First things first; the location is beautiful surrounded by rolling hills and a backdrop of Glynde Place.
Love Supreme is the premiere festival for jazz and soul lovers. It's a joy for those who are jazz aficionados but also for their family and friends who have a less specific taste in music.
The site included the main stages, South Downs and the North Downs, and themed smaller stages and areas including Supreme Standards, New Generation Jazz, Jazz in the Round, the Blue in Green Bar (DJs), Jazz Lounge. It is, however, a small site that can be explored easily and soon becomes familiar; it did not feel overcrowded.
The festival also hosted food stalls, bars, wellbeing and children's areas. Food was varied – everything you would expect to find at a festival including particularly tasty Sri Lankan curry, Japanese fried chicken, classic pie and chips and stone baked pizza.
There were two Supremium areas, the north with a view of the stage, seating, bars and food stalls and toilets with ample toilet paper and Buckthorn soap. The south Supremium area is more enclosed but if you are lucky enough to have Supremium tickets, a great place to chill and shelter from the rain.
That moves me onto the weather, what a shame. It is July and we all hoped for better but wind and rain made Friday night hard for campers. One camper I met had lost her tent. Winds closed the bands and Voices tent and the Jazz in the Round.
Nevertheless, the crowd was good humoured and friendly. There were not many children but the event was certainly suitable for families. A sense of communal spirit seemed particularly strong as those able to access the football on their phones attracted gatherings around them, all joining together to whoop and cheer when England score a penalty shot.
And what a line up. A range for names familiar to the older amongst the audience and others to the young. Olivia Dean proved a pull for the latter and was a great introduction for those unfamiliar with her work.
I am grateful to have seen grammy nominated Jordan Rakei. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue were well received and got the pundits dancing. There was also a fair amount of nostalgia.
The crowd sang along to Wishing Well by Sananda Maitreya aka Terrence Trent Darby. Dionne Warwick is impressive at 83 years old. Google tells me that she is currently touring across three countries a has thirteen upcoming concerts. She is a star who attracted a large audience. Unfortunately, we were a long way back in the South Down Stage area and it was difficult to hear. The sound seemed clearer
from outside the tent.
Chaka Khan, the 'Queen of Funk' graced the stage on Sunday evening but for me Kool and the Gang were the winners. Those singing and dancing around us suggested that others felt the same. A set which ended with Celebration seemed to hit the spot. 'Celebrate good times, come on .. It's time to come together It's up to you, what's your pleasure?' Whether their pleasure was sport, politics, the end of exams or a personal event the crowd certainly embraced the message. The sky was blue; the sun had come out and the audience was in summer party mood.
Love Supreme is a
good place to observe festival tips. This time round I had remembered toilet paper but was sorry I had not taken one of the multiple my festival plastic cups that build up in my cupboard.
It is not that I was particularly resented paying an extra £2 on the first drink for the cup but rather that it is more unnecessary plastic. My focus this year was on camping chairs, high backed, low backed, low seats, bright and muted colours, better than ging to a well-stocked camping shop.
We had opted not to camp and left latish on Saturday night. Parking had been simple, but we had not taken note of where we parked (do we ever learn). It took the help of kind site staff and perseverance to locate our car and found our way out of the site. Location signage within the car parking area and obvious signs to show the exit would have been helpful.
Love Supreme is a great festival for those that enjoy a smaller set up. This was a very enjoyable weekend. Love Supreme is certainly in my calendar for Summer 2025.