Saturday 7th July 2012: Day Two @ Wireless Festival 2012, Hyde Park, London.
After the eclectic array of dance beats, spine-tingling soul and phenomenal visuals on the opening day, Saturday saw some of the biggest pop acts on the planet descent upon (an increasingly boggy) Hyde Park. Although the sun shone down hotly at some points, performances by Drake, Professor Green and Nicki Minaj kept the atmosphere as cool as a cucumber.
Heaving through the entrance gates we made our way to the Main Stage to catch Tulisa of N-Dubz/X Factor fame who was not short of energy and looked determined to make an impression. To an excitable crowd of predominately teenage girls, she belted out a brief set which inspired mass sing-alongs, including a triumphant version of her chart smash ‘Young’. Backed by a tight-as-hell band, it was a polished performance that left Tulisa positively beaming.
Local boy Professor Green owned the main stage a little later on, bringing out the sun with his glowing charisma. A consummate live performer, The Prof dulydished out complements to the tens of thousands gathered and peaked with a brilliant ‘Oh My God’ and a caustic ‘Don’t Piss Me Off’ which had the welly-clad masses bouncing along in unison.
Aside from the main stage there were two tents pushing the party vibes forwards, and one stage dedicated to live bands too. Surrounding the festival were food and drink stalls, as well as an eye catching Jagermeister bar with exclusive roof area. The Unwind stage wasn’t as big as the Pepsi Max stage, but it went off for Brixton rapper Sneakbo. He delivered his tunes with real feeling and brought a fantastic edge to the day. Although at some points it sounded like his microphone could have been turned up, everyone had their hands waving in the air from start to finish. He ended on the emotional ‘Sing for Tomorrow’, and was joined by L.Marshall onstage accompanied by guitar.
On the same stage and on after Sneakbo, Sway swaggered straight on and practically ordered us all to join in with his set. The crowd participation he got was impressive, and made you feel a part of his set as he demanded a great deal of call and response. He was joined by a female singer onstage to sing ‘Level Up’, and he played tunes from his older albums pleasing his more fervent fans.
The number of people inside the festival area began to really swell, and it became clear that it was a good idea of the organisers to book quality acts across the different stages so the numbers spread out nicely. When 5foot 2inches diva Nicki Minaj performed the site was totally rammed and the excitement was tangible. Thousands flocked to hear her perform feel good party hits like ‘Starship’, and her sassy outfit looked totally glamorous making it a satisfying set to enjoy as darkness fell.
The final act of Saturday, Drake, rocked up to a screaming pheromone-fuelled hysteria. Like the Wireless line-up the day before, the headliner hailed from Canada, and there was no shortage of Maple Leaf flags broadcasting their support. Swaying crowds sung along to anthemic hits like ‘Take Care’, and the screams and wails of his fans cut through the air throughout his flawless set that brought Wireless to a smooth-as-hell close on Saturday. His easy-going beats were a good way to bring in the night. It was a day of fantastic performances, but, like many major festivals, some of the livelier and more engaging ones took place away from the Main Stage. Roll on Sunday!
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