Longitude Day 3 Report: Terrific Sets From Anderson Paak, SZA and Solange Close Great Festival

When third day 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, it was hard to disagree.

To explain how, let me take you back to the start of the day. At 2pm, while audiences were still shuffling into Marley Park, Radical Centrists took to the Lifestyle Sports Stage. You could hear the Rage Against the Machine/Death Grips-esque hip-hop punk blaring walking to the arena, the thundering bass startling hungover heads awake.

Based in Dublin though fronted by self-professed Norwegian Viking Victor Ionescu Rørtveit, the band have promise. Their vocalists’ flow isn’t the strongest but he oozes charisma. Meanwhile, the band’s ghoulish keyboards add something new to the angst.

Proof it wasn’t just R&B for those complaining about a lack of diverse genres, upcoming Irish singer-songwriter Sorcha Richardson lit up the Main Stage at 2:30pm. Just as rain started falling, she sang - a blessing as her melancholic tales of New York showers, bad parties and underage drinking fit the mood. Richardson’s style of singing as if telling a story, coupled with unexpected chord progressions, elevate her above similar musicians. Tracks like ‘Can’t We Pretend’ and ‘Ruin Your Night’ went down a storm.

Back at the Lifestyle Stage at 3pm, American soul band Durand Jones & The Indications reminded audiences jazz ain’t dead. Backed by a great band of sax and trumpets, frontman Jones is a chameleon adapting various staples of the genre. His voice slid effortlessly from almost feminine Smokey Robinson-esque vocals on ‘Is It Any Wonder?’ before whipping the crowd into a frenzy with the James Brown-like ‘Groovy Baby’.

The next two acts posed an interesting question. What’s better; charisma or good tunes? Manchester singer IAMDBB (Heineken Stage, 4:00) spent twenty minutes bantering with the crowd, trying to get a fan to pass her a spliff. Though funny, it ate into a lot of her 45-minute set which never kicked into gear.

Odd Future project The Internet (Main Stage, 4:45) – led by the more reserved, although still fun Syd Tha Kyd – were more satisfying. A modern take on the funk Durand Jones performed earlier, the group played tracks from new album Hive Mind, out next Friday. From what audiences heard, it’s a bop.

Anderson Paak (Main Stage, 6pm) came out firing on all cylinders, 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 grinded against his mike during last song ‘Luh You’. He’s definitely got star power.

Technical problems marred some of SZA and Solange’s sets. The bass on the speakers was too high and kept popping. That said, it was only a minor inconvenience. Her first time in Ireland, R&B singer SZA (Main Stage, 7.30pm) 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 headline spot.

The night was capped by Solange (Main Stage, 9:20pm), with a set winningly heavy on the theatrics. With each backing musician dressed in white, dancing in unison, she confirmed she’s the cool Knowles sister. An otherworldly, ethereal performance piece (helped by a gorgeous rainbow erupting mid-performance), the set showed Solange can be mentioned in the same breath as St Vincent, Janelle Monae or FKA Twigs. The crowd burst spontaneously into dance during track ‘Losing You’. Meanwhile, the singer even brought headliner Sampha out for ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’, for those who missed him as he clashed with Anderson Paak.

During the show Solange told fans she wanted to ‘build frequency and engage’. Most artists who played Longitude this weekend did just that. Those who attended will no doubt be thinking about the festival weeks later.