The Review by Renee Campbell

Freezy, for a newcomer he held his own. Covering current hits as well as classics. His set was nothing if not patriotic and for that I loved it.

However, the way in which they dropped his flagship track was appalling. He dismissed himself from the stage before preforming the song. This was evidently a stint to liven the crowd, but it backfired. They announced the split in the middle contest and instantly a girl was on stage with Freezy back preforming. The concept was good but the execution was poor. I would have recommended Freezy preforming the song, allowing the crowd to warm up and get on. Then to announce the competition. It would have been more engaging. To quote another attendee, “this is the first time I haven’t split to split in the middle”.

Quick shout out. DJ Moss was fire! He really pulled it out of the bag. Pantha, he doh easy. The two of them came hard. Pure vibes vibes vibes.

Lavaman! Or should I say The Lavaman. Wherever that man walks is mas. What a performance, what a legend. With clarity and high energy throughout it is clear exactly why this man is a veteran. From he touch the stage it shell. With such popular and renowned songs it was a given that the vibes would be high. By no competition, he was the highlight of the fete. To be frankly honest, his slot was too short.

I must admit the bar control was extremely impressive. With constant flow and no lines all night. This could be attributed to the mc’s regularly reminding those to move from the bar once served, or possibly the amount of friendly and efficient bar staff. It was refreshing. However the prices, I will never support a £10 double. At £5 for a single, it does leave you question where the incentive is to double up? Also the bar being cash only, Biggest pet peeve… No Tap Water! Ah the humanity, ah the legalities. No Tap Water? Insane.

Time for the criticisms; firstly the line. Which had reported wait times of an hour and a half. This apparently was due to the speed of security and not actually the amount of people. I can assure you the hall was empty whilst these attendees had to suffer the wrath of the English winter for hours, how incredibly frustrating. By the time all were admitted and the show could start it was 2:30am, just an hour away from the marketed end time. Leading on to my next complaint.

People were literally waiting on the rest to arrive. The DJ’s were there, the artists were ready yet the show had to start an hour and a half late.

PLEASE PEOPLE GET TO FETE ON TIME! We’re in England, the party will finish when it is marketed to finish. Do not arrive at 2am when it is going to end at 4am, that gives just two hours. It is illogical. We need to encourage each other to reach on time, not account for one and others lateness.

We should note that these faults were of the venue and not actually the event organisers.

Overall, it was a good night. We had some real mas, revellers ending up on the floor. Water throwing, people jumping, pure mas. Lava saved the day and brought the vibes. Also, respect to the organisers for allowing an extra 30 mins of fete to counter the late start. The event actually finished at 4am.

My jab jab posy wha yall say? Saka fete!

Photos by Dwayne Huggins