Anyone who has been to Reading/Glastonbury can testify to three-day festivals being a tiring affair. So, spare a thought for the punters who have just returned home after spending seven days camped out at Hungary’s Sziget Festival.
Based on an island in the centre of Budapest (Sziget means ‘island’ in Hungarian), the international festival features seven consecutive nights of headliners, this year’s line-up book-ended by two of the biggest artists on the planet right now: Kendrick Lamar and Arctic Monkeys.
Unfortunately, the idea of camping out for one whole week in those very (very) dusty fields, good reader, was certainly too daunting for this Londoner. Instead, four nights of headliners was more than enough – initially five, but a delayed flight meant missing Lana Del Rey – starting with Mumford & Sons and finishing with the aforementioned Sheffield-hailers.
And what a wonderfully unique four days it was. Sziget prides itself on atmosphere rather than the line-up (even though this year also saw Gorillaz headline) and every day there are odd theatrical delights to be enjoyed, ranging from magic tricks to interpretive dance. One of the most breath-taking acts was a dance workshop featuring two men climbing on each other and singing “The Song Must Go On” acapella. Yes, that sounds awful, but the bizarre display was remarkably watchable.
Another stunning and surprising act was Famefatal, an LGBTQI theatre troupe featuring members from around the world. Their body morphing dance routines – featuring suitcases and selfie-sticks – left every person crammed in the tiny Hall of Mirrors tent awestruck (and questioning the life choices that led to their much less impressive beer-soaked bodies).
It’s moments like these, stumbling upon acts you never knew existed beforehand, that make festivals special and Sziget is full of them. Traditional Hungarian music plays out of one stage while Romanian trap blasts from another. Even if you do not like the music, there’s a sandy beach to enjoy and another area dedicated to board games.
The acts, though, are the ticket-sellers. Saturday kick-started with Everything Everything on the second biggest stage, the band having been busily touring their fourth album A Fever Dream over the past year. Leaning heavily on the Mercury Prize-nominated release, plus 2015’s Get To Heaven, the four-piece blasted through a packed set, forgoing any material from their debut. A bold choice that paid off as the band stole the day from Mumford & Sons.
Mumford made for a surprising choice of headliner. Their last album – Wilder Minds – came out three years ago to mixed reviews, the group exchanging their banjos and upright bass for electric instruments. With little to prove at Sziget, their set-list heavily leaned on the lesser-known record, as well as a helping of unreleased music from their upcoming release, leading to a fairly meandering set that peaked far too early with “Little Lion Man”.
Conversely, Dua Lipa – another UK headliner (perhaps explaining why this year’s festival was the first time Brits were the primary ticket-buyers away from Hungarians) – had to justify her booking. Sziget marked the singer’s first time headlining a major music festival, booked despite having just one album out (the almost 1.4 billion plays of number one single “New Rules” likely secured the slot). Those ubiquitous radio-friendly singles (also including “One Kiss”, “IDGAF” and “Be The One”) made for huge, crowd-uniting moments, but the momentum was lost during the album tracks. A few more pop-bangers and Dua will no doubt be headlining bigger festivals in the years to come.
Earlier in the day, a future headliner managed to stun: Slaves. The two-piece from Tunbridge Wells are almost three albums down (their next is out this week) and have enough thrilling punk tunes and skits to keep everyone giddy. Back-to-back with Wolf Alice, another British rock band, they made for a stunning mid-day break from the predominantly pop-focused day.
On the third night, Norwegian DJ Kygo took to the main-stage making for possibly the most boring choice of headliner I have ever witnessed. Watching one bloke who got famous with a remix of Ed Sheeran playing tunes would be fine in a party tent, but on the festival’s biggest stage, Kygo’s own songs just don’t carry. Even with the crowd given glowing utensils to throw around in the air and plenty of remixes (including a song by Dua Lipa), the 26-year-old could not hold everyone’s attention.
Luckily, for those craving an unstoppable headlining band, Arctic Monkeys were on hand to wrap up Sziget. On their quest to play every European festival this summer, Alex Turner’s performance featured hits aplenty, making for the festival’s best set and giving these knackered campers the energy boost they needed after a long seven days. Now, off to a proper bed with you.
