This week saw the release of yet more exciting news from the Outlook camp, which came in the form of the day by day stage line ups. With every piece of news like this the festival moves closer to the forefront of our minds and we can already start to figure out where we’re going to be spending our days and nights at Fort Punta Christo. Ask anyone who’s ever been to Outlook before and they’ll tell you that the setting for this festival is a huge aspect that puts it a level above almost any other in the world. The opening concert alone proves this point; where else can you see the likes of Damian Marley perform in a Roman amphitheatre!? These stage line ups are getting us pretty excited over here so we’ve decided to take this opportunity to sketch up a day by day guide to which artist/stage combinations we think are unmissable!
The incredibly high quality of the music and the sheer amount of hugely talented artists at Outlook means that however much you try to plan where to be and who to see, you’re going to miss something, or run yourself into the ground trying to make it from the beach to the fort in 30 seconds flat! I find that giving yourself some guidelines rather than a strict schedule is much more effective.
So lets take our fist look at what Thursday has to offer. There are some mind blowing prospects for Thursday with David Rodigan’s Ram Jam taking over The Clearing, featuring the likes of Roni Size & Krust, Congo Natty and the Dubstep legend that is Mala. There’s some serious competition here though; the relatively new and somewhat tucked away stage, The Garden, creates an awesome intimate vibe and is hosting some massively exciting hip hop, with the likes of The Four Owls, RA The Rugged Man and one of my picks for the top 5 unmissable acts of the festival, A-F-R-O. Despite these two heavyweight line ups and all the other wicked performances going on around the festival, I think a lot of attention for Thursday is going to be firmly focused on The Moat. For me, this stage is hands down the best live music experience I’ve ever had. The 7 meter high walls work to spread the sound coming from the perfectly positioned speakers all the way down the 100 meter long strip, creating a crystal clear sound no matter where you’re positioned. Thursday sees the Metalheadz takeover of this stage and with the outrageous beats being provided by Doc Scott, Lenzman, Commix, Dom & Roland and more, The Moat is gonna be drowning in drums till the sun comes up!
Moving on to Friday and you’ll more than likely find yourself nursing a fairly hefty hangover, so I’d highly recommend a swift trip to the beach for some BBQ action, a dip in the sea and some of the most fantastic live Reggae, Dub and Funk the festival has to offer coming courtesy of The Twinkle Brothers, Gentleman’s Dub Club and The Hot 8 Brass Band. Once these guys have nursed you back to full fitness you’ll be ready for Friday night’s proceedings. The Clearing, as always, is providing us with some huge headliners that are gonna make this stage a regular port of call throughout the festival, with the 3000 capacity arena playing host to nothing but big names on Friday. We’ve got the lyrical stylings of Joey Badass and Kano, the unpredictable music of Ivy Lab and Vital Techniques and three of the biggest names in drum and bass: Andy C, Goldie MBE and the almighty Noisia to see us through till morning. It certainly wouldn’t be difficult to find yourself a nice spot and settle in for the night here, however the allure of the forward thinking sounds coming from The Void may prove too much. Zed Bias, Chimpo, Lady Leshurr, Electrikal Sound System and more are going to bring a refreshing variety of wicked music to this Hot Wuk takeover stage making it a definite one to pay a visit.
Some big stage takeovers on Saturday look set to divide a few groups, with Hospital Records taking charge of the clearing, 10 years of Deep Medi at the void and Playaz Recordings celebrating 20 years in the game, doing what they do best down at The Moat. Even with these three enormous takeovers, don’t be surprised to see things getting absolutely wild over at the Stables (formerly known as Fort Arena 1) where the Levelz crew will be running the show. These guys are like an adrenaline shot wherever they perform, with the crews DJ’s laying down the beats that are topped with the supreme lyrical talents of the entourage of MC’s. You can get a taste of what these guys can do from their immensely popular mix tapes, but the energy in their live performance elevates it to the next level.
Finally we get to Sunday and if you haven’t worked it out already, the only way to get yourself back into fighting shape after the previous nights questionable decisions is to get straight to the beach. The final day sees the Soul:ution takeover of the beach with the majestic line up of Calibre, LSB, Marcus Intalex and the very exciting DRS Live performance featuring Fox and Tyler Dayley. These guys will be providing the most soulful drum and bass around with SP:MC and DRS on hosting duties to keep things in check. One set in particular that I’ve got my eye on for Sunday night is Randall performing an 88-91 set down at The Stables. This guy is the absolute godfather of Jungle and is widely considered as one of the finest DJ’s to have graced the decks, and accompanied by the talents of Eliphino and the Menendez Brothers, The Stables is gonna be absolutely jumping for the second night on the trot. One stage I haven’t mentioned so far is Mungo’s Courtyard, which every year plays host to Mungo’s Hifi Soundsystem which travels all th
e way from Scotland to bring its incredible sounds to this intimate 1200 capacity open air venue. This place is somewhere that you’ll find yourself constantly drawn back to as the sound quality and the atmosphere create a vibe thats impossible to replicate. Catching the reggae roots sounds of three absolutely legendary artists: Earl Gateshead, Jah Shaka and Channel One is an unmissable experience so make sure you get yourself to Mungo’s for some serious bass on Sunday.
That rounds up our recommendations, but I’m sure you’ll have plenty more deliberating to do, so head over the the Outlook Festival Facebook page to see the full stage line ups for each day, or check out the main highlights below.
Oh and if you’re still yet to bag your tickets then get moving! Third tier tickets are set to sell out by next week so click here to grab one before the price goes up.
