Andalucia Big 2022 - Day 2 Friday

Dancing at the Andalucia Big festival © Michelle Chaplow

Sylvie Kreusch at the Andalucia Big festival © Michelle Chaplow

Michael Kiwanuka at the Andalucia Big festival © Michelle Chaplow

Paolo Nutini at the Andalucia Big festival ©Michelle Chaplow

Festival-goers, loving the occasion © Michelle Chaplow

Glass Animals at the Andalucia Big festival ©Michelle Chaplow

Jamiroquai at the Andalucia Big festival ©Michelle Chaplow

Sports team at at the Andalucia Big festival ©Michelle Chaplow

Andalucia Big 2022 - Day 2 - Friday

by Alex Cutts

The Headliners

Night two of the festival welcomed 90s British funk band Jamiroquai to the stage. With hits such as Virtual Insanity, Space Cowboy, and Cosmic Girl, along with lead singer Jay Kay’s array of quirky hats, the band were bound to bring an unforgettable show to close Friday night. Warming up his fans in advance, he had been publishing practice session videos on social media. Here is the setlist.

Headliners of the night Jamiroquai drew a crowd which spanned from fence to fence. Jay Kay addressed the crowd in Spanish as the band entered the stage. Fans came alive as the 90s group played their hits from the past three decades, not a soul stood still. Jay Kay hosted the most lively show of the night as everyone danced along. His trademark funky hat did not disappoint as he donned a light up, neon crown.

Jamiroquai - Got a head? Get a hat! © Michelle Chaplow

Their headline slot at Andalucia Big was certainly a special one as it was Jamiroquai's only European show of 2022, giving fans a festival exclusive. Jamiroqai had played in Malaga once before at the Municipal Auditorium on August 2011 and Marbella Starlite Festival on 22 July 2018. In Summer 2005 he was at the Byblos hotel in Mijas ready to play the fated Mijas Hipodromo when concert was cancelled at last minute by bankrupt promotor Seabrease.

Chart Toppers

Friday welcomed Scottish singer songwriter Paolo Nutini and English indie rockers Glass Animals.

Paolo Nutini’s proved very popular with fans on the Alhambra stage. He knew how to excite the audience. Supporting longer hair and dressed in white t-shirt and black jeans and frequent arms out poses, were irksomely reminiscent of Jim Morrison. His soulful pop songs have had him nominated for Brit Awards on three separate occasions and nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for his songwriting capabilities. His third studio album Caustic Love, released in 2014, debuted at number one on the UK’s album charts and was awarded platinum within three months of its release.

Paulo Nutini played as the sun began to set, a large crowd gathered to watch the Italian-Scotsman play his melodic indie rock tunes. The singer-songwriter’s set featured psychedelic visuals on screen which accompanied his band’s rock and roll drums and guitars. The crowd chanted and whistled along as his strong, raspy vocals filled the entire arena. Nutini did more than just sing for the masses; the multi-talented musician played keyboard and acoustic guitar for his fans. He ended his set by embracing the crowd with an air hug.

Glass Animals rose to mainstream popularity in the early months of 2021 after the success of their song Heat Waves, after it went viral on the social media app TikTok. The song has received over 1 Billion streams on Spotify and has topped singles charts across the globe, as well as receiving a nomination for Best British Single at the 2021 Brit Awards.

Dave Bayley, writer, producer, and lead singer in the band Glass Animals © Michelle Chaplow

Frontman Dave Bayley jumped around the stage as the band played an energetic set, mirrored by their colourful neon stage set up. Their electric indie pop songs had the crowd bouncing up and down in unison, as they roared with cheers. Bayley thanked his team and the band’s managers as it was their last show for a while, closing their tour and summer of festivals. “It’s been a wicked last show. We’re gonna miss y’all but we’ll be back I promise” said the singer, before leaping into their top hit Heat Waves. The crowd erupted with cheers and applause as the song played. The crowd sang along to the chorus before a pause. Bayley said: “This is the first time we’re playing this song in Spain and it’s f***ing crazy, but I know we can go a little louder than that! This is the last we’re gonna do it in ages!” Before they played another round of the chorus and got everyone singing along.

The Up and Coming

Day two of the festival saw performances from Sports Team, Yard Act, and Nova Twins. The members of Sports Team met whilst studying at the University of Cambridge and formed the alt-rock group in 2016. Since then, the boys have been nominated for 2020’s Mercury Prize, and have received a ⅘ star rating from NME on their 2020 debut album Deep Down Happy. Post punk, indie rockers Yard Act were named in BBC Sound’s “ones to watch” shortlist, following the release of their debut album “The Overload” in January of this year.

Childhood friends, Georgia South and Amy Love from London, join Friday’s lineup as rock duo Nova Twins. Since they established in 2014 they have supported tours from Wolf Alice, Bring Me The Horizon, Little Simz, and many more. In 2020 the girls won Best UK Breakthrough Band at the Heavy Music Awards, following the release of their debut album Who Are The Girls?. They have since released their second album in June 2022, named Supernova.

The two young ladies from London rocked to a fairly large crowd over on Stage Three; no easy task when clashing with chart topping Glass Animals over on the main stage. Before they played their 2022 single hit K.M.B, Amy Love addressed the crowd: “This one is for when you are frustrated and have anger harbouring inside.” The pair then began to rock it out on stage, opening up with a rap style intro.

