It is the opening evening of the Lytham Festival 2023. The festival has firmly established itself over the last few years and this year sees headline acts such as Jamiroquai, George Ezra, Blondie and Sting, and Lionel Ritchie finally finishing with Def Leppard and Motley Crew, as you can see the festival features a range of musical performances across different genres and attracts a diverse audience.
Tonight, See’s Jamiroquai bring his Funk and Acid Jazz Vibes to Lytham’s stage, with support from Jake Shears, The Fun-Loving Criminals, and The Stone Foundation. The stage is set, and the gates are open, the fans are heading into the fields for a night of Groovy rhythms and catchy melodies, guaranteed to have everyone dancing.
First onto the stage is the Authentic Soul and R&B Sound, of The Stone Foundation which draws inspiration from classic soul and R&B acts of the past, infusing their music with a vintage yet contemporary feel. The Stone Foundation develop an instant interaction with the audience, a real community connection with the gathering crowd, frontman Neil Jones, has a really powerful and soulful voice, full of passionate and enthusiasm. They deliver an emotionally charged performance that gets things off to a great start.
After a quick turn around the stage is set for The Fun-Lovin’ Criminals. American alternative rock band hailing from New York, as you would expect their set was full of hit Songs and fan favourites such as “Scooby Snacks,” “Love Unlimited,” and “The Fun-Lovin’ Criminal.” All of which brought a superb response from the crowd, the set is interspersed with plenty of lively banter and stories, they certainly gave the fun factor to their performance, the set all groovy guitars, funky bass lines and tight drumming, offering the old school, to the new school.
The crowd has grown considerably by now, many jostling for the best place to see the acts they are here to see, it is not difficult as the stage is huge, when I say huge, I mean huge, it is a real focal point and the arena is long and spread out rather deep in depth, that gives the place a real communal atmosphere, everything within easy reach and accessible.
And then it was time for the eclectic musical style of Jake Shears, best known as the lead vocalist of The Scissor Sisters he is now forging a solo musical path of his own. As the band make their way onto the stage, the set up with the raised drums looks theatrical, and Jake comes running onto stage arms aloft and a trophy held proudly as if he had just won the award, the blue sequinned tracksuit and white headband was only a glimpse of what was about to unfold.
Jake Shears and his band are high energy, full of flair, Jake has an engaging stage presence, and the charisma to fully interact with the audience, he is fully supported by the band, each member unique in their own eclectic way, together they deliver a real hi-energy set, Jake has one of those voices that easily resonates, and he can tell a story, he not only dances and struts all over the stage, he easily turns things into e real sing-along atmosphere, but it was the Scissor Sisters songs that everyone remembers, like “Comfortably Numb”, “Take your Mamma”, and the outrageous “Filthy/Gorgeous”. The whole set was a triumph with Jake de-robing as the set developed, each time revealing more and more vibrant costumes, and less and less coverage. As I head off for some refreshments, “Take Your Mamma”, has entered my head like a real earworm.
SET LIST
1/ Too Much Music
2/ Really Big Deal
3/ Laura
4/ I Used to Be in Love
5/ Do the Television
6/ Comfortably Numb
7/ Creep City
8/ Take Your Mama
9/ Last Man Dancing
10/ I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’
11/ Devil Came Down the Dancefloor
12/ Mess of Me
13/ Invisible Light
14/ Filthy/Gorgeous
As the fans gather at the front of the stage in anticipation for tonight’s headline act, Jamiroquai, the number of costumes and headpieces on show shows that there is still a solid fan base for Jay Kay. The stage looks impressive the band and backing singers set out across it, and J, K comes onto the stage with his camera phone filming the crowd, wearing a feathered Indian Headpiece. Its clear that he has not lost any of his charisma, vocally he is on song and he is feeding off the excellent set of musicians and backing singers who are the the Lytham stage, the spectacular lighting system and visual backdrops is breathtaking, when it all come together its captivating, J, K moves across the stage with ease, showcasing his classic dance moves, much to the delight of a very loyal and appreciative fanbase, that have turned out in large numbers.
Hit singles “Virtual Insanity,” “Cosmic Girl,” and “Alright.”, blend catchy hooks with funky grooves. The show is set around the music that is embedded in the performance, which is all designed for the experience and participation of the crowd and is all perfectly delivered. It has been a majestic and high-energy set from start to finish, the perfect way to start this year’s Lytham festival.
SET LIST
1/ Main Vein
2/ Little L
3/ Space Cowboy
4/ Alright
5/ When You Gonna Learn
6/ Time Won’t Wait
7/ Angeline
8/ Emergency on Planet Earth
9/ Rock Dust Light Star
10/ Cosmic Girl
11/ Canned Heat
12/ Love Foolosophy
13/ Virtual Insanity
FOLLOW JAMIROQUAI
FOLLOW JAKE SHEARS
FOLLOW FUN LOVIN CRIMINALS
FOLLOW THE STONE FOUNDATION
