It’s one thing to start off a three-day festival on a high note, but if you want to keep that momentum, then you need to ensure that day 2 surpasses day 1, and that it even draws in an even bigger crowd. Well, that’s exactly what the Hey Neighbour Festival did by placing Kendrick Lamar as their day 2 headlining act.
Hey Neighbour Day 2 Continues Weekend of Music and Laughs
As I had been to the festival on day 1, I was able to compare the two days. I realised that while the festival may have seemed vast and empty on day 1, day 2 felt crowded and congested due to the influx of people of all ages looking to rap along to Humble and shower Kendrick Lamar with praise.
Unfortunately, while it’s always great to have people at a festival, this then translates to longer queues for food, beverages, and the bathroom, which can definitely put a damper on things. While you can limit how many people enter the festival grounds, you can’t exactly speed up how fast they prepare food, drinks, or flush. As such, it’s just one of those festival gripes that we have to come to terms with.
Day 2 Acts Keep Up The Fun
While Kendrick Lamar was the headlining act for day 2, he wasn’t the only one taking the stage main stage. There was a bit of a delay and the stage had to be shut down for a period of time due to the weather (safety first). It eventually opened back up and Shekhinah, Zakes Bantwini, Shimza, and Scorpion Kings each took the stage. Unfortunately, Shekhinah seemed to be having some sound issues, so her set wasn’t the best. Nonetheless, the crowd still showed her love and support, before dancing their hearts out to the beats provided by Zakes Bantwini, Shimza, and Scorpion Kings.
The next act was the British band Nothing But Thieves, who were allegedly supposed to be followed by REMA. Sadly, he had to withdraw from the concert for his health, and so Nothing But Thieves found themselves being the act before Kendrick Lamar.
As many people came to see Kendrick, this was a pretty fragile spot to be in as the crowd were becoming restless, and yet the band pulled it off. It may have been their first time in the country, but the quintet kept the crown engaged, and they even piqued my interest that I looked them up as soon as I got home. While they had to deal with a few boos, I admire how they quickly got the crowd invested and ready for Hip Hop’s golden child.
Kendrick Lamar Dominates Hey Neighbour’s Saturday Spectacle
I love an artist who respects their audience, and I especially love one who respects their audience enough to give them a show, and Kendrick Lamar said lights, camera, and production.
As soon as he hit the stage, the energy in the room shifted and became electrifying. I mean, his mic was on, but there wasn’t any need because the 30,000-strong crowd was reciting his songs louder than he was. Eventually, I had to leave the crowd close to the stage as I couldn’t handle the constant pushing and flow of vape smoke. Yet, even as I sat a great distance from the stage and watched him on the big screen, I knew that this was witnessing one of the greats, and it was quite beautiful to witness.
Sadly, with people came an influx of cars and this meant ridiculous traffic jams, but frankly, leaving a venue at 5 am in exchange for seeing Kendrick Lamar feels like a worthy trade.
Hey Neighbour Recap
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