Every summer, all I hear is Primavera this, Primavera that. Yes, the Barcelona music festival always delivers, and my colleague clearly had a great time this year. But there is another, much less talked-about European festival, that gives it a run for its money.
Taking place on the same weekend as its Spanish sibling, in the leafy woodland of Bois de Vincennes park in Paris, is We Love Green, a three-day event that attracts many of the same marquee headliners to a much more intimate setting. What this invariably means is, with a little elbow grease, you can get much closer to your favourite acts.
Gorillaz fans certainly take advantage on Friday evening, getting up close and personal with Damon Albarn as he marches along the barricade. In a scarlet beret and army fatigues, he assumes the role of chief-in-charge. His approach is less dictator, more benevolent leader, though, as he welcomes a rolodex of special guests with open arms. Syrian dabke artist Omar Souleyman pops in for their acid house collaboration “Damascus” while Malian singer Foutama Diawara arrives on stage for “Désolé”. The latter, sung almost entirely in French, tests the limits of Albarn’s grasp on the language.
Clint Eastwood may have announced his retirement last week, but the actor’s influence is alive and well tonight. His namesake song closes a sprawling and eclectic set from the British band, eliciting a festival-wide sing-along to Damon Albarn’s laconic vocals.
Elsewhere, TikTok star-turned-pop phenom Addison Rae attracts what could well be the biggest audience of the weekend. The Britney Spears comparisons are nothing new, but they’re especially pertinent tonight as the 25-year-old executes choreography that feels right out of an MTV music video, wearing little else but a latex bra and pants even as she crowd-surfs mid-set. (She does, however, drape a feather boa made of cash around her neck for her infectious ode to capitalism “Money is Everything”).
There has been some griping over the fledgling pop star’s shows, that she dances too much and sings too little. But watching her strut, prance, writhe, and generally give it her all on stage, it’s impossible to fault her commitment. Today is a “special day”, Rae tells the crowd: the one-year anniversary of her improbably superb self-titled debut. You can’t help but feel a warm glow of admiration when she sings of the overwhelming pace of fame on the dreamy “Times Like These”, wondering aloud to the crowd: “Let’s see how far I go.”
As its name suggests, We Love Green is an eco-friendly affair. There is a €2 charge added to each plastic cup and tray you get, reimbursed when returned to a recycling tent. The financial incentive seems to do the trick; the festival grounds are some of the cleanest I’ve come across. And if you need to refuel in between sets, the We Love Green menu is completely vegetarian and delicious, uncharacteristically so for a festival. Plates of mushroom tacos and cabbage shawarmas are thoughtfully prepared by a proper and dedicated kitchen staff.
Returning after lunch, we find that it’s not just the heavy-hitters that deliver. Smaller artists shine too: the classically accented electropop of French artist Oklou is received as ecstatically as the abstracted soul of LA’s Dijon who thrives at the centre of a live band.
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Meanwhile, the haunting southern folk of Ethel Cain floats from the tall grass in which she stands, clad in cowboy boots and denim cut-offs, a harmonica in hand. Earlier on the same stage, Hayley Williams delivers her first solo show outside of the US, a stripped-back affair that complements the intimate scale of her music. Electrifying closer “Parachute” goes some way, though, in appeasing the Paramore acolytes in the crowd.
Capping off the weekend are electro-indie heroes and Tumblr favourites, the xx. In the eight years they’ve been off-stage, the UK indie trio have lost none of their cool – they are seductive and heavy-lidded as ever in their carefully calibrated minimalism. It’s easy to get swept up in the nostalgia of it all: “VCR”, the most tender of lullabies, is played to a reverent hush, while the abundantly atmospheric “Intro” proves the perfect outro to not only their set, but the festival as a whole.
Admittedly, the programming could do with a little work. The thumping bass and hedonistic party beats of Australian DJs Ninajarachi and Dom Dolla – both played in the low sun of the early evening – might be better suited to a later slot. This is where We Love Green differs from Primavera: where the Spanish festival yawns into the early hours of the morning, its Parisian counterpart sends its revellers off to bed by 1am at the latest. If the late-night mood does strike you, though, then the city lights of Paris are less than an hour away by metro. Primavera, eat your heart out.