LOVE SUPREME FESTIVAL

from Absolute Magazine Spring Summer 2022 Edition

WEDDING PHOTOSHOOT

LOVE SUPREME

jazz festival

Following a two-year hiatus, the Love Supreme Jazz Festival will return to Sussex in 2022 with exclusive headline shows from the queen of neo soul Erykah Badu and multi-million-selling jazz superstar Gregory Porter.

Love Supreme Festival is Europe’s biggest greenfield jazz festival, taking

place at Glynde Place in East Sussex from July 1st – 3rd 2022. The festival launched in 2013 and quickly became the largest outdoor jazz festival in Europe thanks to a unique blend of world-class artists from across the jazz, soul, R&B and funk spectrum. Hailed as “the most spectacular jazz festival in the country” by The Sunday Telegraph, the festival is located within the grounds of Glynde Place in the South Downs, approximately 20 minutes from Brighton. Confirmed as Badu’s only UK show of 2022, the massively anticipated festival appearance will be the multi-Grammy-winning star’s first UK performance for three years. One of the most influential artists of the modern era, Badu’s sound is a lush soundscape blending a multitude of genres including jazz, R&B, funk, soul and hip hop. Triple-platinum certified debut album Baduizm, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2022, won Badu widespread commercial and critical success and earned her comparisons to the likes of Billie Holiday, Lauryn Hill and Stevie Wonder. Love Supreme Festival Director, Ciro Romano said, “We couldn’t be happier to be announcing Erykah Badu, a true innovator and undoubtedly one of the most exciting performers of her generation, as the first artist confirmed for Love Supreme 2022. We have many more big-name announcements planned over the coming weeks and we look forward to welcoming our Love Supreme family back to the South Downs next summer.” Following four sold-out shows at The Royal Albert Hall last year, multimillion-selling jazz superstar Gregory Porter will make his first appearance at the festival in five years when he headlines the Main Stage on Sunday July 3rd. Porter is joined on the line-up by the collaborative project from London rapper Barney Artist and Bombay Bicycle Club frontman Jack Steadman Mr Jukes & Barney Artist, fast-emerging British-Nigerian singer-songwriter Samm Henshaw, hotly-tipped gospel-soul trio Gabriels, the powerhouse US vocalist Lady Blackbird, rising star Blue Note saxophonist Melissa Aldana, and New Orleans-based Grammy-winning UK singer and pianist Jon Cleary. Erykah Badu and Gregory Porter join the likes of TLC, Tom Misch, Lianne La Havas, Sister Sledge, Candi Staton, The Brand New Heavies, Ezra Collective, Franc Moody, Emma-Jean Thackray, Charles Lloyd & The Marvels, Gary Bartz & Maisha, Mulatu Astatke and many more for what is fast-becoming the festival’s strongest line-up to date.

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GREGORY PORTER

ERYKAH BADU

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The most spectacular jazz festival in the country” The Sunday Telegraph

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Love Supreme has five music stages covering everything from global superstars to jazz legends

In order to accommodate this jam-packed schedule, Love Supreme has five music stages covering everything from global superstars to jazz legends; contemporary R&B to the new UK jazz movement; Latin jazz to emerging artists pushing the limits of what jazz, soul and funk is in the present day. Additional offerings at this year’s festival will include Breathe, a wellness and yoga area, secret swimming, organised hill walks across the South Downs, a host of activities aimed at children, the return of the long-table-style banqueting restaurant Lazy Bird Kitchen, the Supremium VIP area, which will offer a range of premium benefits plus the opportunity to watch exclusive artist performances, and the Jazz Lounge, which will present a range of artist interviews, talks, panel discussions and film screenings. Add to all that, glamping, cabaret, late night live jam sessions, a fairground, swimming and hill-walking and you have the ultimate immersive musical weekend with a loyal and dedicated audience. Ever since the inaugural festival back in 2013, Love Supreme has hosted a dazzling array of artists from the world of jazz, soul and R&B including Lauryn Hill, Earth Wind & Fire, George Benson, Nile Rodgers, Van Morrison, Grace Jones, Gladys Knight, Jamie Cullum, Laura Mvula, Louie Vega, Bryan Ferry and Chaka Khan. Love Supreme also supports emerging artists. Gogo Penguin, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Rag’N’Bone Man, Mahalia, Celeste, Ezra Collective, Jordan Rakei, Moses Boyd, Jacob Collier & Kamaal Williams have all performed early in their careers and have gone on to great success. “The original idea was to meld the ethos of those great European jazz festivals like North Sea Jazz and Montreux with the culture of the UK camping music festival. It hadn’t been done before. In one sense, it’s a niche event as jazz is at the heart of the festival but, in reality, it’s more a series of interconnected musical niches where the respective tribes come together and recognise kindred spirits. I felt there was a desire for a larger scale, authentic, communal experience which celebrated the culture of jazz, soul, R&B and funk and the mark those genres have made on contemporary music.” Ciro Romano

Tickets start at £63 at www.lovesupremefestival.com. Tickets retained from 2020 or 2021 will automatically transfer to the festival’s new dates in 2022.

LIANNE LA HAVAS