Pier Jam Hastings sets festival season off to a flying start

Abi White | 30th April 2018

When Hastings Pier Jam posted video of them setting up the stage a day prior to the event, it looked as though we were in for a wash out. With grey skies overhead and an ominous sea, our hopes for a sunny picturesque Hastings Pier Jam had long vanished…

 

As the morning rolled around, we were almost surprised it hadn’t been raining, but were still prepared for a wet day ahead. To our surprise, the sun poked its way through the clouds just in time for an afternoon and evening of the finest bassline on the scene alongside drum and bass.

 

The revellers eagerly queued up, sipping on their shop-bought cans and bottles of wine before they would have to convert their cash to Pier Jams token system. Although the drinks were slightly overpriced, the queues at the bars were minimal and the staff efficient.

 

Walking towards the stage, the recognisable sounds of Sammy Virji filled the pier. Although it was early evening, the energy shared throughout the crowd was beginning to pick up as he played his way through his own tracks- mixing them in with popular bassline tunes that would send the crowds into frenzy.

As the 3,000 filtered onto the pier ready to soak up the unexpected sunshine, they were met with some of the most talented and upcoming DJ’s of the scene. All performing slightly longer sets than usual, James Hype was next to take to the stage.

 

Filling his set with mashups of popular 90’s and 00’s tracks interwoven with his own material, he had the crowds singing in unison whilst CO2 cannons blasted their rave gear off. James Hype lived up to his alias, hyping everyone up from the revellers to the bar staff.

 

With only two sets left, the crowd were still teeming with liveliness. Beginning his set with his instantly recognisable trademark visuals, Holy Goof loaded his set with basslines most talked about tunes and bootlegs, ‘Gods Plan’ and ‘It Ain’t Safe’. His track, ‘Push It’ with DJ Zinc was also well received by the crowd.

After recently releasing a Fabric Live CD, a compilation of emerging and established artists in his genre, Pier Jam were lucky enough to host a DJ at the top of his game.

The last set of the night came around almost too quickly with Drum and Bass super group SASASAS. Worthy of this title, the group have been taking over the festival season for the past three years and show no signs of slowing down. It’s their lively dancing, fun shows and most importantly, their incredibly strong friendship which makes them true showmen and makes them truly worthy of their closing headline set at Hastings Pier Jam.