Latitude festival: Magical, emotional... and a little bit frightening - BBC News

BBC music reporter.

"We've had so many dreams about this," says Dream Wife's guitarist Alice Go, as the band prepare to play their first show since January 2020.

"And that was the best work-out ever.".

Part of the government's live event pilot scheme, Latitude has brought 40,000 mask-less but Covid-tested fans to Suffolk for three days of music, comedy, drama and entertainment.

Walking around Henham Park, there's an unmistakable sense of liberation amid the densely-packed music fans - many of whom started the day with a Disco Yoga session and followed that up with an old-skool hip-hop singalong in the BBC Sounds arena.

"I can't believe this is my first crowd back," says pop star Mabel later in the day.

It's already too late.

"This is very momentous for us," says Theo Ellis of headliners Wolf Alice.

It felt exactly right - and like what the point of everything is.

But many bands are also aware of how precarious the live music scene still is, especially as the UK experiences a steep rise in Covid cases.

"Arriving here was surreal and magical - but a little bit frightening at the same time," says Dream Wife's Podpadec.

"Even though it's very safe and everyone's been tested, I felt like I was breaking the rules," says Camilla Staveley-Taylor - whose band The Staves play a quietly spectacular teatime set on the BBC Sounds stage.

"We've got gigs every weekend over the summer," adds her sister Jessica, "and the reality is that we have to isolate between shows because it's a job where, if you can't go to work, no-one can cover you.".

"There's also the pressure of how that affects the crew and the rest of the band," says Camilla.

"I felt like I'd been teleported on stage," Camilla says,.

"I was sort of remembering the chords for the songs," Jessica adds, "and then I was like, 'Oh no, there are some people here as well!'"?

Mabel has to leave the stage on three separate occasions because, she says, the audience is "making me [dance] so hard, my earpiece is falling out"?

Opening with the ferocious alt-rock anthem Smile, it's a masterclass in dynamics and pacing, as they intersperse their biggest hits (Bros, Don't Delete The Kisses, Moaning Lisa Smile) with the dreamy, layered soundscapes of their latest album, Blue Weekend?

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