Despite Slowthai and Solange’s best efforts, poor organisation flattened the mood at Lovebox.
“F*** all authority!” 24-year-old Slowthai barked at a mostly teenage crowd. But his mischievous smile quickly turned to confused grimace when the Northampton rapper stopped the gnarly punk synths of Doorman to order the tepid crowd to open up a bigger pit before he would continue.
Solange’s headline set also fell a little flat — her more thoughtful brand of neo-soul didn’t translate in the way it usually does.
So what was the problem? Security emptying people’s prescription pills into a bin and sneaking into mosh pits looking to catch teenagers up to no good certainly didn’t help. Poor acoustics on the main stage also flattened the atmosphere.
Kaytranada and rap veterans Cypress Hill made more of an impression on the smaller stages. Yet as the day progressed, there was an unshakeable feeling Lovebox is just another London festival happy to spend big booking great artists, but hesitant when it comes to getting the basics — good sound and empathetic security — right.
