‘Special Moments on the Dance Floor’ We Out Here Festival 2022
It’s back!!!
We Out Here Festival showcases emerging UK music talents alongside legendary icons, genre-spanning DJ’s and young improvisers alike for four days of music in one of the UK’s most beautiful, landscaped festival sites.
Joining the musical dots between soul, hip hop, house, afro, electronica, jazz and beyond, the festival showcases both outstanding live music and some of the best record collections in the world (WOH). This was the third year with many agreeing that it was the best yet. A weekend of music, dancing, hugs and good food and vibes all hopefully captured in these pictures.
I caught up with Erica Mckoy who was one of the hosts on the main stage:
How was the WOH 2022 festival for you?
It was incredible. Truly incredible. It’s the sort of festival where you can experience it all, in such a short space of time. You just leave feeling like you’ve had many special moments, whether that’s on the dance floor, or in the talks tent or maybe in the wellness area. My special moments definitely happened on the dancefloor and in the talks tent! The connection between old friends, new friends and people I didn’t know was there — we are all here, and joined by something special — all completely in love with the music and community this music nurtures. Completely in sync.
Which artists / bands were you looking forward to most?
I was most looking forward to MAW — it had to be! I knew it’d be a DJ set that would have me moving and it didn’t fail!
But equally I was moved by Pharoah Sanders — the wisdom and the sounds being produced from the stage were so deeply and profoundly spiritual, it was amazing to hear how the crowd was just silenced by his presence.
Erica you had the unforgettable honour to introduce Masters At work to the main stage, what was that like?
What an honour. These guys are the masters of their craft. They know their stuff, it also makes it that bit more nerve wracking knowing that if you mess up your warm up set your messing up in front of the big dogs. But equally there’s a buzz you get from that — a thrill. So you have to be on point.
I don’t get it often but I had goosebumps during their set… the vocals of Jocelyn Brown, “I am the black gold of the sunnnn!” into the 4Hero mix. UNFORGETTABLE.
How was the WOH 2022 festival for you?
What a magical time at WOH 2022, straight away from Thursday it was a tough decision of where to be and when, but 25 years of MAW reigned supreme. Loved BCUC’s unrivalled energy and Touching Bass shutting down The Forest. Brawnswood was always a vibe and Love Dancing with Mr. Scruff b2b Charlie Dark…sensational. Jammin to Channel one in the sunshine was legendary and was honoured to spin some tunes in between sets for Steam Down with front row seats for the D Double E that was literally a roadblock! Also a massive highlight was bringing The Fulljoy Experience to the festival with amazing selectas Coco Maria and Poly Ritmo. Also doing a live WWFM Show featuring Melbourne’s bright stars Komang, Setwun & Alex Intas plus celebrating 10 years of Total Refreshment Centre. Absolute bliss with Fabio & Grooverider with the Outlook Orchestra, that summed up the who WOH experience…LEGENDARY!
Which artists / bands were you looking forward to most?
Steam Down x D Double E & Charlotte Dos Santos “Are you kidding me? The original jazz rave crew teaming up with legend in the grime game D Double E laced with the soulful sultry vocals of Charlotte Dos Santos. This might just be the collab of the century!” Masters at Work (celebrating 25 years of Nuyorican Soul) on the Main Stage on Thursday, MAW are producers that inspire me and always bring the fire. One word..ICONIC. Settling the tone for the rest of the weekend, what a way to start the festival!”
Brawnswood — Having the pleasure of programming the music in this tent, I was excited to hear the eclectic sets. Always bringing iconic and unforgettable moments. The food & drinks are always on point, it’s literally an essential pit stop at any moment of the day.
Hosting at the festival is such a dream, it’s my second year and really enjoy connecting with the crowd and bringing that energy! Always such an iconic line up, it feels amazing to be entrusted by Gilles Peterson to run the show that day and make sure the WOH spirit permeates through all the revellers and across the site. This festival holds such a special place in my heart.
It was a pleasure meeting Hodan and friends while soaking up the sun over the weekend:
‘I really liked the talks. I listened to some at the WWFM stage. I enjoyed the poetry readings, it was very personal and I like stories. Strangely enough — Less dancing more thinking for me. I did enjoy the Senegalese food, it was amazing. This is my first time here. I’m not used to overnight festivals, it’s a lot of effort. Next time I won’t camp but will bring a van next time. I like Jazz but I’m really into electronic music and techno right now. But I also miss the live instruments. I feel like something that blends all those together is ideal.’
While in the queue at one of the many food stalls I got taking to Finn who has never been to a festival before. This alone gives an idea of the reach of this event: ‘This is the first and only festival I’ve ever been to, I’m 17 years old. It’s top notch. My faves were ‘The Comet is Coming’-shout out to Shabaka Hutchings on sax. The best thing about this festival is I can tell a lot of people are probably not fans of jazz but will leave definitely fans of jazz music. There is something for everyone.’ See you in 2023.
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