If there’s anything that Wireless festival showed us this year, it’s that there is room for an R&B festival in desperate need of filling.
This year Wireless festival came to three different venues – a first ever for the music festival! The venues included Crystal Palace, Finsbury Park and the NEC in Birmingham.
Thankfully for Rap and Urban music fans all over the UK, more Wireless venues meant that more legendary names were included in the line-up. This year even saw Wireless welcome more RnB artists than ever before; an introduction that was very well received.
As soon as Wireless announced the line-up, fans on Twitter and TikTok erupted with excitement at how many women were included in the line-up. The lack of women included in line-ups is something which Wireless has received backlash for in the past. So this change was very welcomed.
The inclusion of more RnB artists than ever before also created a lot of excitement. Fans were quick to dub Finsbury Park as the RnB venue, with fans online stating this one was ‘for the girls and the gays’ – presumably because Wireless tends to be dominated by male rappers.
We want an RnB music festival!
I was fortunate enough to attend two of the Finsbury Park dates and witness the incredible talent of several RnB artists including Summer Walker, SZA, Giveon, H.E.R, and Mahalia.
In all honesty I was shocked to see how many RnB artists were included in the line-up. Simply because I am used to RnB not being very present in the mainstream UK music scene. For example, how often do you hear the artists mentioned above on big UK radio stations? Probably not as much as you hear pop and rap artists… right?
I knew I wanted an RnB festival but I was not aware that the feeling was reciprocated by thousands of others. For that reason this line-up, and even the energy during the performances, shocked me.
A mosh free heaven
There is nothing quite like RnB at a music festival. To begin with, there is no moshing (hallelujah). For some, moshing is part and parcel of music festivals but for a lot of us it’s just a nuisance. Is it worth trampling people, losing hats and breaking sunglasses? I don’t think so.
Secondly, I would argue that there aren’t many better experiences than the feeling of pouring your heart out to songs about love, heartbreak and boss energy, and you can trust RnB to make any mood sound angelic.
Finally, a beautiful sunset is the perfect setting for RnB music. I truly felt like I was in the song, feeling every word and had a gorgeous sky to accompany this. Unfortunately, we can’t control the weather but I’m sure this would be just as wonderful in the rain too.
A final statement…
The excitement seen both when the Finsbury Park line-up was announced, and even during and after the festival, is a testament to the UK’s need for an RnB festival.
Hopefully next year Wireless can deliver a similar line-up and perhaps also inspire the creation of a new large-scale music festival catered to RnB – especially since we do not have a mainstream platform with which to discover new UK RnB talent.