Black Keys’ Sunday headline set at Latitude brought the 2014 festival to an explosive close - prompting the most raucous crowd of the weekend, all of whom were boisterously chanting along to their impressive back catalogue - after what was an unforgettable weekend of music, culture, soaring temperatures and electrical storms.
On Friday night, Lily Allen stood in for Two Door Cinema Club at the last minute, performing her first ever headline set. Paying tribute to the band she replaced, Lily donned a Two Door Cinema Club T-Shirt as she rapped a cover of the band’s song 'Something Good Can Work' at the start of her set. With a stage set of giant milk bottles, Lily belted out hits from her first two albums as well as this year’s 'Sheezus' album, winning over the Latitude crowd with her edgy lyrics and feisty pop sensibility.
On Saturday night, Damon Albarn wowed the crowds during his headline set, which took place during an electrical lightning storm, with music from his new album as well as favourites from Gorillaz and Blur. The first lightning bolt lit up the sky toward the end of the set revealing Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, on stage to perform 'Tender' with Damon.
Latitude's ninth year got underway on Thursday evening with a lively welcome party in the woods featuring DJs Goldirocks and DJ Push, plus French theatre company Ilotopie performing ‘Le Rêve à travers la Porte’ (Doorway to a Dream) on the lake, a special Latitude commission from Lavish which featured a series of surreal floating installations including flaming Dali-esque horses, jousting knights on petals, a flaming apocalyptic angel and a giant gliding Lady of the Lake.
As Henham Park basked in a glorious heatwave on Friday, festival goers were surprised with the announcement of a secret gig by Rudimental on the Obelisk Arena, who got the crowds dancing with a string of number one hits including 'Waiting all Night'. Over on the BBC Radio 6 Music Stage festival goers were treated to a very special gig by Slowdive, the only summer festival appearance from the dream pop band in the UK since their last concert over 20 years ago.
Latitude’s arts arenas were no less starry on Friday, with stand-out appearances from comedian Dara O’Briain, renowned photographer David Bailey in conversation with Tim Marlow, novelist Jon Ronson reading from Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie and a performance by Cuban dance company Ballet Revolucion on the Waterfront Stage.
On Saturday, Hall and Oates drew a huge crowd into the BBC Radio 6 Music Stage with renditions of their catchy eighties pop hits including 'I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)', which saw festival goers spilling out onto the grass outside the tent. Headlining the same stage later that night were Royksopp and Robyn with a blinding performance of genius electro-pop. Meanwhile in the Obelisk Arena anticipation among 35,000 music fans reached fever pitch as First Aid Kit and Bombay Bicycle Club warmed up the crowd for the eagerly anticipated appearance of Damon Albarn which was backlit by a huge electrical lightning storm and biblical showers that did not deter festival goers from dancing along to hits from Blur and Gorillaz.
Sunday at Latitude began with Atomic Bomb! Who is William Onyeabor, on the Obelisk Arena, with a collective of musicians including Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip and Pat Mahoney from LCD Soundsystem celebrating music from the West African synth pioneer William Onyeabor. Later on the same stage, Chrissie Hynde played to ecstatic festival crowds, while the Haim sisters closed their 2014 tour at Latitude Festival. Over on the BBC Radio 6 Music Stage NY garage-punk outfit Parquet Courts energised the afternoon crowds with a lively set before Philadelphia rockers War on Drugs took to the stage for an impressive performance, playing several tracks from their recent album, the critically acclaimed Lost In The Dream.
The BBC Radio 6 Music Stage was home to an array of alternative and leftfield music, with standout sets over the weekend from much-hyped Jungle, George Ezra, pop-classical ensemble Clean Bandit, Swedish psych-masters Goat and Sunday night headliner Lykki Li. Tucked away in the intimate setting of the woods, festival-goers gathered at the i Arena to catch cutting-edge acts, with memorable performances from Future Islands, The Fat White Family, Kwabs, The Acid, Nils Frahm, Young Fathers and Tom Vek. The Lake Stage and the Alcove were the best stages to catch the hottest new talent on site, and hosted impressive sets from the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen, Luke Sital Singh, Spring King, Slaves, Woman's Hour and Circa Waves.
Commenting on the festival Melvin Benn, founder and creator of Latitude said: "It was an amazing weekend with outstanding headline performances from Black Keys, Damon and Lily and phenomenal performances across all the arts that we cover. Lily stepping in at the last minute to deliver the set of her life to a huge and appreciative crowd was awesome as was Damon conducting the lightning from the main stage during his set. Everything was perfect! Roll on the tenth birthday party of Latitude in 2015".
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