On a beautiful late-summer day overlooking the city skyline, Brixton’s Brockwell Park hosted Cross the Tracks festival after a COVID-enforced hiatus. With the uncertainty that surrounded the U.K.’s easing of Coronavirus restrictions, many festivals planned for later in the summer to give themselves as many assurances as possible to avoid cancellations like Glastonbury, Boomtown, and BST Hyde Park. Similarly, travel restrictions made it difficult for overseas acts to perform - En Vogue cancelled days before the event - although this provided the festival with a great opportunity to promote the U.K’s brightest talents. Both festival-goers and event staff were in high spirits, and it was a great return to action after the last year we’ve had.
Early in the day, Joel Culpepper - who introduced his band ‘The Peppers’ - put on an outstanding, high-energy performance at The Terminal stage tent. The set climaxed with his hit single ‘Woman’, with some incredible solos from his female backing singers. Shortly after, Pip Millett arrived on stage. She impressed with her vocals on tracks including ‘Love the Things You Do’ and ‘Make Me Cry’, and the performance was well-suited to a busy festival tent.
Meanwhile, over at Locomotion, Lex Amor took centre stage in an incredible outfit, sporting a furry bucket hat, huge sunglasses, and long leather coat that was quickly swapped for a colourful waistcoat. Although her set was delayed and cut short due to technical difficulties during the sound check, the North London rapper delivered a brilliant performance. The set culminated with a live rendition of ‘Mood’ that included fantastic saxophone, bass, drum, and guitar solos.
The festival's first big clash soon followed. On the main stage, New Zealand’s Jordan Rakei drew a big crowd with a set perfectly curated for the glorious summer weather. Although Rakei is a well-established artist, often collaborating with South London’s own Tom Misch and Loyle Carner, his performance at Cross the Tracks will have encouraged lots of new fans to search through his catalogue.
While Jordan Rakei impressed with his soulful vocals at the main stage, Kofi Stone and Children of Zeus brought Hip-Hop and R&B vibes to D-Railed and The Terminal respectively. Children of Zeus attracted a huge crowd, who sang along to tracks such as ‘Slow Down’, but they lacked stage presence without a band and were slightly underwhelming.
The Terminal then hosted Greentea Peng, dressed in a cowboy outfit, followed by Yussef Dayes, with fans spilling out of the tent and overjoyed at their respective songs ‘Dingaling’ and ‘For My Ladies’.
The highlight of the day was the legendary Sister Sledge. It has been 50 years since the group released their first single but they brought new life and high energy to the stage, albeit with only one of the original sisters. The band included lots of backing dancers and singers in bright, glittery outfits that massively complimented the hit song ‘He’s The Greatest Dancer’. There was a lull in the middle of the set when the lead Sister sat down for a Stevie Wonder cover, but the rest of the performance was nonstop classics.
The headline act was South London’s own Lianne La Havas. Having fewer international acts at the festival was a shame, but it gave the festival the opportunity to promote local talent and provide artists, such as Lianne, with a huge homecoming show. The singer acknowledged that the festival had taken a chance on her, and there were some complaints on the train journey home about her intimate performance, but on the whole she impressed the crowd with her fantastic vocals and guitar, and brought out Nubya Garcia for a fantastic saxophone solo.
At The Terminal, legendary DJ Gilles Peterson perfectly closed out the night with an all-vinyl set. His light displays and visuals mesmerised the crowd, and there was a fun moment where a guest trumpeter joined him on stage to solo over songs while Gilles mixed. The set culminated with a great transition from George Benson’s ‘Give Me The Night’ into the late Bill Wither’s ‘Lovely Day’, which perfectly rounded off an excellent day of soulful music.
For many this was a long-awaited return to festivals. It is a shame that festival season is over barely after it started, but Cross the Tracks could not have done more to make it a day to remember.
Comments