The Ends Festival's First Year - SICKA VISION's Experience at Croydon’s greatest festival
Che Lingo performing at The Ends Festival 02/06/19. Source: SICKA VISION
On 31st May - 2nd May 2019, The Ends Festival's first year took place and much like 2019’s Afro Nation, it was definitely one for the history books! There was a strong sense of unity amongst the community in Lloyd Park, Croydon. We, the internet, have a running joke about how far Croydon is. You'll even find trams there. It's different. With that being said, knowing Alicai Harley, One Acen, NAO, Tiana Major9 and many more of our favourite Black British faves were performing on the hottest weekend of 2019 thus far, the SICKA VISION team justhad to go! For those of you that couldn't make it, we've got your back with our triple review of the three day extravaganza from myself (Jodie), Amber and John-Paul. Enjoy!
Jodie from SICKA VISION at The Ends Festival 02/06/19. Source: SICKA VISION
"The Ends Festival weekend was easily one of my favourites of 2019! The Ends festival truly catered to our young black rising musical heroes and provided the perfect platform to connect with keen London listeners who all care about the same thing. Great music."— Jodie, Founder of SICKA VISION
Amber from SICKA VISION at The Ends Festival 31/05/19. Source: Amber Instagram
"I must admit, after first hearing about The Ends Festival, I was a little sceptical (This is in no way, shape or form because of the festival itself), but after watching the Fyre Festival documentary on Netflix *whew*, I am now extremely wary when it comes to new events promising big names in the line-up - AfroNation I’m lowkey side-eyeing you too! I am so happy to say that I was COMPLETELY wrong about The Ends Festival, I had a blast!"— Amber, Writer at SICKA VISION
Amber from SICKA VISION at The Ends Festival 31/06/19. Source: Amber Instagram
The festival itself looked professional and fun, with fairground rides and even a Footasylum truck to clean trainers - and I must say that was defo needed by the end of the night after all of the dancing I did. Think wireless, but clean toilets, top-tier food and a FAR better lineup! I got to see one of my favourite artists in A2, and I appreciated the diversity of the lineup, particularly on that day. We went on a journey from A2 to Ghetts to De La Soul to Nas, with each act giving a great performance with a different kind of flavour and vibe. I was impressed with how well the different music styles worked together, and pleasantly surprised that one of my favourite acts of the day was Ghetts - he really did what he had to do!The Nipsey Hussle tribute was tear jerking, with a montage of the man himself, his music and a minute's silence. The minute silence ended with a stream of blue balloons being released into the sky, and I found it touching that instead of replacing him in the lineup, his slot remained his in order to honour the impact he had in the music industry. You would have never known that this was The Ends Festival’s first ever day or year. It was slick and well put together, as if it had been tried and tested for multiple years. With this being said, I for one can’t wait to see what they bring us next year. I’ll definitely be there, will you?— Amber, Writer for SICKA VISION
"The Ends was an amazing experience for me. I went on Saturday 1st June which had mainly afrobeat artists. WizKid was the headline performer but we also had performances from Maleek Berry, Teni, Wande Coal and many more. I thoroughly enjoyed it and seeing as it was my first ever festival I had no idea what to expect but The Ends definitely set the bar high for me. My highlight was definitely WizKid’s performance. The atmosphere was electric! Hundreds of people singing the same songs with the same appreciation made the event seem more wholesome. WizKid performed so many of his old classics which were definitely known to masses. The lights, screens and stage set-up too has a positive effect and WizKid was eager to jump off stage and engage with the crowd. Not that many performers can do that and I’m glad he can. The layout of the festival was really great. Even though Lloyd Park isn’t massive, everything was set relatively close to each other, including the stages, which meant people didn’t have to trek to see different artists. In addition food stands and bars were everywhere which was very convenient. - John-Paul, Writer for SICKA VISION
WizKid performing at The Ends Festival 31/05/19
We just want to say a big thank you to The Ends for having us, it was an honour to attend. The Ends Festival was a huge success and the SICKA VISION team will most definitely be there next year.
Did you go to The Ends Festival? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @sickavision.
If you would like the SICKA VISION team to attend your event, please email us at hello@sickavision.co.uk. We'd love to get involved!
