So I arrive at the ends festival and as I’m driving down the road with the park on my right I’m wondering if driving was wise. Just as these thoughts crossed my mind, something said to me take this left. As I took the left and drive up a little there was parking on the right hand side of the road. Literally a 5-minute walk from the entrance of the festival. I looked up and said “Look at God” lol.
So I make my way to the media accreditation to collect the press passes, the walk was less than five minutes and the press queue was non-existent. I quickly received my passes and then walked towards the searching gates, which again had a different queue for press so we were in instantly.
As I walk into the field the vibe is amazing and the first thing I notice is vibrant and loud colors everywhere but then again that is festival culture, colors, flowers, sequins, face paints and entertainment. As I make my way toward the press area, I‘m approached by three lovely ladies representing Kiss who handed me a handheld fan, this was greatly appreciated as it was 24 degrees outside and I was really trying to preserve my make up.
I entered the press area and met the lovely Karen McNamara who is the PR I’d been liaising with prior to the festival, who advised me if I required anything to let her know etc. It was lovely to put a name to the face and see the people who manage so effectively, such a difficult yet rewarding job for a festival, which is brand new.
First performance I managed to catch was the beautiful and talented Alicai Harley, who performed on the Footasylum stage. Alicai Alicai Alicai is what I would call an ENTERTAINER. Energetic and full of vibes whilst interacting with the audience and feeding off of the crowd’s energy. Alicai performed hits such as Gold, Instruction and Proper Paper. Alicai was joined by her official Dj Black Russian who was a remarkable mc. Alicai’s performance was followed by Donaeo who featured on the main stage where he absolutely had the crowd on a major wave. Performing club bangers such as “I’m Fly, Devil in a blue dress and African warrior.
Osh this side followed Donaeo on the Foot Asylum stage, wowing the crowd with new hits from his new EP. In particular I like “No Love” which his first release from the EP and I love it! The crowd responded to the new song well and cheered him on, whilst he blessed our ears with various tones and harmonies, which meshed together well. Osh carried out a killer performance to “My Ye is different” jumping off the stage to perform with the crowd was an amazing vibe and energy. The crowd lit up and danced and sang with Osh who really did perform.
Kojo Funds hit the main stage with straight fire! From the minute he stepped on stage the festival was on a different wave. Performing hits such as “Dun talkin, No stallin & Finders Keepers had the fans singing along and vibesing. Kojo funds gave a tremendous performance and interacted with the fans making reference to his belly as a joke.
Maleek Berry was another amazing act that entertained us all through his performance and also bringing out Not£s was a touch. Wande Cole had the fans going absolutely insane when he performed so many Afro Beats songs such as “You bad”. This song had the fans dancing, waving, and cheering which was an all round amazing vibe.
Kranium’s performance graced the main stage and had the crowd fully engaged. He performed many of his hits my favorite being “Can’t believe”. Kranium had women coming on stage to dance with him, which excited the fans and was quite entertaining to watch if I’m honest. Kranium brought out Big Zeeks from the Shellington High Road who performed his hit “Happy” featuring Stylo G & D Double E. Big Zeeks brought a good energy to the stage and kept the fans engaged and energy levels remained high.
NSG performed on the Footasylum stage and absolutely annihilated their performance. I believe performances seem to be the artist’s way to interact with their fans. I thoroughly enjoyed NSG performance, as I was entertained from beginning to end. Each of them brings a different and unique vibe and character to the group, making them extremely entertaining to watch. Options was definitely my favorite performance from them as well as OT Bop being close second. They are entertainers, which I deem will bring them far in this industry. NSG had the cloud on 100 singing along and doing the OT BOP.
Wizkid concluded The Ends festival main stage and he was absolutely perfect for the job. Whilst he performed he brought back memories for me as I used to listen to Afro beats, Wizkid in particular. Wizkid’s performance was extremely lively, energetic and entertainment from start to end. Wizkid had the fans screaming and singing to Come Closer, Ojuelegba etc. Absolutely amazing closing performance for an amazing day.
In summary I would say that The Ends Festival 2019 was an incredible festival and very well planned and prepared for a brand new festival. Extremely good turn out and the day ran like clockwork. The staff and sponsors worked well and the location and access was set efficiently. Definitely a thumbs up from me and I would definitely recommend.