Listen Out 2019
Returning back to Sydney’s Centennial Parklands for its 7th year, Listen Out 2019 brought us a wide ranging and impressive lineup full of some of my favourite Hip-Hop, and Electronic acts. With this lineup in mind and the general hyped reputation Listen Out has built over the years, the usual high expectations were in the air as I caught myself counting down the days until the weekend approached. To quickly sum up before I get stuck into it all — the totally unexpected sets, the much welcomed clearing Sydney skies, and being with my best friends, this year’s Listen Out without a doubt delivered and some.
With a forecast for a cloudy and cold day, and the rain already starting in the early morning, I was worried a little— but it thankfully cleared up with blue skies just in time to set the tone for a day that was going to be full of pleasant surprises. With an early start to the festival, at 2pm we made our way to the 909 stage, to catch the highly anticipated rapper, JPEGMAFIA. As JPEG calmly strolled onto stage I don’t think anyone knew what they were really in for. At multiple points during his set, JPEG was crowd surfing and jumping over barricades to race to the middle of the mosh with his ecstatic fans. This was easily the wildest set, probably the craziest one I’ve ever seen. JPEG has a passionate energy that is unmatched by any other artist around currently and it’s obvious why he has created such a dedicated group of fans.
Following immediately after JPEG was Slowthai. Just when everyone thought they might get a break from the marathon that was JPEG, Slowthai had no plans for slowing the energy down. The fully clothed English rapper was very quick to jump straight into the crowd, losing most of his clothes in the process, left only in his ‘Slowthai’ briefs and black socks. Throughout the hyper set Slowthai was also joined by Denzel Curry and JPEG, making it very hard to know where to look. We had Denzel in the crowd, JPEG at one end of the stage and Slowthai in the photo pit, it was true chaos that had his fans losing their minds. As he left the stage fans were left wanting more & that’s what they got! Climbing onto the fence, Slowthai was leaning down chatting with fans and taking selfies, causing further mayhem.
There was no slowing down as we headed straight over to see Denzel Curry take on the main stage. I was a little worried he may have been tired from what he had partaken in the previous hour but that worry quickly faded away as he made one hell on an entrance. Slowthai also jumped up to perform ‘Psycho’, reigniting his previous chaos.
Halfway through his set, we returned back to the 909 stage to see the one and only, Doja Cat. With her first ever Australian tour, Doja Cat really did bring her all-sassy self to the stage and gave it to us in full. Setting the stage in her old-school pink puffy dress, Doja brought a mix of hip-hop and pop with one of her first viral hits of “Moo” to “Go To Town”. Although it wasn’t until her current hot hits of “Juicy” and “Tia Tamera” that got almost literally every single girl (and some guys) to be up on their feet, and showing off their twerks.
Towards the evening, after gathering a few refreshments from the bar, we made our way to the main stage to see one of the most anticipated acts of the day; 6lack. He delivered what was not only a beautiful and personally pure set, but also a very emotional one. It’s rare to see a mellow R&B act take charge of a 10k+ main stage crowd, but 6lack did exactly that. Setting the mood with songs from his previous and recent album (Free 6lack & East Atlanta Love Letter), he certainly captivated us all with a wide array of emotions, with his hit songs “Free”, “Ex Calling”, “Switch” and “OTW”. The atmosphere that 6lack created, definitely had me in my feelings. To top it all off he ended his set with an emotional message on how much that set meant to him as he had recently lost a family member in Atlanta :(
Being torn between deciding on which act I would want to see for the second time (Schoolboy Q or Cosmo’s Midnight), I ended up being dragged to the 909 stage to see Australia’s favourite dance duo, Cosmo’s Midnight. Although a regular at Australian music festivals, they never fail to dominate the stage, so there was definitely no regrets in my decision. Probably the needed switch up I needed from the emotional ride of 6lack’s set. Being staged at the perfect hour, just as the sun started to set for the night, they brought nothing but good vibes and my favourite songs like “Talk To Me” and “Walk With Me”. The set that Cosmo’s delivered was everything that I love about music festivals, having a drink with feel good dance music, singing and dancing with some of my best mates. If you ask me, there is nothing better than being on your friends shoulders at a festival while Cosmo’s Midnight perform “History”, truly euphoric.
After Cosmo’s we headed our way to the Atari stage again to see the one and only Diplo. No doubt about the fact that one of the main reasons I got a hold of a Listen Out ticket was to see this amazing DJ. Making our way as close as we could, there was no one else I was more excited to see than him. In saying that, I can confidently confirm that he delivered what was the best set of the night. Diplo came through with the most exciting and unexpected remixes to cater for almost everyone in the audience. Bringing in unpredictable remixes from The Spicegirls — Wannabe, to Outkast — Hey Ya, and of course songs he produced like Dua Lipa — Electricity. His entire one hour set came with the best vibes, and the best bangers to be dancing with my friends to. My personal favourite, his Kanye West remix of Black Skinhead and I don’t think I was alone, the whole crowd went ham, i.e. “the Kanye effect”. You can bet that there wasn’t a single chance where I was able to catch my breath through the whole set. Everything from his visuals, to the lights, production and the inventive mixes, put that all together and there is no doubt that Diplo is currently one of the world’s greatest live DJ’s going around.
Leading towards the end of the night, Australia’s very own Flume was ready to dominate the stage. His vibrant production, and set up of the stage was what captured my attention, not to mention the placement of pot plants that he had around the stage, which later turned into fireworks during his set, so wild. To make his set even better, Flume brought out one of Australia’s favourite vocalists Vera Blue on stage to perform “Never Be Like You” as well as “Rushing Back”, and she definitely seized our hearts with her angelic vocals. Reo Cragun and JPEGMAFIA were also brought up on stage to join Flume. Capturing nothing but euphoric and nostalgic vibes, Flume certainly delivers electronic music like no other, “Insane” is a pure example of this. Also playing remixes such as “You & Me” and “Hyperparadise”, goes to show that Flume has re-invented what we expect to see from EDM artist, as he had us completely transfixed on the stage the entire set.
Although having two of the most famous electronic artists to headline this year, there is no doubt that Listen Out is becoming the home for creative Hip-Hop and R&B artists. With the large turn out of fans and energy the Hip-Hop acts brought this year it’s obvious that any doubt floating around about the success of international Hip-Hop artists in Australia is completely unnecessary. If Listen Out is anything to go by there’s a very big future for hip-hop festivals in Australia — and I cannot wait until to experience what they bring out next year.
