Souther Than Southport

Absolutely incredible weekend at this legendary Soul Weekender.

AA recovery drivers are heroes. We are long overdue a comic book where the main character just goes about their day saving stranded motorists from inconvenient car dramas. Motorists such as myself on Thursday, when the heavens opened wider than usual and my windscreen wipers refused the task at hand, leaving me driving down the M5 blind with an army of giant trucks closing in on every side. This was not the greatest of signs considering the Southport Weekender was due to start in under 24 hours.

Eight hours, three AA men and two incredibly tired and soggy dogs later I made it back home and had a hire car lined up for the 4 hour journey back down south. I made it to Bognor Regis Butlins at 21:30 the next day, many hours later than planned. I parked up on the one piece of concrete that didn’t have a vehicle on it and without stopping to find my apartment or unpack the car, headed in to see some music.

The Southport Weekender started in 1987 under a different name but moved to the Southport Pontins in 1990 and the name stuck even after heading south, eventually settling at its current home in 2022. The music policy has remained rooted in soul, funk and jazz, embracing any new offshoots as they grow, from house to techno, hip hop to jungle. There’s a large amount of both US and UK garage on offer and of course plenty of disco! As I figure out exactly what my latest DJ alias ‘Disco Kaptin’ means in the grand scheme of things, it has become clear to me that this weekender is my new spiritual home and is set to become an annual pilgrimage.

Funkbase

There are 6 different venues on offer and I decide to kick things off with Detroit singer Dwele at the Funkbase room. It’s not the best room for sound and it’s frustrating that it’s where most of the live acts are but the sound engineer does his best and the band are on point. There’s a lot more people than came to see him in the rain at Boomtown and despite not knowing which town he’s in (I guess, “What’s up London” sounds better than the correct greeting) Dwele is as smooth and soulful as you’d expect. He might not have a singalong catalogue that matches his contemporaries, but he sure can jam.

The highlight of the Funkbase room has to be Brian Jackson, Gil Scott Heron’s music partner and the best possible person to carry the torch of their classic collaborations on to this current day, where they resonate just as powerfully. I was expecting an appearance from Masters At Work as both were around but despite not dropping by, their influence could really be felt on the title track of Jackson’s forthcoming album which they produced. ‘Now More Than Ever’ could easily have been a Nuyorican Soul track and we did get guest appearances from both Rich Medina (for ‘Winter In America’) and Moodymann (who of course joined for ‘We Almost Lost Detroit’).

The room itself was heavy on the hip hop, with sets from Mr Thing, Sarah Love, Pete Rock, Shortee Blitz and Rich Medina. I didn’t want to lean too heavily into nostalgia this time, so I missed all of that. Next year I plan to dip into this stage more though.

Southport has an interesting relationship with nostalgia. Many weekenders rely heavily on this emotional wonder-drug and there’s no doubt that the largely over 40s crowd lean into names they know from their younger days. However most of the DJs made their reputations playing music that the crowd don’t necessarily recognise and so carry on that tradition more than ever here. It only seems to be the hip hop, rnb and UK garage acts that stick closely within familiar territory, but even then you’ll usually get a deeper selection than your average club or festival set.

Which means I had high hopes for Rodigan, but after initially hooking me in with some lesser known 90s dancehall, he ended up playing the same jungle and dnb dubplates you can hear him drop any time. Not that the crowd minded at all, but I decided to stick to my original plan and check out Luke Una in the Connoisseur’s Beat Bar.

Connoisseur’s Beat Bar

“That got rid of the Reform voters” I heard someone next to me say once Luke Una started to go off on one. He played a thoughtful and engaging selection for about an hour, but then went too moody for the time of night and eventually lost us all. By the time we came back for Aroop Roy there was practically nobody left in the room. There’s no love lost though, pushing the boundaries is Luke’s best and worst quality.

Aroop Roy was in no hurry to pick things back up and so we left again but kept popping in every 15 minutes hoping for a breakthrough. He wasn’t quite hitting the spot and it felt like a world away from last year’s set in the same space. That said, everyone I know who caught the end absolutely loved it and it’s the first time I’ve ever been disappointed by him.

