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At A womanopening at the new home of Neston Park one year later in 2025, the boundaries between spectators and performers disappear completely: you meet people in the queue, see them wandering around the place with their children, or participate in intimate conversations hours after their main stage. Phone information is not available in this new location, which forces many people who rely on group chats to meet analog; The new design of the arboretum has a great setup, more like a village than before, complete with a short walk in kindness from all the camping areas. You can start the morning at your own pace: walking through a West African djembe session, joining “laughter yoga”, or relaxing in a wood-fired hot tub while distant lines echo through the trees.
Musical breakthroughs often occur when artists stop writing. Reggae The legend of Barrington Levy offers a famous moment on Friday by rejecting the set time, turning to the side of the stage to say the words: “Mr. Promoter, don’t invite me to your party and ask me to get off the stage. The crowd gives him back and he stays, returning to Black Roses and Here I Come, his star power locked in between adults nodding, families, and children studying music well.
Greentea Peng closes out Friday with a sultry set, backed by an all-female brass section that sounds very strong despite only rehearsing the night before. However, in the top game, Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury reigns supreme. Against the specter of favelas and rural tribes that are raising awareness of security, his group is a serious political crime, and calls for democracy before signing off with Michael Jackson’s We Don’t Care About Us.
The political edge runs straight through the weekend. The discussion section of the festival is directly related to political instability and the rise of rightwing populism; Green Party leader Zack Polanski draws a packed tent as he talks about arms sales and calls for rent control while The Lincoln Project’s no-holds-barred Rick Wilson debunks Maga’s mechanics.
Through the steps of music, the message becomes a plea for peace and unity. At Taste the World, Freshlyground cooks chicken and peanut curry while sharing memories of their Waka Waka performance at the 2010 World Cup. The Garifuna Collective brought ancestral traditions to Belize, reminding the crowd that after four songs, “we are no longer strangers, we are family.” On Sunday, Oumou Sangaré commands the main stage with simple messages of unity: “Love is good, there is no war”, before teasing women not to be with handsome, fast-talking boys on Kamelemba.
Hidden gems are found by wandering around the small tents, where artists transport crowds of people in religious groups. At the Sunflower Tent, 83-year-old Australian Aboriginal elder Kankawa Nagarra delivers inspiring wilderness and gospel sermons; on the Village Stage, Sabine McCalla’s voice feels timeless, barking between songs like her dog to the blind audience.
Small design flaws remain, such as the lower parts of the meetings, which means that anyone who passes the sixth row must keep an eye on the person in front of them during the dance and yoga exercises – but the stretched legs aside, it is accepted as part of the fun.
The length of the festival is rooted in their community, from vendors like Marina at Ghana Goods (22 years and counting) to the adults who first arrived in prams, who are now carrying their children. The Japanese outfit Seppuku Pistols sums up the chaos, determination and passion of the festival: one band member broke their ankle in the middle of the show but they don’t realize it and the adrenaline keeps them going, with the unknown crowd chanting “another song!” for two solid minutes when he’s done.
