The good vibes continue as festival goers enjoy Day 2 of The Ends Festival!

WizKid delivering a stellar performance on Saturday at The Ends Festival | Photography by Andy Hughes

The highly anticipated ‘The Ends Festival,’ with headliners such as hip-hop legend Nas, Afrobeat heavyweight Wizkid and veteran Reggae star, Damian Marley - was entering its second day. I for one was particularly excited as I popped my festival cherry for the year.

I’m sure that people have been sceptical about whether this new South London based festival, would live up to their expectation (especially with festivals like Wireless and Lovebox looming around the corner). But this event did not disappoint - Croydon came to shut down! With flurries of this season’s neon green trend and tinted sunglasses in full effect, you could see that nobody was about to let the beautiful 25-degree weather go to waste, as the music began to buzz from the speakers.

Kojo Funds belted out a sing-along-worthy performance of ‘Warning,’ whilst Wande Coal took us all the back to 2013 with my favourite tune, ‘The Kick.’ Over on the main stage, Maleek Berry treated us to a performance of ‘Pon My Mind’ and other hits along with his seven dancers, who were extremely impressive. The energy then went up a notch as NSG entered the stage. One member was dressed head-to-toe in mustard (with a matching durag) – this made it all too entertaining to watch from several rows back as he did the OT BOP dance with emphasis, alongside the rest of the group. Just when we thought it was over, “I make money online” came blasting through the speakers and at that point, I knew the rest of their performance was going to be lit!

My highlight of the day was when One Acen performed with so much zeal and energy, that the young artist lost his bearings and ended up off the stage and in the arms of the startled security, not to mention an audience left in awe. He gets an A++ for commitment!

As the evening went on, the likes of DJ Spinall and P Montana got the crowd warmed up with Bashment and more UK rap / Afro swing favourites, until the main event took to the stage. The hottest artist from the motherland, emerged with large Nigerian flags posted up in the background. Performing hit upon hit, back-to-back for 45 minutes and the festival goers couldn’t get enough. With tunes such as ‘No Lele,’ ‘Tease Me’ and one of the biggest African party anthems ‘Pakuromo,’ Wiz Kid really brought the heat to Lloyds Park and had everybody in a state of Shaku, Zanku and Azonto. What a stellar performance.

Near the Ends & Friends stage presented by Footasylum, there were mesmerising artwork posters of artists including Damian Marley and the late Nipsey Hussle side by side.

The various food stalls brought about a lovely aroma. Options consisted of a Peruvian inspired food stall, JERK BBQ (a crowd favourite), a chicken and chunky chips van and more. As people walked around carrying their food it was clear that there was something for everyone, catering to all dietary requirements.

As the sun set and the crowd headed toward the exit, the look of satisfaction across people’s faces did all the talking. The Ends Festival had pulled it off! The wonderful weather, great vibes and people from all over London had come together with one thing in mind… to have a fantastic day out and it’s safe to say, they got their money’s worth. See you at the next one!