Baskerville Hall, nr Hay-On-Wye
Fri 28-Sun 30 Apr
In its second year, Big Love gets way bigger. The live offering of the festival, which takes place in a mansion on the Welsh borders, is headed up by one of hip-hop’s grand masters, KRS-One, and the party-starting UK disco, funk and soul crew Horse Meat Disco. There’s a lot of diverse delights further down the billing too, including Australian electro-soul guy András, abstract techno ace Call Super, and jazzy rock mystics Flamingods, who are brilliant live, certified by their Cardiff gig last year.
The Fantazia Soundsystem stage has an excellent lineup of old school rave, jungle, acid, dub, house and techno, featuring Slipmatt, Jerome Hill, Vinyl Junkie and 2 Bad Mice and more. Bristolians Dazee and Bunjy are both definitely worth checking out, the former being long renowned in the city for her Roni Size-affiliated drum’n’bass style, and the latter a popular fixture who’s part of the Laid Blak crew and can roll out beats of all kinds with his years of experience.
Of course there’s an excellent range of artists and DJs from the Cardiff area too, including local heroes like Bodhi and Johnny Cage & The Voodoogroove. All in all, the second instalment of Big Love Festival looks like a satisfying progression from the first. This 1000-capacity festival could be something quite intimate and special that earns a place in our hearts.
Tickets: £75. Info: www.biglovefestival.co.uk