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Over many years, Lovebox has managed to firmly cement itself as one of London’s most vibrant music festivals, and the 2019 line-up is off to a stellar start. Today, it’s been announced that Solange and Chance The Rapper will be headlining this summer’s event, which takes place on July 12-13. These A-list bookings are doubly exciting because both artists are due to drop albums in 2019, so we could be hearing new Solange bops and Chance jams while we get our freak on in Ealing’s Gunnersbury Park (the location Lovebox moved to last year following a long stint in east London). Beyond the headliners, Lovebox 2019 offers proper depth...
FRIDAY JULY 12
Solange’s headline gig marks a cute Lovebox journey, given that the ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ singer played the festival in 2017 to an absolute roadblock crowd. We’re sure everyone who squeezed in to see her smash the West Stage will be grateful to see her own the main domain this time around. Elsewhere on the Friday, talent abounds. South London hip hop king Loyle Carner will be a major draw, as will much-fêted, up-and-coming Slowthai who uses his Northampton roots as a springboard for much of his lyrical mulling. Another truly individual talent rocking up this year is Kaytranada –a beat-maker, remixer and DJ who has continued to rise. In part, this is thanks to his delicate ability to fuse together sweet bits of R&B, swaggery elements of 2000s-ish hip hop and the clubby feel of house into a deeply original, always banging show. For a more conventional house experience, you can’t get bigger than Solomun – one of the most followed European DJs in the world. More Friday treats include super-beautiful, super- mellow French producer FKJ and Mancunian rap duo Children of Zeus, with loads more names due to be dropped soon.
SATURDAY JULY 13
The Chance-led Saturday line-up is equally stacked. Aside from the presence of Chicago’s finest woke bae in the closing slot, there are also more delicious servings of stateside hip hop over the day. Brockhampton, for example, are worth the entry price alone. The multi-headed hip hop boy band are adored by a hardcore army of fans, but have the skills and warmth to warrant the fandom. Equally ascendant is Lizzo – whose Minneapolis rhymes and starry attitude have all come together in recent hit ‘Juice’ – plus super-young and super-talented rapper Cupcakke. On the flipside of the age-o-meter, veteran reggae figurehead David Rodigan brings his Outlook Orchestra crew in tow to bash out a full-throttle tribute to bass music. Elsewhere, a DJ set from the pleasantly ubiquitous festival assassin Four Tet (anyone who saw his set at Lost Village last year will agree) should be unmissable. Techno queens don’t get any more commanding than Belgian spinner Charlotte de Witte, and she’ll be shaking Gunnersbury to the core alongside a host of other DJs including Annie Mac, Paul Johnson, Patrick Topping and Kettama. Lovebox will announce more acts soon, but so far, it’s a 10/10 from us.
Lovebox takes place on July 12-13 in Gunnersbury Park.