“Love Supreme really is one of the sparkling jewels in the crown of UK music festivals”
So, after two days of fantastic music and stunning live performances from global superstars, rising stars and newbie acts getting a chance to “share the stage” with the big bands and artists, the final day of the 2024, 11th edition of Love Supreme is here.
The previous high winds and heavy rain from Friday and Saturday, and gusts on Sunday closed down the smaller stages on the last day for safety’s sake. But there was still plenty happening on the two main stages and some lovely sunshine and blue sky to enjoy, with no rain at all.
Sunday, we caught the live sets of this sparkling list: The one and only Chaka Khan, the wonderful Joss Stone, legendary Kool & The Gang, hot ticket Black Pumas, Hiromi and Glastonbury festival sensation Noname.
Plus, the fabulous Galliano, Funk Soul Brothers, Olatuja, Roni Kaspi, Brighton’s own Alice Russell, our hotly tipped Rosie Frater-Taylor and some excellent late night DJ sets.
Last year celebrating its 10th anniversary with a star-studded menu of artists such as Grace Jones, Little Simz and Tower of Power; how to follow that for the 11th edition?
To borrow the word ‘Supreme from the name of the event, that is what the lineup is best described as this year…
Friday’s headliner Mahalia was simply brilliant, and Saturday’s main stage bill topper Noname turned in a sublime performance as did her killer band, after her amazing set at Glastonbury festival a week ago.
But here on Sunday there was a very special Royal visit to the East Sussex site, with the headliner and soul queen Ms Chaka Khan gracing the stage, celebrating 50 years in music in grand style.
“Magnificent”. “Faultless”. “Awesome”. “Bloody brilliant.” “Wow!”. “She sounds just like she does on her records”. Funky as f…!
“More soul in her finger nails than most so-called soul and r&b stars in the charts today”. Just some of the comments from fans leaving the arena at Love Supreme at just gone 10.30pm Sunday night after Ms Khan’s amazing performance.
We expected her solo hits such as “I’m Every Woman” and we got ’em. I craved some fabulous Rufus tracks, such as the timeless, “Tell Me Something Good”, and I got ’em.
The 71-year-old Diva delivered seven songs she sang with Rufus prior to her solo career, including “Do You Love What You Feel”, “Tell me Something Good”, the glorious “Sweet Thing” and the biggie, “Ain’t Nobody” which she closed her set with.
Other gems she sang at Love Supreme from her glittering five-decade career included the Prince cover, “I Feel For You”, with its famed “ChChCHaka Khan…” rap intro.
The lovely Average White Band cover and Chaka solo hit, “What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me”, “a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere”, and of course, the smash hit “I’m Every Woman”, which was the penultimate song of the sizzling set.
Our first year covering this festival, and we can safely say Love Supreme really is one of the sparkling jewels in the crown of UK music festivals.
The event saw more than 60,000 music fans flock to the picturesque East Sussex site across the weekend.
Despite the best efforts of the good old British weather on day # 1 and day # 2, everyone had a ball across all three days, even those camping in horrendous conditions, and you can bet many will be booking for next year as an “early bird.” A good number travelled from overseas for the event and were glad they did.
Other acts doing their fabulous thing on day # 3 included the lovely Joss Stone and then Kool & The Gang who warmed things up on the main stage before Chaka. While over on the South Downs stage, Black Pumas were mighty when they opened for headliner Noname.
An unexpected delight was Hiromi’s Sonic Wonder – Hiromi on piano, Hardien Feraud on bass, Gene Coye on drums and Adam O’Farrill on Trumpet.
Hiromi met drummer Coye when they played shows together with the Stanley Clarke Band. Bassist Feraud and Coye both live in L.A. and had made music together many times, when she formed Sonic Wonder in 2016. She found trumpeter online, invited him to a casual jam session, and the ensemble was complete. Great set at Love Supreme.
Drummer Roni Kaspi’s band were apparently a no show, so she did the gig on her own, with some cracking work on the skins.
The 22-year-old had her break-through in 2020 as the international touring drummer in the global jazz bass sensation Avishai Cohen trio.
Starting on drums at seven-years-old, Roni was mentored at the prestigious Berklee conservatoire by Grammy-winning drums maestro Terri Lyne Carrington.
Thrust into the spotlight last year when her Israeli compatriot Avishai Cohen hired her for his renowned trio on hearing her “phenomenal” drums on a video posted on Instagram.
*Do check out the coverage of all 3 days of Love Supreme – in our “Live Zone”
Photos: Manja Williams
Words: Steve Best
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