The biggest summer festival Positivus Festival is over. What next?

RIGA - Last weekend was such an exciting time full of musical surprises, rock‘n’roll, and new meetings for those who attended Positivus Festival 2016. Though the weather was mildly rainy with a little sunny glimpse in between, this was not an issue for music festival goers (never has been, in fact). Three days of brand new and emerging artists, oldschool rock legends, and even folk musicians. As far as I hear, some of the festival goers have been able to go back to reality only now, these last few days. That’s how exciting the festival was this year. But what about the best music?

One of the most unique and, by that matter, most weird acts were hiphop/rock artists H09909. They wore blue jackets and with their dyed hair looked like The Prodigy back in 1990s. Also Hot Chip are worth mentioning. They offered a great dance show on the main Lattelecom stage. It seemed really suitable for a Friday evening considering the fact that they sounded really melancholic and even naive (for those who had just arrived at the festival and did not get the chance to get into a wild mood yet). 

Saturday came really early. It’s interesting how time flies during Positivus days, and it is like that every year. Even during the days there is lots to do — starting from breakfast, showering lines, yoga classes at the festival territory. The first bands started to play around 13:00; I really enjoyed Super Besse, a band from Belarus. They played modern new wave music, and the band leader filled the stage with his charisma. Surprising acts were also Wolf Alice from London, Great Britain. They have played live shows for seven years and offered a really powerful gig with lots of 1990s memories when nearly everybody was into Nirvana and Pearl Jam. It did not really matter that today it is 2016, because they were able to create a very dusty atmosphere with lots of spaces for our own imagination and childhood memories about cassette recorders, radio charts, and school discos. 

Another great artist worth mentioning was C Duncan. If you enjoy Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes, and similar artists who play light indie folk music, this was the soft spot for your ears. So was it for me, too. Nordea Stage was really suited for their show; it was intimate yet powerful. You could sit on a chair slowly enjoying your Tuborg beer (not very tasty, have to say, but they were one of the main sponsors at the festival, so — what you gonna do, right?). Latvian band Zidruns played garage rock at the I Love You stage where mostly Latvian and Baltic acts were put. Zidruns always have been some kind of garage punk “bad boys” in Latvia. Sarkastic, funny, yet punkish and very professional. Those guys knew how to play their instruments properly and how to offer a party on a Saturday night. Speaking of Latvian artists, NiklavZ gathered together lots of young music listeners. He played a fine quality dance/electronica which was slightly different from other acts, but in a good way. It was an energetic hour full of dancing and grooving, so one could enjoy all the pleasures this festival can offer. Here came the main artists M83 from France. I had the chance to hear them in 2009 when they were smaller and less well known artists than they are now. I have to say, they seemed a bit too big for the genre they represent. M83 is more suitable for melancholic movie soundtracks or calm evenings at the beach. Of course, all the great artists have to change in order to offer innovations and fresh material. But it seems they have to follow their new carreer paths (or requests from record labels and newest music trends) and transform into more pop and mainstream artists as their fan base tends to only grow bigger. No wonder such bands as U2 and Coldplay do the same; it is only a matter of their own integrity — how much each artist is prepared to play less mainstream music risking to sacrifice earnings, but at the same staying true to his/her inner artistic voice.

Sunday was great because everyone had been waiting for Iggy Pop from the Stoogies; he was another main artist this year. But before that one of the brightest artists (in my opinion) was Grimes, Canadian artist, singer, and producer with heavy influences from Japanese culture, industrial music scene, electronica, and even video games. She was no doubt one of the most explosive and energetic artists this year with dancers, lights, and great attitude. One can only envy her free spirit on a stage without any concerns what others might think or how many fans she has so far. Very inspiring and very true music despite the fact that she uses lots of electronica, synthesizers, and special effects (and who said synth has no soul anyway?).

So, what about next year? What will be the next surprising new acts in 2017? We sure do not know that yet, but it seems that Positivus continues to gather more and more great and fresh artists who play at the biggset European stages while at the same time offering a glimpse into current music trends (and this is an important issue for Positivus Festival which is more like a melomaniac paradise, not some oldies gathering party or Glastonbury). But, before that, I would advise you to listen to lots of new music throughout the entire year so that you do not regret finding your soon-to-be favourite artist playing at Positivus after you have discovered them on, say, Spotify or Deezer. That’s how I missed Pete Doherty. See you next year!