Mr Scruff before them was one of my highlights, and hearing Bunji Garlin’s Jus Now produced 2020 track‘The Struggle’ into DJ Spen’s remix of ‘The Fifth (Of Beethoven)’ was such a lovely touch.

Scruff’s set was exceptional, only surpassed by Theo Parrish, followed by his fellow Detroit native and 3 Chairs compadre Moodymann on the Saturday night. Two of the all time greatest sets I’ve ever heard, truly transcendent and not even slightly spoiled by the sound issues during the first hour or so. Both of their selections and skills were faultless, joining the dots between disco, techno, afrobeat, rock, soul and house in a way that highlighted the craft of DJing itself and reminded us of the power to uplift and unite a dancefloor. Their approach is exactly what inspired me about the early disco and hip hop DJs, taking the crowd on a journey that was both exciting and inspiring, echoing the techno pioneers of their hometown that would blend funk, post-punk and electronic music together to create a whole new musical landscape. Both keepers and integral pieces of their city’s esteemed lineage.

Staying for the whole of Moodymann’s set meant I had to miss Louie Vega and I would love to have stayed on afterwards for Ash Lauryn but I had rinsed every little bit of energy by dancing so hard and my legs felt they were detached from my body. You really have to pick your battles at Southport and accept that FOMO will always be a factor.

I was back in the Connoisseur’s Beat Bar on Sunday for Session Victim live, which was the perfect way to ease back into the final day. Their set was warm, deep and soulful, and I was impressed by how funky their tunes all sounded with live bass. How has it taken me until now to go and see them perform?! I ended the night in that same room with Jimpster, who kicked off his set with an amazing version of ‘Flo’ that had a touch more swing than the original and Oveous performing his part live with a lot of energy. I was done after that though and didn’t even make it to Ron Trent’s closing set at the Powerhouse.

Powerhouse

Powerhouse is the biggest venue of the whole holiday park with a capacity of around 1500 people and arguably the best sound and biggest names of the lot. I didn’t spend as much time here as last year and caught only sublime snatches of legends such as Kenny Dope and Tony Humphries. Hopefully there will be plenty of chances to see them both again. I did manage the whole of Dave Lee’s set on Sunday, which was a relentlessly uplifting barrage of soulful house and garage. Last year his boogie set blew my tiny mind and this time he proved to everyone present why he’s the most important UK DJ and producer in this particular world. I think back to interviewing him at Escape In The Park back in the noughties and wonder what on earth I actually asked him, given the fact that I’m only really just coming to appreciate his back catalogue and accomplishments now.

The UK garage ravers are out early at Southport. Many dressed up ready for Saturday night by the time Powerhouse opens at 1pm for a killer set of underground classics from Jeremy Sylvester (aka Club Asylum) and MC Viper. You are more than free to dress comfortably at Southport but many people go that extra mile when it comes to style, with box fresh trainers and new outfits as standard. It’s a cosmopolitan city crowd with London and Manchester probably making up the majority of attendees but the atmosphere is one of the friendliest I’ve known and the feel good sounds definitely seep into the demeanours of the people you meet.

Dreem Team legend and BBC Radio 2 presenter DJ Spoony is a staple here and plays an amazing set of UK garage and UK funky a little later in the afternoon. He brings along MC Ranking on the mic and Lifford for a live PA which included ‘Please Don’t Turn Me On’ and ‘Gabriel,’ which he covered for Spoony’s classical project back in 2019.

This is the spot for most of the live PA’s which can last anything from 10 minutes up. I’m not sure if the House Gospel Choir performance counts as a PA or a live show but with only 5 singers it certainly felt stripped back and I nearly walk out after a really ropey entrance. I’m grateful I stayed though because once they dropped into ‘Follow Me’ by Aly-Us they suddenly clicked into gear and gave it their all for classics such as ‘Hallelujah Anyway’, ‘Precious Love’ and ‘Stand On The Word’ and I could just about forgive a few lack luster fillers and some misplaced bass heavy UKG versions of sacred classics such as ‘Promised Land.’

