On the third day of Sziget, temperatures continued to climb, but the crowd of music-lovers still continued to flock to the main stage and danced until dawn at the Yettel Colosseum. The extraordinary variety in the Sziget festival programme means that each day becomes a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’, with several new districts this year including the Delta District for House, Techno and Rave music and the new Paradox and Szoho areas for performing arts, there is so much to discover.

The Kooks

English Indie-rock band The Kooks replaced Michael Kiwanuka on the main stage.

They acknowledged this in their set when they said: “I know you were expecting Michael Kiwanuka today. He’s a good friend of ours. Let’s all hope he gets well soon!” Lead singer Luke Pritchard stopped in between songs to talk to the audience. The Kooks easily appeal to all music lovers – their easy-going, feel good songs create the perfect summer festival vibe.

‘Bad Habit’ was a highlight of their set, with Luke Pritchard doing a call and response with the crowd. ‘She Moves in Her Own Way’ had a similar nostalgic feel, and the crowd enthusiastically sang along to the chorus. The Kooks are a classic act that have been around the festival circuit for a while now; nevertheless, they continue to stay relevant, and their energetic performance delighted the crowd.

Kid Cudi

The headliner of the main stage was American Hip-Hop and R&B artist Kid Cudi, who replaced A$AP Rocky on the lineup. His set formed two halves. The first half of his set was laidback – it was him alone on stage, standing still for the first three songs, including ‘Neverland’, which is the first single from his upcoming album FREE. He paused to talk to the audience and to thank them for sticking with him for the seventeen years of his career. As he moved to the second half of his set, he played a medley of songs with some from his first album that he admitted he had not played live in years.

Kid Cudi mentioned that his classic songs were for the “real Kid Cudi fans” out there. Whilst undoubtedly there were many, many people in the audience who were waiting for him to play his most popular songs, clearly expecting a more upbeat vibe from him. He played ‘Day N’ Nite’ next, one of the most well-known songs, which amped up the crowd slightly. However, after this song was played, several people left the crowd. ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ was when the crowd truly came into their own, and Kid Cudi brought a lot of energy to the second half of his set.

HoneyLuv

DJ HoneyLuv (a.k.a Taylor Character) took the Yettel Colosseum by storm for her midnight set that mixed R&B, Hip-Hop and Afrobeat genres seamlessly. The Yettel Colosseum, as a venue, is one that Sziget is most proud of and has kept for years. The wooden structure is surrounded by lights and lasers, making it the perfect place for electronic music. As well as being a DJ, HoneyLuv is also a producer with tracks such as ‘Your Tongue’ receiving critical praise from DJ Mag and Billboard. Throughout her set, she mixed classic tracks and her own songs, creating a groovy and hypnotic vibe.

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Heather Gosling is a university student currently studying English Literature at York. She is passionate about journalism, creative writing and music. She has written for many online and print publications and is working on a music magazine (@circulationzine).

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