FÉILE25 kicked off in exuberant style on Friday evening as the Big Top Tent welcomed icons of dance Agnelli and Nelson, Chicane, and in a festival coup Faithless.
The sounds of the Balearic islands were ringing out of the Falls Park from as early as 8pm as local DJ’s Jamsey Butler and Gareth Woods took to the decks before Agnelli and Nelson took to the podium. A real festival atmosphere was buzzing around the park as people came from across the city and beyond to witness some of the titans of the modern dance scene strut their stuff to a crowd who were eager to recapture some of their early dancing days.
Revellers took advantage of the dry night and sat among the many picnic tables that had been assembled in a back stage area catering for every food desire including an ice-cream van that had a crowd snaking back to the side entrance.
The 3,500 capacity tent was packed out as the crowd, eager to get dancing and into the full festival spirit, found their spots under the impressive lighting system.
The cavenorous tent was a sea of people pulsating to the music as Nicholas Bracegirdle, otherwise known as Chicane, played hit after hit from a back catalogue going back to 1997. Singles Offshore, Saltwater and the Bryan Adams collaboration Don’t Give It Up went down a storm.
The mighty Faithless took to the stage around 11pm when anticipation for their arrival was at fever pitch. Founding member Sister Bliss kicked off an exhaustive DJ set which showcased a 15-year plus musical career before the crowd erupted as memisering rapper Maxi Jazz appeared to the strains of Insomnia.
In between the Faithless back catalogue Sister Bliss kept the crowd on its toes mixing up songs from the current chart list before the crowd surged forward for the final song God Is A DJ. On Friday night this was very much the case.
