Tuesday, 9th August on a London Summer’s day (yes, the sun actually was out), an amazing event happened for the very first time. Presented in the heart of Shoreditch, East London, Goddess Fest UK really made a great first impression! The location was great, being that it is famous for its diverse arts culture and was very accessible. Broken into two segments, the whole day seemed to run smoothly. The first part was held in Shoreditch BoxPark and later moved onto Cargo, also in Shoreditch and kicked off at 7pm. Goddess Fest UK predominantly features female talent within the music industry; a great idea supporting the empowerment of women as a collective, a sisterhood.
The line-up was great showcasing urban and alternative music with tons of originality and also featured some of the UK’s biggest female DJ’s including Jams Supernova, Dobby, Jade Avia and Sarah Harrison.
I managed to get to the second segment, accompanied by my good friend Reload who is a talented musician and lyricist. Be sure to check him out and follow him @Reloadartist on all social media platforms. One of his latest releases entitled “Brexit” captures a story through his eyes and others that surround him and will undoubtedly have you in a pensive mood. Watch this space for his feature in the near future!
To kick the night off, JayBay took to the stage first. Although I knew she had a soulful voice, it was her artistry and vocal eloquence that blew me away. She even sang in a language relative to the South Asian region which was not only impressive but authentic and beautiful. The production by JVR who she currently works with was outstanding. The craftsman ship of the songwriting and arrangement worked well together in order to display JayBay’s strong and experienced vocal ability.
The next artist who I enjoyed watching was Mahalia. Having worked with Rudimental on a song called “We The Generation” and performed at The Great Escape Festival held in Brighton UK, Mahalia is already making waves. Dressed in a white dress, with her acoustic guitar swung around her, the Leicester native gave us a personal insight into her life through her great storytelling abilities. She is also adept in her spoken word abilities. From situations with her teachers at school to finding herself and relationships, although she is quite young her lyrics are able to demonstrate her maturity.
Emmavie, one of the main acts that actually drew me into coming to the event was by far one of my favourites. Knowing that she produces her own material, I already felt connected to her, coming from the same field of work. From the detailed rasp in her voice to the intricate instrumentation played by her composed and experienced band, there was never a dull moment. Although there were a few minor hiccups where the Sharlene’s, the drummer, drum pad became unplugged, improvisation and spontaneous humour allowed for an even more intimate and personalised performance. The two songs which I looked forward to were “Deeper” and “Hope We’re Never Gonna Break Up“. Hearing them live completely painted a new picture for me as this was my first time seeing this young female from North West London make the stage come to life. The creative elements such as beat boxing from Emmavie and the incorporation of a talk-box by her keyboardist really let me know that she was not playing any games!
The final artist that I have to mention is Roxxxane. Having heard of this talented female rapper before but never really bothered putting time into researching her, her performance gave the wake up call that was very much-needed. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to discover musician from the Midlands! Although she was nervous throughout after having a break from the music industry for a while, Roxxxane managed to deliver the final K.O of the night with her effervescent performance, keeping the audience on their toes. Bobbing and weaving through a variety of hard-hitting flows, tones and mind-blowing lyrical content, I wouldn’t be suprised if a few people got left behind with her metaphorical word play and punch lines. With her tomboy style she effortlessly made great use of the stage and even called up a random member of the audience to help her sing the hook on one of her songs. Turns out that sometimes spontaneous collaboration can also turn out to be great collaborations, making this one of the features of her performance. Thanks to Roxxxane, everyone left Cargo, Shoreditch on a high and pleasantly suprised!
Thanks to Kaiya Milan and to the Sorority House team, a collective of females in the music industry, this turned out to be an amazing and highly successful event. With a chance to purchase early bird tickets and final release tickets under £20, to say the least, for all of this quality talent, I’d say it was pretty reasonable and would love to see these prices remain to continue to attract young people. Here’s to Goddess Fest 2017 and also to the sparkling line up this year for completely shutting East London down!
Rianne's World 