I was a little disappointed not to hear ‘Optimistic’ or ‘The Pressure’ from them, but when Ann Nesby from Sounds of Blackness came on later that evening, it became clear that they had been saving those for her to perform. She was magnificent and delivered them as powerfully and soulfully as if she’d brought her former gospel choir along for the ride, rather than just three backing singers.

The other stand out PA was Rochelle Fleming from First Choice, who despite needing some assistance to move around, at 76 could still belt out classics such as ‘Dr Love’ and ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’. The amount of talent and history at Southport can be quite overwhelming at times.

Suncebeach

The only other stage to rival Powerhouse for size is the Suncebeach stage, which is set up in the main body of the gigantic tent structure which houses the main bulk of the festival venues. DJ wise I only caught half an hour of Osunlade there, who was as luscious and jazzy as ever. But on Sunday afternoon there was a live band performance from The Fatback Band, who were on funky form, especially with the more uptempo numbers such as ‘Wicky Wacky’ and ‘(Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop’ (which they weaved into Chaka Khan’s ‘Like Sugar’). They also went through classics such as ‘Yum Yum’, ‘I Like Girls’ and ‘Gotta Get My Hands On Some Money’ and finished of course on ‘I Found Lovin’ which I only found out recently was a Top 10 hit in the UK when it got a third release, but it didn’t even dent the RNB Charts in the US. The response at Southport showed just how iconic it is in some circles over here.

There were no renditions of ‘Let The Drums Speak’ or ‘Night Fever’ which would have been the icing on the cake, but a great set nonetheless.

Beachcomber Inn + Suncebar

I dipped in and out of the smaller spaces, missing the traditional Sunday afternoon at the Beachcomber Inn, which was one of my highlights last time, but catching some of Perry Louis’ Saturday set before being drawn out into the little bit of sunshine we had.

The Suncebar was a bit of a saviour on Friday night too, when Craig Smith and Italian duo Souldynamic provided some of the best moments.

I missed way more than I saw and I had to make a tough decision to skip a lot of acts on my list so that I could actually get some rest time in between and not break myself before the busy week ahead (having 90 minute massages on two of the days definitely helped here. Highly recommend booking one in if you’re coming). Any options past 4am were a write off for me too and I noticed these tended to be populated by younger artists such as Ash Lauryn, Dan Shake and Kirollus.

To be honest I’d be happy if there was more going on in the daytime and everything was done by 1am. I’m sure many my age and older would agree, but despite the more senior demographic, there was a healthy enough contingent of young people, mostly along for the ride with their parents but definitely enjoying themselves. A tall Love Island looking lad on the dancefloor turned to me at one point and motioned to the man standing next to him, “that’s my Dad” he said beaming proudly.

Southport is not for everyone I’m sure. But if you like: all manner of soulful music, highlighting the black origins of styles such as house and techno; warm and friendly seasoned city ravers; indoor venues; and a proper bed with a warm shower to come back to, then join me at the 40th Anniversary next year. I went on my own this time but shared an apartment with people I met last year and caught up with lots of friends from Cardiff, Newport, Bristol and beyond while I was out and about. If you want to ensure a good place to stay then get some friends together quickly and book as soon as tickets go on sale this coming Friday. It really is something special. In fact the only thing its missing is some Welsh DJs. I’d love to see sets from Paul Lyons, Earl Jeffers, DJ Jaffa, Jean Jacques Smoothie, Sarah Sweeney, Tribe of Vibe (who would also kill it with a return to Richie ‘Vibe’ Vee playing a deep cuts UKG set), Saul Boogie, Dregz, Don Leisure, Douvelle19, Lucas Alexander, Shai, Dave Jones, NFY Radio and Richie Moulton (who I watched a few sets with this year) all of our Bump N Hustle and It’s A Disco Thing residents and countless others there. Maybe we need to do our own renegade chalet party next year. Keep your eyes out for venue No. 7 just in case.