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Mr. Play recaps the first annual Ends Festival
BEING A born and bred south Londoner, it was definitely a LIT moment to witness the debut of ‘The Ends’ Festival in Croydon, with a line up of headliners including Nas, Wizkid and Damien Marley.
For the first of its kind in Croydon’s Lloyd Park, it was definitely put together well. Over 30,000 music lovers packed the park for the inaugural event, bringing together legendary greats across the worlds of hip-hop, grime, soul and Afrobeat.
It was also fantastic to check out the hottest new artists and upcoming talent!
Nas, Wizkid and Damian Marley brought the house down with electrifying performances, while J Balvin, De La Soul, Nao, IAMDDB, Mirra May, Masego and many more turned the heat up across the three-day event that is confirmed to return in 2020.
It was a family affair in Croydon with Nadia Rose opening the main stage on the Friday watched by cousin Stormzy in the audience!
Rachel Anson, Stormzy’s sister, led a moving tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle with a DJ set during his scheduled slot, and blue balloons were released in his honour while the sun set over Lloyd Park.
Bwoy Wonder and Ghetts talking at The Ends Festival
Kojey Radical, A2, Ghetts, Saint Jhn, K-Trap and De La Soul gave their first UK festival appearances of the summer, while Nas brought the day to a close with an all energy, high-octane performance.
There's actually way too many artists to mention. Saturday was blazing hot as Wizkid brought the vibes on stage, uniting everyone with a blend of Afrobeats and Dancehall, which you know I love - a true representation of my roots.
When you thought it couldn't get any better, Sunday went off!
J Blavin had everyone loving the reggaeton heat with a playful stage presence complete with inflatables and giant bobbleheads of Cardi B and himself!
Burna Boy killed it and left everyone wanting more! Damien Marley brought the weekend to a memorable close, the love and good vibes were free flowing especially when he paid tribute to his legendary father Bob Marley. It was such an experience!
The festival plans to return in 2020, and I recommend it as one of your picks next year!
De la Soul
It was an absolute pleasure to catch up with the Iconic De La Soul backstage before their performance, and they explained what brought them over to perform.
“From what I understand, the founder was motivated by a performance we did years ago, and was keen on bringing people and community together,” they explained.
“We are all about the community vibes, so we were thrilled to be apart of the first festival!”
Contributions from Steph D’Sa & Bwoy Wonder
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