hitter Katy B, who recently released her third studio album Honey. From the get-go, her kinetic performance had the crowd bouncing, and her mammoth amount of recognizable hits meant that even the most indifferent of spectators were bopping to her undeniably ferocious tunes by the end of it. Set highlights included 'Broken Record' from her debut Katy On A Mission, and the euphoric 'I Wanna Be from Honey'.

Rounding the night off was Rihanna, one of the biggest pop stars around at the moment. Almost replicating her set-list from her Anti World Tour, which recently finished its European leg, the show seemed massively better suited to a festival setting than her gig at the Old Trafford cricket ground back in June.

Jam packed with songs from her new record Anti and littered with classic hits such as 'Diamonds' and 'Umbrella', she clearly takes to festivals like a duck to water and is more comfortable in this arena.

Finishing her set was the triple-punch of 'FourFiveSeconds', 'Love On The Brain', and 'Kiss It Better', the first and last songs of which were notably absent from her setlist in June, due to starting the concert late. 

'Kiss It Better' is one of the best songs the Bajan princess has ever put to record, and it was befitting ending for the big birthday of a festival which, despite clearly being run for financial gain and influence, is able to pull together a billing of some of the best acts that the industry has to offer.

Here’s to 21 more.

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