Hello everyone!
One of the festivals that got cancelled was Radio 1's Big Weekend. Unlike last year, Radio 1 just straight away said the festival was not going anywhere (l
ast year's location was meant to be Dundee) and that past and exclusive new sets were going to be played instead, along with classic live lounges and piano sessions.
You are probably wondering, how did it work? Well, past and previous sets, from the Big Weekend archives, and the live lounges were put on BBC Iplayer and they were played on the radio, complete with the Radio 1 DJs chatting about their memories of Big Weekend.
There were lots of highlights for me but apart from the live music, all the Radio DJs came together for the first time in ages (because of COVID-19 obviously) and I loved hearing how happy they all were about this. I particularly loved it when Scott Mills, Chris Stark and Jordan North hosted a show together, both on Saturday and Monday (for those who don't know I am a big fan of all three of them and their shows, along with Greg James), where they talked about classic Big Weekend stories, notably when Lady Gaga was late and left everyone hanging (mainly Scott Mills and Greg James, who was the unfortunate person who was waiting to introduce her). On Sunday, there was a special festival version of Unpopular Opinions featuring Jordan and Greg (again, I was so happy that two of my favourite DJs were on air together), along with Mollie King, Melvin Odoom and Charlie Hedges. Other DJs that joined in at various times of the weekend included Matt Edmondson, Katie Thistleton and Arielle Free.
Of course, whilst it was joyful to hear all the DJs back together, this Bank Holiday weekend was obviously all about the music and this weekend was no exception. One of my favourite sets was by Coldplay, who had the beautiful setting of Whitby Abbey as their performance location, complete with carefully placed lights across the ground, replacing the usual Mylo Xyloto bands that would have been worn by the audience. Along with hits like Viva la Vida, which featured videos of Coldplay fans singing along to the chorus, The Scientist and Something Just Like this, they also sang their new song, Higher Power, and a song called Human Heart, a duet with We Are King.
Another set I loved was from Ed Sheeran, who has had a little bit of a break, after dominating the charts with his hugely successful album, Divide. Along with his hit singles, The A Team and Shape of You, among others, he premiered a new song, which had obviously taken inspiration from the Coronavirus pandemic. The question is though, will there be a new album from Ed this year?
There was also some sets from newer artists, such as Jorja Smith, who performed hits including Blue Lights and Be Honest at the Alexander Palace, as well as some new songs, Girl In Red, whose Piano Session from 2020 was included, and Griff, who had done an exclusive set for Big Weekend. I also enjoyed listening to Celeste, as I am slowly becoming a fan of her (for those who don't know her very well, she was the person who did the song for the 2020 John Lewis Christmas advert). I had already added her album to my Spotify playlist but I am hoping to hear more of her songs on the radio, as everyone deserves to hear her songs at least once.
Overall, Radio 1 has done what Radio 1 does best and that is to deliver a festival (albeit a virtual one like 2020) and the festival had it all. It had pyrotechnics, thanks to Royal Blood's set on Brighton Pier, dreamy locations, like Whitby Abbey, chilled out songs, thanks to the piano session sets, and the reunion of all the DJs together. Therefore, from my fellow listeners and I, thank you for providing us with some great entertainment over the May Bank Holiday.
Now...here's hoping next year's festival goes ahead properly (and that goes for all festivals actually, including Glastonbury)...
Em x
