Don’t call it V Festival! This weekend, Hylands Park in Chelmsford, Essex, was host to the first ever Rize Festival. Yes, it was pretty much V (which bowed out last year, having returned to the site annually since 1996) with a different name, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a good time had by all. It was a riot from start to finish, with Liam Gallagher bring his inimitable rock’roll swagger to the opening Friday night. Picking up where he left off, indie lads Stereophonics and Maximo Park continued to fly to the flag for lads with guitars, while there was also pop goodness in form of Rag’n’Bone Man, Rita Ora and Bastille, plus folky introspection from Nina Nesbitt and dancehall fun times with living legend Sean Paul.
Here are 12 photos to prove what a delight we had on the Saturday day and night.
Bastille
Hold on to your hats, it Dan from Bastille!
Bastille
The band opened with fan favourite ‘Good Grief’, concluding with the pomp-pop of ‘Pompei’.
Stereophonics
If you think Kelly and the lads didn’t play their fantastic rendition of Rod Stewart’s hit ‘Handbags and Gladrags’, you are a pessimist and, indeed, wrong.
Spring King
The Macclesfield heroes brought their unique brand of garage-rock to Hylands Park.
Spring King
Guitarist Pete Darlington just spotted something tasty at one of the food trucks.
Sean Paul
And dancehall hero Sean Paul was a-okay, too.
Rita Ora
Rita Ora appeared to be morphing into some kind of insect in her set (look at her shoulders!). ‘Poison’ sounded good, though.
Rag’n’Bone Man
If you were at Rize Festival this Saturday and you weren’t belting out ‘Human’ with Rag ‘N’Bone Man, please reconsider your priorities immediately.
Tom Walker
There was no need to ‘Leave A Light On’ with the Scottish singer-songwriter lighting up the field with his soulful vocals.
Nina Nesbitt
Another stellar Scottish talent here, as the folk-pop star delivered a set that included her well-loved track ‘Stay Out’. There’d have been trouble if she hadn’t!
Nina Nesbitt
It was a soulful performance, and no mistaking.
Maximo Park
With their 2017 album ‘Risk To Exist’ fresh in the crowd’s brain boxes, Maximo Park rolled out a smattering of indie hits. Frontman Paul Smith clearly knew he was onto a winner (partly because he was dressed like a Victorian strongman).
