The day began with a celebration of Miles Davis’s centenary by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (which we sadly missed), but this was remedied with a stellar performance by Eliane Correa, who reflected the sunshine with a lively set of Latin Jazz perfectly executed by her eight-piece band, which included baritone sax and two percussionists. With the congalero’s industrial pounding, punchy brass, bass high in the mix, Correas’s attacking piano, and a very loud sampler, this was a great way to blow away the Friday night cobwebs.
With a nice blend of traditional and contemporary sounds, Correa was a confident band leader, aware of each solo and counting the band back in on cue. A set highlight was Black Cat, for when her pet gets the “zoomies”. It was fast and furious, going off in all directions, very much like a mischievous feline.
Things were calmer on the main stage as singer/songwriter Olive Jones delivered a mellow set backed by piano, bass and keys. Tell Me Why, recorded with Gotts Street Park, was a joy with gentle but on-point electric piano. Three More Nights (about living with a narcissist) was performed solo and highlighted both her vulnerability and strength. Inspired by the jazz greats growing up, she sang Wild Is The Wind based on Nina Simone’s version, accompanying herself with sparse guitar lines. She’s definitely grown as an artist since opening for Jalen Ngonda at the Concorde 2 gig that never happened.
Love Supreme afternoons are always laid back with plenty of space to move around, grab a drink, or some overpriced food (to be expected at any festival), and wander from stage to stage, of which there are six to choose from (seven if you have a Supremium ticket), plus loads of activities and fairground rides for kids of all ages. It’s also nice bumping into old friends and making new, like-minded ones
Loose Ends looked and sounded great from the get-go with Emergency (Dial 999). The five musicians, three backing singers, and two leads, all dressed in black and white, gave out that classic Brit Funk sound to a capacity, all-ages crowd of dancers. Frontman Carl MacIntosh declared it the ‘soul tent’. Can’t Stop The Rain was preceded by MacIntosh speaking of being horrified that the song was used in the violent BMF (Black Mafia Family) TV show, and how his opinion soon changed when the royalty cheque arrived. The good vibes continued with Don’t Be A Fool, which sounded sweet, especially with the addition of xylophone ringing in the background. The last fifteen minutes were back-to-back bangers with Nights Over Egypt and a spot of teasing before Hanging On A String got everyone singing and dancing. Proving they’ve still got the moves, they danced in sync to the final song Slow Down that ended with an extended jam to round off a real crowd-pleasing set.
A three-stage clash meant only catching Courtney Pine’s first number, after hearing him warm up offstage. The classic line-up of piano, bass, and drums began with a drone bass line and slow drum beat as a sax sound appeared offstage, followed by the man himself playing the four-note Love Supreme theme on soprano, joined by the audience. This changed as the bass played Manteca and Courtney demonstrated his amazing breath control and rapid soloing skills, returning to A Love Supreme to finish, hitting a ridiculously high note, then holding it while outstretching both arms.
A visit to the Blue in Green stage was rewarded with a wide-ranging set by legendary jazz dancer and Shiftless Shuffle DJ Perry Louis, that pleased dancers and listeners alike. He ended his set with Palimpsest’s version of the jazz dance classic I Bet You Thought I’d Never Find You to a well-deserved round of applause.
Franc Moody’s last appearance was a roadblock, so they were rightly upgraded to the main stage, which was already in full party mode ten minutes into the set. They definitely came to party and delivered an hour of live disco funk that proved irresistible to the crowd. They even included a bit of uptempo yacht rock that also went down a storm.
Newcastle’s Knats were spitting out Geordie rhymes praising their hometown with powerful drums and slow horns, which soon escalated into a fast and funky jazz number. Then it was back to the spoken word of Cooper Robson on the superb, hard-hitting Wor Jackie, written by bassist Stan Woodward, before keys, bass, and drums went off on a forceful tangent. It was really refreshing to hear a proud regional accent speaking their truth over electric rhythms from another superbly inventive and talented young band. Imagine Benefits on a jazz trip. After Skittles, Woodward asked if anyone wanted a boogie and gave the up-for-it audience a speedy Stanley Clarke-style funky dance number that went down a treat. A youthful and vital performance.
