This year’s Southport Weekender 49 (SPW49) coincided with my birthday – offering me a welcome opportunity to celebrate in style. Six of us made our way from Norwich to Minehead, a six hour epic journey that was made a lot more comfortable than it would otherwise have been thanks to the luxury of a VW Caravelle. I’ll resist the temptation to go all Top Gear on you and cut to the chase.
As we pulled up to Butlins the mixtape we’d made for the journey was just fading out. Even after many years of attending Southport Weekenders I still get the butterflies and this time was no exception.
We’d decided to stay off-site this year and after unpacking, having something to eat – and, just as importantly, drink, we made the 20 minute journey down to The Powerhouse where the atmosphere was electric thanks to some amazing LED based visuals and a Funktion-One sound system that has to be heard to be believed.
First up was Sean McCabe, a Bristolian who has really made a name for himself at this event and has some tidy remixes under his belt. I then flitted around throughout Friday night sampling, amongst others, the delights of Detroit house and hip hop don, DJ Dez aka Andrés, the son of Humberto ‘Nengue’ Hernandez, an original player on Detroit’s jazz scene who sang and played percussion with the likes of Mongo Santamaria, Santana and Cachao López. A certified crate digger and vinyl archivist, he started his career working at the legendary Buy-Rite Records store, the very same place that Kenny Dixon Jr received his paycheck from. I enjoyed his set of pure old school classics and deeper vibes.
Friendly as always, I am always amazed at the amount of Southport Weekender virgins that you meet given that it’s been going for such a long time. Still new blood is always welcome and it’s always good to show them around, as Minehead is a maze of a layout compared to the old Pontins site in Southport. That said, Minehead has better accommodation and much better eating facilities too!
Towards the end of the night I went back over to the Powerhouse to see the legendary Dennis Ferrer, who burst back into the consciousness of most dance music heads with the release of Sandcastles (Ibadan), his collaboration with Jerome Sydenham in 2003. A throwback to his techno roots as producer of the first ever release on Synewave in 1994, and mixed with a healthy dose of soul, the track was a massive hit for the duo.
To his credit Ferrer didn’t simply repeat the formula afterwards. Instead, whether it’s been the gospel house sounds of his remix of Blaze & Barbara Tucker’s Most Precious Love (Defected) or the deeper-than-deep rework of Fish Go Deep’s The Cure & The Cause (Defected), Ferrer has continued to push a variety of genres all at once. I managed to get a video of part of his set, so see for yourself.
I also managed to catch a set from Rich Medina, the New Jersey B-boy turned DJ. One of the most popular DJs in Philadelphia NYC, Medina has consistently taken multi-ethnic crowds on a sonic journey through hip-hop, house, Afrobeat, funk and soul, unearthing one musical gem after another, which he was doing in the early hours with a vinyl collection to die for – jumping around genres but making it work!
I finally made my way back to a friend’s chalet to dissect and discuss the night’s ups and downs. Whereas normally there would be a chalet party going on, this year security was stepped up to prevent these, which I must admit is a good move as often these over shadow the event itself. It was then time to declare my birthday closed and get some shut-eye – not bad for a 38 year old, eh?
Saturday afternoon started in the Sun & Moon pub with Craig Barlett trying to coerce everyone back to some sort of reality after the previous night’s excesses. I decided it was time to move my troop of three up to my favourite area, the SunceBeat Dome – a massive inflatable dome where the atmosphere can only be described as Balearic! The vodkas soon started to kick in and then before I knew it, Andy Ward, (Vocalboothweekender) was slamming them out with a proper uplifting house set and he seemed to be enjoying it too.
Next up, Kerri Chandler took control with a storming set. As far as I’m concerned he never fails to deliver at Southport Weekender and has been on the line up for the last decade or so. The only problem was I forgot that Melba Moore was doing a live PA and I missed it. I always wanted to her sing Standing Right Here live after playing countless times off the Louie Vega Choice compilation. However, my friends did make it and it was their highlight of their weekend.
Saturday afternoon from around 3.00pm saw Terry Jones & Andy Davies playing all the old soul classics mixed with a few newer additions, which judging by the crowd was for the slightly older music heads. After this I ventured to a small gathering hosted by a mate of a mate before heading back to my B&B for some rest. Unfortunately, I got too comfortable and after a heavy birthday week and bank holiday weekend I missed the Saturday night – gutted! I did, however, hear from my best mate that it was awesome with Spen & Karizma rocking it and Spen actually taking to the stage and singing!
I was back on site for the Sunday and felt pretty fresh after recharging, so headed straight to Body & Soul the legendary NYC Sunday party at Southport. Headed up by Danny Krivit, Joe Claussel and Francois K, I only managed to catch a few hours as had to leave around 2.00pm but I was almost tempted to stay for the Sunday night after parties and head home Monday. Gotta pay the bills and get back to work!
In summary, while the weather was a let down, the line-up and crowd did not disappoint. While the chalet parties were missed by some I firmly believe they got that decision right and the only thing I would have changed was to have Body & Soul on the Friday. Anyway another blinding weekend was had by all.
For more on this festival, see our Southport Weekender Guide.
