Bluedot - a festival where music, science and comedy collide under the shadow of one of the world’s largest telescopes - made its grand return on Friday following a three-year hiatus.
Over the course of three days - four days if you nab early access - this truly unique festival brings together a eclectic mix of UK-based artists and global talent, interspersed with science talks from the like of talks Tim Peake, plus workshops, stargazing and plenty of laughs courtesy of this year’s comedy lineup.
It might also be one of the few festivals in existence where one minute you find yourself wandering through a fire-lit passage of artworks, guided by Luke Jarman’s astonishing Floating Earth sculpture, and the next you're listening to legendary dance duo Groove Armada drop At The River at sunset.
READ MORE: Bluedot Festival 2022 - food and drink prices as festival gets underway in Cheshire
Despite the slightly wet start to Friday’s proceedings, the atmosphere at Jodrell Bank was electric even at early doors, perhaps a testament to Thursday nights opening act Hannah Peel and Paraorchestra, a mesmerising classical-electronic crossover.
Soweto seven-piece BantU Continua Uhuru Consciousness, better known as BCUC, brought their afro-psychedelic future pop rock to The Lovell stage late afternoon and quickly had the audience entranced. The band, which formed in 2003 and sings in all 11 of the official languages of South Africa did not hold back, taking their distinctive sound - think soulful and chanting vocals, a dash or drums and bass, and plenty of percussion - to the next level.
The crowds might have been a bit patchy at this point, on account of the science talks, podcasts and Jedi training taking place, but those in attendance were treated to an extremely joyous and invigorating performance. They’re followed by east London Rapper Kojey Radical, who makes his Bluedot debut with his genre-warping style, straddling hip-hop, grime, neo-soul, jazz, and a couple of guitar solos for good measure.
A very willing crowd is treated to his long-awaited debut album Reason to Smile, the title track kicking things off while the funk-laden Payback is the musical equivalent of a victory lap. The gospel undertones of Together are followed up by the quieter pleasures of Silk - The latter’s smooth vocals reflecting the Friday mood, and the beginnings of a party to remember.
Taking a moment to speak directly to the crowd about his battle with depression, Radical reminds people to be patient with those struggling and to keep reaching for that light at the end of the tunnel, before revisiting his 2019 EP Cashmere Tears, specifically Can’t Go Back - a poignant moment.
Over on a smoky Orbit stage, Welsh electronic artist Kelly Lee Owens played a loud and luscious set of pop-infused techno, and despite battling with the immense gravitational pull of the mainstage headliners arriving across the field, mesmerised with a sound that owes as much to minimal garage and ambient music as it does arena-size festival fare. Credit to her set designers too, with the fluid, abstract backdrop visuals and spaced-out washes of light making for a suitably cosmic experience.
A quick dash over the field, towards the hard-to-miss telescope, and it was Groove Armada's turn. Since forming in the 1990s, the renowned dance act has gone from dancefloor upstarts to Grammy-nominated, arena-filling fan favourites by way of chill out compilation royalty status and advert music staples - a long and winding journey which is now coming to an end.
Hanging up their live show headphones after 25 years, the duo’s Bluedot set marked one of the last ever stops for the duo’s feted live shows, and it was clear they intended to go out with a big bang. Fan favourites like Superstylin’ and My Friend sounded larger than ever thanks to help from long-time vocalist MC MAD, whilst a party-sized version of ‘I See You Baby’ saw new and old fans alike following the legendary advice of Gram’ma Funk and shaking it throughout.
A closing section wound things down with an equally iconic trombone riff of ‘Down By The River’, which Played live by a spotlighted Andy Cato seemed more evocative than usual given the circumstances; even the unconverted know to hum along, and for old and new fans alike this was a taste of the armada at full force.
Lifting crowds off into the stratosphere with their bespoke telescope projections on the Lovell Telescope will surely cement their place in Bluedot’s hall of fame. For those who still had fuel in the tank, Public Service Broadcasting, who kindly stepped in at the last minute for English space rock band Spiritualized, kept the party going over at Orbit.
Pulling something like this together at the eleventh hour is no easy feat, but a set of galaxy-sized instrumentals and rolling sample-switching grooves from the London-based bands, along with an impressive visual backdrop, provided the perfect final note for what was an out-of-this-world Friday night.
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