Esperanza Spalding talked/sang to the audience, to start her set, apologising for the lengthy sound check. Then her acoustic guitar was out of tune, which halted her set a couple of bars in, but she persevered and delivered a beautiful ballad The Way You Are, from a 2024 collaboration with Milton Nascimento. When she switched to double bass, things funked up and let her amazing voice, reminiscent in range to Minnie Riperton, loose to big cheers on Thang.
It was only fitting for Jalen Ngonda to make his Love Supreme debut on the main stage. The ‘overnight sensation’ (after years of honing his craft) gave a perfect early evening performance of sun-kissed 70s soul to a packed arena as the sun began to set. His distinctive high voice and thoughtful guitar playing made him an obvious signing with Brooklyn’s Daptone Records. He switched to piano for Come Around and Love Me, a sweet slice of soulful harmonies, before picking up his guitar for a solo spot while the band took a break and gave us a traditional blues, letting rip with his voice and guitar. The band returned for Rapture, another gorgeous laidback groover with sultry backing vocals, while Good Good Love was a perfect end-of-the-night slow dance that had the audience swaying and smooching, as his voice climbed the heights. It took a long time, but it’s great that he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves.
Despite the main stage arena still being packed for Jalen, the South Downs stage was bursting at the seams with people trying to squeeze in to see the Motown legends double bill. There were to be two 45-minute sets with The Fout Tops up first. The band played an overture of their hits, including Are You Man Enough from the Shaft In Africa soundtrack. They entered wearing matching outfits, and from the opening lines of Baby I Need Your Loving it was clear this was going to be a 90-minute mass sing-along. Songs from Hitsville USA, such as Bernadette are like old friends and great to hear live, even if the original members are all no longer with us. Selecting mainly from the Holland–Dozier–Holland songbook, It’s The Same Old Song showed how great their voices were, even down to Levi Stubbs’ growl, and they had the same side-to-side dancing. A Duke Fakir lookalike sang the bass parts perfectly, and even the slightly cheesy Loco In Acapulco sounded classy, whereas Reach Out and Standing in the Shadows of Love nearly lifted the roof off.
For me, The Temptations always had the edge over The Four Tops as they had more soulful songs (written by Smokey Robinson then Norman Whitfield), classier dance moves, and better voices. See the Motown 25 TV special when they went head-to-head in 1983.
Sadly, the momentum dipped a little during the long changeover, but when the band blasted out another overture of hits and seeing original founding member, 84-year-old Otis Williams, and long-time tenor Ron Tyson take the stage, this gave the evening a lift. Beginning with Get Ready, sharp suits and sharper moves made classics such as I Can’t Get Next To You and The Way You Do The Things You Do all the more special. The pace was relentless, with hits unleashed on a crowd who Ain’t Too Proud To Beg. Ball of Confusion was an incredibly dynamic performance. Just My Imagination was sheer bliss with those honied harmonies, and to prove they are still a supremely classy act, they ended with The Temptations’ national anthem, My Girl, one of the greatest songs ever written.
There was a mass exodus, mostly to see headliner Loyle Carner’s laidback tunes but we headed over for a final dose of British Jazz Funk from Light Of The World, who’d also drawn a near capacity crowd. Number One Girl featured the horn section multitasking on backing vocals and a fine tenor sax solo, plus the mellow arrangement also had room for a sumptuous piano and synth solo. Frontman Gee Bello announced that their music was available on Spotify, which caused spontaneous booing, but they finished with a classic, with everyone singing along to their best-known song London Town.
Love Supreme Festival, Saturday 4th July 2026
Glynde Place, East Sussex.
Pit photos by Fran Moore.
Super Early Bird Tickets for the 2027 festival will be available from 9:30am on Friday 10th July from lovesupremefestival.com.
