George Ezra closed out his 18-month tour at Barclaycard presents Latitude Festival on Sunday (23.07.23).
The 30-year-old singer has been out on the road in support of his latest album ‘Gold Rush Kid’ and ended the chapter with the bang of fireworks and an explosion of confetti as he closed out his set on the Obelisk Stage during the final night of the event.
Introducing his final song ‘Shotgun, he said: “We’ve been on tour playing these songs for 18 months and this is our last show.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to share it with you.”
Despite the packed-out crowd outside the Obelisk Stage, over in the BBC Sounds tent, goth-punk legend Siouxie Soux drew in hordes from all over the festival site, with even a few technical problems not dampening the audience’s enthusiasm for hits such as ‘Spellbound’, ‘Happy House’ and her cover of ‘Dear Prudence’.
Urging the audience to step back from the stage at one point, she said: “You’re all packed in like sardines. You need some room to dance”.
Earlier in the day, Mimi Webb’s mother joined her on stage to urge the crowd to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to mark the singer turning 23, with the lively audience only too happy to oblige after getting into the party mood with Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s set of dancefloor classics.
James had kicked off proceedings on the main stage with a stripped-down set backed by an orchestra that offered plenty of a singalong moments thanks to the likes of ‘Sometimes’, ‘Sit Down’ and ‘Laid’.
Saturday (22.07.23) showed not even torrential rain could dampen the spirits of festivalgoers, with the likes of Lighting Seeds, Paul Heaton and The Kooks still attracting huge crowds to the Obelisk Stage ahead of Paolo Nutini’s psychedelia-infused headline set.
But the Scotsman faced tough competition from Young Fathers, whose blistering songs thundered in the faces of the crowd in the BBC Sounds tent.
Meanwhile, Friday (21.07.23) night’s show was completely stolen by Pulp, with frontman Jarvis Cocker in high spirits as he stalked around the stage, telling stories and throwing chocolates into the crowd.
He poignantly paid tribute to late bandmate Steve Mackey before performing ‘Something Changed’ then pretended the show was over after ‘Underwear’.
He teased: “Have we forgotten something? Haven’t we played David’s Last Summer?”
Before long, the familiar opening bars of ‘Common People’ kicked in, delighting the crowd who sang along with every word before heading off to one of the festival’s many other stages to keep on partying late into the night.
Away from the music, festivalgoers of all ages were treated to a broad range of other entertainment including comedy from the likes of Romesh Ranganathan and Ed Gamble, theatre shows, guided meditation and yoga classes, fairground rides and wild swimming.
Three+ members were able to take part in a flower crown making workshop at the Three Platform, which also offered spectacular views of the Obelisk stage, while foodies could seek inspiration from the Theatre of Food, which offered cooking sessions, panel discussions and demos.