05 Sep 2019 Not3s displays his live performing talents, Tinie Tempah previews new music + more Sundown highlights

Sundown 2019 – Before Not3s even came onto the main stage, the audience were chanting ‘we want Not3s’ over and over, setting the tone for what would follow; a chaotic and vibrant performance. Not3s kicked off with ‘Addison Lee’, followed by tracks like ‘YRF’, ’Butterflies’, ‘My Lover’ and the hugely catchy smash that is ‘Aladdin’.

But what really stood out with Not3s was how adept he looked performing live. A live band brought to life his instrumentals with minimal assistance from a backing track, allowing his confident vocals to fill Norfolk Showground and create a genuine live experience for those in attendance.

We often see artists rely too much on their background music, which creates a situation where their live performance essentially involves them shouting lyrics over a massive speaker. If you pay to see an artist live, you want to hear them live, not just hear their tracks played on a huge speaker with the artist performing random bits here and there. Not3s can sing and he definitely let the people of Norwich know that at Sundown 2019.

Following Not3s on the main stage was Mabel, who kicked off her performance with ‘Fine Line’, before performing a few tracks from her debut album High Expectations, as well as a cover of Drake’s hit ‘Passionfruit’. Anne Marie headlined on Saturday.

Sunday saw Maleek Berry get the main stage jumping with an authentic, live sound. Similar to Not3s, Maleek brought a live band and dancers with him to energise his performance. In a blast from the past, Example took the main stage later and despite releasing a lot of hits years ago, they all excited the crowd as if they were released last week.

It was the London DJ’s last festival performance of the summer and he went out with a bang at Sundown 2019. Example also brought with him a veteran-like stage presence. When it comes DJs who know how to hype the crowd, Example has to be in that top five conversation. At no point was the crowd allowed to rest, because he was constantly drumming up hype, encouraging people to get on someone’s shoulders and thanking the audience for making his job “an absolute f*****g pleasure”.

Ella Eyre also delivered a memorable showing. Her voice has so much clarity and smoothness to it, someone in the crowd said she has the voice of a presenter and the vocals of an amazing singer. Voice clarity aside, Ella smashed her performance to pieces. The crowd sung pretty much every word and she worked with them, with ‘Answerphone’ ringing off the loudest.

She came to vibe with her fans and that’s exactly what happened, an incredible performance all-round. Stefflon Don dropped out last minute and was replaced with Becky Hill, who performed at what she described as her ‘favourite festival’, for the third year running.

Then came Tinie Tempah to close out the weekend’s festivities. Having followed Tinie’s music since the days of ‘Wifey Riddim’, what stood out most was the star quality he oozes. Back then, he was still a big name, but nowadays, his star quality is undeniable. Before he entered, fans chanted ‘we want Tinie’ and when he stepped on stage at Sundown 2019 it was a shutdown from the get go to the very end.

Pyrotechnics and smoke accompanied his first song ‘Miami 2 Ibiza’ and by the second chorus, all you could see was hands up everywhere across the main stage. He also reminded of his deep catalog of smash hits, with performances of ‘Drinking from the Bottle’, ‘Earthquake’, ‘Pass Out’ and ‘Written in the Stars’.

Having not released a project since 2017, Tinie announced that he’s got new music coming at the end of the year and previewed two tracks. The first was called ‘Whoppa’, a Latin-themed, hook-focused single, as well as a new song he’s got coming with Nervo.

Check out our highlights of Sundown 2019 below. All photos and GIFS courtesy of Zek Snaps.