Love Supreme Festival

Five stars

Glynde Place, Lewes, Friday, July 5 –Sunday, July 7

SATURDAY was a day full of sunshine, laidback beats and soul legends at Love Supreme festival, tucked away in the countryside near Glynde.

The Teskey Brothers kicked things off on the main stage, and Snazzback featuring Solomon OB had the audience in the palm of their hand in the Bands and Voices tent.

The addition of China Bowls’ delicate, jazzy vocals to the mix was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy which seemed to run through the entire weekend.

The South London Samba Band were a fireball of energy and whipped bystanders into a frenzy of shimmies and shakes.

Louie Vega and the Elements Of Life found the ideal soundtrack for the afternoon with a cover of Ray Ayers’ Everybody Loves The Sunshine, followed by Jimmy Cliff whose chilled and cheerful tunes were popular sing-alongs with the crowd, who seemed ready to get dancing.

Many sat back down though when The Cinematic Orchestra followed, whose set felt a bit too relaxed for the pre-cursor to the legend that is Gladys Knight.

When the Motown star arrived there was no doubting her musical authority.

At 75 she may have needed an occasional helping hand to move around the stage, but she didn’t put a step wrong vocally.

Her smooth, clear and assured performance was a pleasure to watch.

With casual mentions of Marvin Gaye and an unending outpouring of love and appreciation for the audience, she held their attention with an easy grace that comes from a career that has spanned 50 years.

She covered more recent artists such as Sam Smith, but the crowd erupted when she finished on her best-known hit Midnight Train To Georgia.

The arrival of occasional showers didn’t dampen moods on Sunday morning, and the final day of the festival had a busier vibe to it, with more people arriving, many of who seemed to be excited for headliner Lauryn Hill.

Before that though, Jeremy Sassoon’s Ray Charles Project was great fun, playing so many classic songs such as Hit The Road Jack and I Got A Woman appealing to all ages.

The mix of festival goers, in both age and musical sensibilities, made the whole event a really relaxed, family friendly affair.

There were plenty of options for young ones to get out of the sun and do some crafts or practise their circus skills, as well as tents boasting artist interviews, signings, dance lessons, swing choirs and more intimate jazz-based performances.

Back on the main stage, the young and talented Mahalia was a breath of fresh air, with plenty of fans in the crowd already, singing along to songs like Do Not Disturb and One Night Only.

She’s sure to have gained some new ones as a result, and gave a sweet, laidback groove for the second afternoon of the festival.

The sun came out for Jamie Cullum’s set, but it was his enthusiasm and energy that really lit up the stage.

Arguably a headline act himself, he was totally engaging and gave the start of the evening a real boost.

It’s a shame the momentum didn’t quite carry on, as the first half hour of Lauryn Hill’s set was taken up by DJ Reborn, who pumped some great tunes out to the restless crowd but was obviously not the woman they’d come to see.

When Ms Hill finally appeared, my overwhelming feeling was that she overdid it on the proverbial spice.

She came out hard, often shouting her lyrics on songs such as Lost One, and ironically lost more than one of the crowd, who seemed to find it difficult to follow the melodies of some of her greatest hits.

Heavy on guitars and generally feeling overworked, I wanted to hear more of her amazing voice than the arrangements allowed.

She stated that her intention with The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill album was “to make a love classic for my generation” and her talent is undeniable, but it felt like she needed to sit back and let the music do the talking.

Her encores of Killing Me Softly, Fu-Gee-La and Ready Or Not stuck more religiously to the melodies, allowing the audience to come with her on the journey.

Her performance is sure to have split the audience, with some preferring the milder, more gentle rhythms of jazz and soul, while some opt for the punchy spice of hip hop.

For me, if she’d just taken some time to let the music marinate a little longer, chances are she would have delivered the perfect blend that everyone would have loved.

Laura Gooch