New York-based artist Montell Fish were first to perform on the main Andalucia stage. Spanning multiple disciplines and blending new age gospel and soul with electronic sounds and hip-hop, the rising artist speak to a new generation of creatives .

Kevin Morby the American musician, singer and songwriter was second on the big Andalucia stage. A former member of Woods and The Babies, Morby has released seven solo studio albums between 2013 and 2022. Morby cites Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone among his favorite artists.

Michael Kiwanuka from London, followed Morby on the Andalucia stage, a British singer-songwriter and now also a record producer. He peformed a popular set to the ever increasing audience fillling the double stage zone. Kiwanuka’s musical style has been compared to Bill Withers and Terry Callier. His 2012 debut album, Home Again, went gold in the United Kingdom and his second album, Love & Hate, debuted in 2016 at number one. He has been nominated for Brit Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, BBC Music Awards, and The Grammy Awards. In January 2012, he won the BBC's Sound of 2012; and, in September 2020, he won the Mercury Prize. He delivered a chilled out set. The singer projected his powerful voice while playing the guitar alongside his talented band. His show offered a fusion of folk, indie rock, and R&B. His easy-listening melodic lyrics perfectly paired with the sunset backdrop.

La Perra Blanco trio opened on TRES stage, a group formed not too far away in La Línea de la Concepción in 2007. Led by young Alba Blanco (singer and guitarist) and inspired by the music of the 50's Alba formed this power trio, with influences from black music such as rhythm and blues or gospel as well as white music such as hillbilly, rockabilly, country, bluegrass.

Niños Mutantes followed on the TRES stage, a four piece male indie rock band formed in the mid-1990s in Granada. With 12 albums under their belt form 1998 (Mano,Parque, Paseo) to 2020 (Ventanas).

Heading the bill on the Alhambra stage were Vetusta Morla the leaders of Spanish indie from Tres Cantos district of Madrid. With "Un día en el mundo" they conquered the late night audience. Formed in 1998 they didn't release their first full-length album, (Un día en el mundo) util 2008, and now have 5 albums under their belt. The 6 piece male band owes its unusual name to the giant old tortoise character Vetusta Morla from The Neverending Story, novel by Michael Ende. "vetusta" in Spanish is synonymous with old.

GOA opened on the Tres stage to a small group of dedicated fans. The Spanish male vocalist is from the urban scene. He brings fans closer to a melancholic horizon. To the dark rhythms of the Roland 808 synth his music with dark beats, he tells us stories of depression, anxiety, heartbreak and drug addiction.

Lighting up the mode on the TRES stage were The Dip, a 7 piece pop, rhythm and blues band formed in 2013 by jazz music students at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. The Dip combines a typical pop format with a 3-part horn section (trumpet, tenor sax and baritone sax). They have released three full-length albums as well as two instrumental EPs to date.

Sylvie Kreusch was a delight with her destinctive voice, dress, clothes and act. The Belgium born female singer formed her first school band at the at the age of 16. Sylvie's first band called "Soldier's Heart". In 2016, Sylvie joined her by then boyfriend Maarten Devoldere, in his music band 'Warhaus' and their debut record reached #1 in 2016. Kreusch participated in Ann Demeulemeester's Spring 2018 collection Paris Fashion Week show as a fashion model. This lead to her work on the soundtrack for the Prada Spring/Summer 2018 campaign, and later also Victoria's Secret, and BMW. At Andalucia Big she demonstrated her dream to become a solo artist in the widest sense of the word.

Sports Team, next on TRES, met whilst studying at the University of Cambridge and formed the alt-rock group in 2016. Since then, the boys have been nominated for 2020’s Mercury Prize, and have received a ⅘ star rating from NME on their 2020 debut album Deep Down Happy. Vocalist Alex Rice, told the large audience that he was practicing his four octive range and gave a quick demonstration. They gathered a fair sized crowd, with Alex Rice commenting on how many people had turned up to support the group from London. Their set was full of energy. Although the audience didn't seem too familiar with the Londiners music their energetic presence engaged them nonetheless, perhaps this could lead to them holding a space in the Andalucian music scene.

Yard Act certainly win the prize for the strangest act at the festival. While headline Jamiroquai entertained 95% of the festival non funk fans waited over the TRES out of curiosity. The performance started with a lengthy warm up, continually stopping and starting for guitar and amplifier adjustments. It was dificult to know if the post punk band were serious. James Smith wriley the audience in his strong Yorkshire accented humour if were 'enjoying being in a car park covered in astroturf' wearing a grey mackintosh never seen in sunny Malaga before. The audience dwindled to a handful as many thought had been a confusion with the band booking. Then came their 'Susan Boyle' moment as they jumped into tight post punk indie rythms. A few onlookers returned to shake a leg.

Fun Spanish Rock and Roll dance band Los Zigaros from Valencia formed in 2011. When they closed on the TRES stage the crowds returned for a light end of festival dance. Los Zigaros are comprised of Ovidi Tormo (vocals and guitar), Álvaro Tormo (guitar), Adrián Ribes (drums) y Nacho Tamarit (base) and have three studio albums and one one live.