When the Sunday headliner, Solange, ended Longitude’s final night by declaring it one of the best days of R&B she’d ever seen at a festival, she was spot on.
To explain why, let me take you back to the start of the day. At 2pm, while the crowd was still shuffling into Marlay Park, Radical Centrists took to the stage. As you walked into the arena, you could hear the Rage Against the Machine/Death Grips-esque hip-hop punk blaring, the thundering bass startling hungover heads awake.
Based in Dublin, and fronted by self-professed Norwegian Viking, Victor Ionescu Rørtveit, the band certainly have promise. Rørtveit’s vocal flow isn’t impeccable just yet, but he oozes charisma. Meanwhile, the band’s ghoulish keyboards add something new to the genre.
Not that it was R&B all the way: upcoming Irish singer-songwriter Sorcha Richardson lit up the Main Stage at 2:30pm. Just as rain started to fall, she sang - a blessing as her melancholic tales of New York showers, bad parties and underage drinking fitted the mood. Richardson’s style of singing as if telling a story, coupled with unexpected chord progressions, elevate her above lots of broadly similar singer-songwriters. Tracks like ‘Can’t We Pretend’ and ‘Ruin Your Night’ went down a storm.
At 3pm, on the Lifestyle stage, American soul band Durand Jones & The Indications reminded audiences that jazz ain’t dead just yet. Backed by a great band of sax and trumpets, frontman Jones is a chameleon, adapting various staples of the genre. His voice was almost feminine, in a Smokey Robinson-esque style on ‘Is It Any Wonder?’ but he really whipped the crowd into a frenzy with the James Brown-like ‘Groovy Baby’.
The next two acts posed an interesting question. Which is better – charisma or good tunes? Manchester singer IAMDBB spent twenty minutes bantering with the crowd, trying to get a fan to pass her a ‘roll-ie’. While she was funny, her banter ate into her 45-minute set which never kicked fully into gear.
Odd Future project The Internet – led by the more reserved, although still fun Syd Tha Kyd – their modern take on funk was more satisfying. The group played some tracks from their new album Hive Mind and – by the sound of these – it’s a bop.
Anderson Paak hit the main stage firing on all cylinders, and dancing energetically with a big grin on face. That’s before he went full Miles Teller, taking to drums for the climax of an incredible ‘Bubblin’. A girl behind me shouted: “He’s so sexy”, groaning excitedly as he ground against his mike during last song ‘Luh You’. This guy’s definitely got star power.
For her first time in Ireland, R&B singer SZA (pictured) said she kept her hair red because she knew she was coming! Consistently charming in her crowd banter, but powerful and honest in terms of songs and delivery, she earned her prominent billing.
The night was capped by Solange, with a set which was winningly heavy on the theatrics. With all of the backing musician dressed in white, and dancing in unison, she confirmed she’s the cool Knowles sister. She delivered an otherworldly, ethereal performance and was helped by a gorgeous rainbow erupting mid-set. Tonight, Solange confirmed that she is entitled to seen as part of a pantheon that includes St Vincent, Janelle Monae and FKA Twigs. The crowd burst spontaneously into dancing during track ‘Losing You’. Meanwhile, for those who missed him ‘cos he clashed with Anderson Paak, the singer even brought Sampha out for ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’.
During her set, Solange told fans that she wanted to ‘build frequency and engage’. It may be a curious formulation, but never mind: the truth is that most artists who played Longitude this weekend succeeded on that score. And all told, Solange was fight. As carnivals of R’n’B go, this one would be hard to surpass.