- With summer calendars full to bursting, starting a new festival to compete with established events would seem an extremely ambitious task. Tempting people away from their tried-and-tested favourites and towards something new requires a lineup that is nothing short of exceptional. We Are FSTVL tackled this issue head-on. Across its 14 arenas, many of which were hosted by firm-favourite promoters with years of experience, its timetable boasted a gargantuan roster of acts. With the notable exception of straight-up techno, We Are FSTVL struck an eye-watering balance of established artists and newcomers from across the 4/4 spectrum.
Of course, the practical reality of having 14 arenas at one festival is that (for the majority of the event) there were 14 acts playing simultaneously. On the one hand, this meant that there was never a shortage of very strong acts on offer; on the other, it meant that (despite careful planning) there was no option but to miss all but a handful of them—an issue exacerbated by the fact that several big names only played for an hour.
Early on, the tone on most stages was light and summery. For me, the mid-afternoon set from San Soda and Red D (playing together as FCL) was the highlight of the day, perfectly balancing the light playfulness of crisp, modern house with the undeniable feel-good factor of old favourites. A live vocalist provided a fresh twist to many tracks (including San Soda's version of "It's You" ) and drew a huge response from the crowd.
Over on the Mulletover stage, Kerri Chandler played a similarly upbeat set of melodic house. Although enthusiastic during the main builds, the dance floor never quite got moving due to the awkward funnel shape of the arena, and people (myself included) soon became restless from the endless jostling.
A few metres away on the main stage, Sven Väth's huge-room techno was well-matched to the scale of the event. Pyrotechnic effects accentuated the biggest moments, though as usual I had to question whether Cocoon's dancers really added anything to the experience. Nevertheless, numbers at the stage swelled steadily throughout the afternoon and Väth moved things forward rapidly enough to hold the interest of a big crowd—no small feat considering that there were many, many viable options on at the same time. Next up was Ricardo Villalobos, whose set was surprisingly club-focused given the huge dimensions of the outdoor stage. His selections were notably darker than his usual summer festival offerings. This certainly wasn't everyone's idea of fun on a sunny day, but for me it was a welcome alternative to the sanguine sets on other stages.
The outdoor arenas drew to a close as dusk fell, leaving the indoor spaces to take the spotlight. During the day, the sound was strong throughout the site, but all stages became noticeably quieter after the main stage closed, and at this point many stages were simply not loud enough to maintain the crowd's energy. On the Crosstown Rebels stage, Dixon played an enjoyable, if relatively safe set that drew heavily on recent and upcoming Innervisions releases. The tent was on the small side, and it stayed packed to the rafters throughout the night. Label head Damian Lazarus closed the arena, and picked up in a similar dreamy vein to where Dixon left off. The trajectory grew darker over the next hour, and although the set was well-received, at times the message felt slightly lost beneath the volume restrictions.
For a new festival with a capacity of 15,000, getting the logistics right was always going to be a challenge. On the whole, We Are FSTVL did a good job. The layout of the site was logical, and stages were far enough apart to avoid any noticeable sound-bleed. Crowd flow never seemed to be a major issue, though the queues for pretty much everything were long and there certainly weren't enough toilets. Like many festivals, the bars operated a token system, which required first a queue for tokens and then a queue for drinks. Also, it was pretty frustrating to be left with tokens when the bars ran out of most drinks in the early evening, and it was difficult not to notice that the token system camouflaged a rather steep price list.
Despite one or two gripes, which can presumably be fixed in future editions, We Are FSTVL was a lot of fun. The mood throughout was buoyant, and although the great weather certainly helped, it delivered a solid day out with a varied soundtrack.