Written by Cameron Wyatt
Cross the Tracks returned last weekend for its seventh edition, kicking off the start of festival season in London with an exciting line up of acts, including Little Simz, Joy Crookes, Obongjayar & Kokoroko. The timing couldn’t have been better for Londoners, with the UK’s heatwave (and Arsenal’s title celebrations) arriving just in time for the South London festival.
We headed down to Brockwell Park in the afternoon, excited to see all the standout acts on show throughout the day. Having such a broad selection of R&B, Jazz, Soul & Rap artists on display throughout the festival was something that couldn’t be passed up, and we made sure we were able to check out as many of the artists as possible between the different stages. A highlight of our day at Cross the Tracks was definitely Fabio & Grooverider with The Outlook Orchestra, who brought together a huge range of music lovers over to the main stage, with everyone from teens all the way through to parents and their little ones swarming towards the crowd as their slick fusion of jungle & drum and bass began.
However, after having a great time at our first set of the day, we did eventually have to say goodbye to the main stage to head over to the Terminal stage for one of the festival’s most anticipated acts. Obongjayar delivered a high-energy set packed with fan favourites during golden hour, with ‘Holy Mountain’ being a standout towards the end of the set. While it was an amazing set leading into the final headliners of the day, he wasn’t finished there without one more surprise appearance…
After this, we got ready for what was a special Joy Crookes performance. Dedicating the set to ‘Palestine, Arsenal and bad bitches everywhere’, the crowd were engaged and loving the set right from the off. Fan favourites ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me Now’, ‘When You Were Mine’ & ‘Mathematics’ all made for a fantastic hour and a half in the London sun, leading into the final headliner of the day, Little Simz.
Another act to announce their love for Arsenal since last weekend’s title triumph, Little Simz appeared in a jacket, before later removing it to reveal the Premier League Champions’ shirt, prompting a loud cheer from the crowd, mixed with a few boos here and there, though it was clear they came in good spirits from rival fans rather than in response to the performance itself. Football aside, Little Simz brought a serious amount of energy in every song she performed, with the set list including songs from her new EP ‘Sugar Girl’, as well as a wide range from her albums, ‘Lotus’, ‘NO THANK YOU’ & ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’. Once again, Little Simz has demonstrated why she remains one of the UK’s best, and never gives us reason to think otherwise.The energy, interaction with the crowd, and performances were all second to none, becoming our personal highlight of the day.
Specific highlights throughout the show included when Little Simz got on the decks to perform Mood Swings as well as Open Arms from her new EP, bringing out DEELA as a surprise guest. This wasn’t her only surprise guest, with Obongjayar returning to perform two of Little Simz’s most popular tracks, Point and Kill & Lion. The chemistry between Little Simz and both guests was great to see, and made for amazing sections of the show between her solo tracks. As always, the solo tracks hit just the same as any other, with ‘I Love You, I Hate You’, ‘101 FM’ & the show closer, ‘Gorilla’ taking the cake as our favourites of the set.
It was the perfect closer to a memorable day at Cross the Tracks, bringing South London together with a great selection of music across different genres, and we already can’t wait to do it all again next year!
