The circus rolled into the Lulworth Castle grounds last weekend as Bestival celebrated its 15th year this August. With the heatwave riding through this British summer and the skies holding clear, Bestival-goers ditched their wellies for sandals and tank tops in the dry weather. Renowned for being the most colourful and glitterrific British festival, sequins, skin, and vibrant colours took over the dry landscape as campers arrived into Dorset fully-realised in circus make-up, outlandish garb, and flare.

Headlining the Castle Stage this year were Silk City (Mark Ronson & Diplo) on Friday, London Grammar on Saturday and M.I.A on Sunday. Other notable performances included those of Grace Jones, Chaka Khan, Jorja Smith and Mabel.

Being their second performance as a duo, ever, Silk City kicked off Friday night with an enthusiasm that set the tone for the weekend. The DJ-duo created a playground that combined Ronson’s love for 90s hip-hop and funk with Diplo’s background in dancehall, house and EDM. Playing a selection of night club jams, including two Missy Elliot songs, they also live remixed their new single “Loud.” With a rumoured track soon coming out with Dua Lipa, written by Florence Welch (from Florence and the Machine), Silk City spun Lipa’s “New Rules” and Welch’s “Sweet Nothing,” teasing the imminent, star-studded collaboration. In matching blazers and table-top dancing, the duo showed off their great friendship and chemistry as they worked the crowd up for a night of dancing.

As Saturday approached, there was an air of uncertainty about how London Grammar would fit into Bestival’s energetic, upbeat atmosphere. However, this uncertainty was quickly extinguished when the set opened with Hannah Reid’s emanating vocals. What connected London Grammar to the Castle Stage audience was Reid’s openness and honesty in her conversations with the audience. The band setup was simple: guitar, drums, and a keyboard placed side-on in centre-stage, which Reid would play on from time to time. The group performed a sling of well-known cuts such as “Wasting My Young Years,” “Strong,” and an emotional highlight, “Nightcall”. Confessing to the audience, Reid preemptively apologised to the audience in case she didn’t hit the high notes in “Rooting For You.” As expected, she masterfully hit all of them, with each successful attempt being celebrated by cheers from the audience. Out of all the headliners, London Grammar stole Bestival’s heart as a unanimous chant calling for “one more song,” proved. The band’s drummer, Dot Major professed very genuinely that this was their favourite gig yet, and rightly so the audience did not want their set to end. London Grammar’s stripped-back honesty was all that was required to steal the show.

A festival line-up with both the legendary Grace Jones and Chaka Khan is in itself, legendary. On Saturday, Grace Jones had the crowd held in the centre of her palm and unwaveringly loyal to her every body jerk movement. Jones’ enchanting charisma was enhanced by her wild outfits and of course, her iconic hula hooping. A stand out cut was her performance of “My Jamaican Guy,” which was followed by a call-and-response interaction with the audience as they sung back every vocal run she threw at them during her outfit change. Jones was effortless in her vocal delivery and captivating in her stage production, which included a pole-dancer in a leotard covered in black and white body paint. As Sunday’s headliners took the the stage, Chaka Khan did not disappoint either. Khan, with no less than sixty pounds of hair held up by a wind-machine, took the audience through the journey of her discography, including the Rufus track, “Pack’d My Bags” which was a highlight. Chaka belted through “I Feel For You,” “I’m Every Woman,” and her encore “Ain’t Nobody” with ease and rigour, stirring a frenzy every time she nailed the high notes.

Rounding off the festival on Sunday, the most-anticipated act, M.I.A took to the main stage and wasted no time in getting the audience pumped up. Emerging from a neon-light temple, M.I.A took the audience through a dance-heavy set including, “Double Bubble Trouble,” the political track “Borders,” “Bad Girls,” “Boyz,” and of course “Paper Planes” in which she had a throwback moment to when this song “made England cool.” For the most part the set was high-energy and light-hearted, with M.I.A dancing through each choreographed song with her charming swagger. However, M.I.A consciously reminded the audience of the political tenor her music carries. For the second half of the set, she performed as one with the audience, balancing on the border between the stage and the crowd, held up by a few strong festival-goers. Throwing out the question, “Are we born free?,” she hands the microphone over to an audience member who reminds us that we are not born free, but that our destiny is ours to create. Down to earth and vocally impressive, M.I.A carried the weekend to a high-point as the final headliner of Bestival 2018.

Bestival finished off with a high adrenaline and high risk circus performance from Cirque Bijou which included tightrope walking, tightrope walking while the tightrope was on fire, and tightrope walking on fire while on a bicycle: all accompanied by a live violinist. With DJs and performers ranging from funk and jazz to bassline and drum & bass, Bestival truly catered to all ages and all tastes in music within a relaxed and positive festival environment.

— Jason Kwan