Creamfields 2019 proves pinnacle of UK dance scene [Review]

Serving as the perfect end to the summer festival season in the UK at the end of August for 22 years now, all eyes are on Creamfields every time to deliver on putting a spectacular show. Never failing to do so, the 2019 edition of the iconic festival felt bigger and better than ever before with an all-star lineup overflowing with UK festival exclusives across four days of pure madness, and We Rave You were lucky to be there to witness it all unfold.

Although the main festivities kick off on the Friday, Thursday is a gem for the early festival-goers as a select few of the incredible indoor stages were open to the likes of Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Kryder, D.O.D, Corey James and Matt Nash to name just a few to play silent disco sets – definitely one of the unique highlights of Creamfields. The crowds showed up in numbers for these sets and even taking off your headphones for a second exposed the magical noise of thousands of party people shouting along to the hit tracks being played by the world class DJs.

Moving onto Friday, the arena opened up more of its stages to the excited and enthusiastic fans including Friday day ticket holders for the first time ever, allowing people to expand their experience even further. Starting the weekend off strong, headliners included Martin Garrix (with his own STMPD stage), deadmau5, Eric Prydz, Timmy Trumpet and a heap more and each brought something completely unique. deadmau5 took to headlining the massive outdoor stage (one of two that the arena plays host to) Arc with the exclusive UK premiere of his newest stage project ‘cube v3’ which went down a treat with the amazed crowd whilst Eric Prydz brought his ‘V O I D’ concept which was designed specifically with Creamfields’ Steel Yard stage in mind and featured a crazy lighting structure which would have only been seen inside that crazy busy structure. Other highlights included Jauz, Solardo and Ben Nicky amongst others and if Friday proved anything, it was that the people of Creamfields were in for the biggest treats of their lives.

Moving onto the longest and also the busiest day, Saturday. With the arena being able to stay open and host DJs until the early hours of 4am, this means even more room for the very best talents to take to the decks and keep the spirits of the attendees alive. With the other outdoor stage Horizon also open for business, everything was in full swing and looking even more amazing as ever. With stage hosts such as BBC Radio 1, Mau5trap, Anjunabeats and more across 11 stages, there proved to be something for everyone to be content with and the energy in the air was truly electrifying, no matter whether it was 3pm or 3am. One of the main highlights of that night had to be the spectacle from the Arc stage with another UK exclusive, Calvin Harris. Making his return to Creamfields for the first time since 2016, his stage presence lit up the whole of the stage whilst on the other end of the site, The Chemical Brothers performed live, creating one of the best atmospheres seen on the Horizon stage. Other acts like Carl Cox, Above & Beyond, Nicky Romero and many more (too many to list) helped keep the good vibes going throughout the day and night and a historical Creamfields Saturday was created.

Sunday, the final day. Tinted with a bittersweet feeling of knowing it was the final day for another whole year, the thought of Swedish House Mafia’s first performance there since 2011 was all anyone could think of but before that it was time to enjoy a roster of even more outstanding talents. Oliver Heldens, Fisher and Darren Styles did expert jobs of hyping the crowds up and gave them all something to rave about for the following months to come as loyal festival-goers wait for another year and another weekend of madness. Getting to one of the most talked about sets of the entire festival (and likely the year), the vibe in the air was a mixture of curiosity and excitement before it was time for the Swedes to take the Arc stage by storm, and that is exactly what they did. With the biggest pyro ever seen at a festival and a setlist full of old and new gems, the extremely busy crowd sang along to every word as they gave them a warm welcome back to the UK festival scene. As expected, Swedish House Mafia might not appeal to everyone’s music taste but Creamfields expertly catered to that with the likes of sets from Adam Beyer & Cirez D, CamelPhat, Tiësto, MK and more.

All in all, Creamfields truly outdid themselves with their extraordinary lineup but it wasn’t just the lineup that made the festival stand out this year. Doing their part to be eco-friendly, a campaign of posters were created with text such as ‘Say no to single use tents’, ‘This is our world let’s look after it’ and ‘Reuse refill repeat’ and within the festival itself for the first time they gave fans the option to trade in a certain number of used cups in for £1 bar tokens, getting them involved with a worthy cause. In the times when music wasn’t on and the arena was closed, Creamfields did an expert job of making sure their attendees were not bored for even one second with activities such as daring rides, realistic looking pubs, stalls and stalls of food, and even a popup Co-Op supermarket!

If there’s anything to take from this review, it’s that Creamfields is the hottest place to be every August, and every edition manages to top the next as it continues to go from strength to strength. The signup process is already available for 2020, so make sure to sign up here to ensure your involvement in the crazy festivities.