14 Acts That Prove Bestival 2016 Really Was The Best

Bestival is usually the momentous end to an epic festival season for both fans and artists alike, and this year was no different.

For many of the acts on the line up their Bestival set marks the end of the a string of shows playing to thousands of people in countries all around the world, and because of this you know they’re going to bring their a-game.

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This year’s theme was ‘The Future’ and we definitely appreciated this as bands and punters alike put on their best fancy dress (basically LOADS of metallic silver) and embraced the spirit of Bestival.

There’s a reason behind its name as it truly is the best, and here are all the acts that proved this in 2016...

1. Snakehips

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Well, here we should really say SnakeHIP here as only one half of the producing pair could make it to their festival set. Nonetheless, James Carter managed to pull of an insanely good set. With their set being at 5:20pm on the Thursday of Bestival, Snakehips were the first act a lot of festival goers saw, and what a way to kickstart one of best weekends of their summer.

2. Hot Chip

Hot Chip have become a staple act to the Bestival line up and they never disappoint. Playing in The Big Top on Thursday night the ‘Ready For The Floor’ hit-makers packed out the tent and allowed festival goers to dance into the early hours. We hope they’re back next year for another amazing set.

3. Years & Years

It was an emotional day for Years & Years fans as their Bestival set was their last UK performance touring with their debut album, Communion, and their penultimate show of 2016 worldwide (they concluded their two and half years of non-stop touring at Lollapalooza in Berlin on 12th September). However, it wasn’t all sad as they stunned the crowds with their energetic set, even treating us to their first live performance of amazing, brand new single ‘Meteorite’. It was a performance filled with firsts and lasts from the Years & Years boys, which made their Bestival show even more special.

4. Craig David

If you haven’t seen Craig David’s TS5 set this summer then where the hell have you been?! The garage legend brought the party to the main stage of Bestival, singing hits from his epic music career as well as mixing it with the biggest and best tracks of the moment – the TS5 twist as he likes to call it. On an otherwise rainy day, the sun came out just for Craig, like magic. As he sang the opening lines of ‘7 Days’, the rays came beaming through the crowds, it’s moments like these that you simple can’t predict. To make his show even bigger he welcomed to the stage Kurupt FM for an ultimate mash up on ‘Fill Me In’ and Justin Bieber’s ‘Where Are You Now?’ you’ll probably remember it from exactly one-year prior to his set during a Radio 1Xtra show with Mista Jam.

5. The Cure

For a Saturday night headliner you can’t get much better than The Cure, and not only that, THREE HOURS of The Cure. We kid you not, these music heavyweights played one of the longest sets of the weekend with hit after hit including ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ and ‘Friday I’m In Love’. Needless to say the Beastival crowd lapped up every minute of it.

6. Diplo

After his epic headline set with Major Lazer, Diplo hopped on over to The Spaceport to continue the party with an insane DJ set. Those of you that follow Dip on all his social accounts will know that these guys are touring ALL THE TIME – it’s literally a different city every night, but in no way did he seem fatigued. He brought his a-game and absolutely smashed it in true Diplo style.

7. Lady Leshurr

This girl needs absolutely no introduction. Lady Leshurr took to the main stage at Bestival and it was LIT. Playing hits such as ‘Queens Speech’, ‘Where Are You Now?’ and loads more. Those that didn’t know who she was before, sure do now.

8. Major Lazer

The Friday night headliners were the one and only Major Lazer and wow, did they bring the party vibes. From start to finish it was one massive dance party with everyone in the crowd going absolutely bonkers for all their tracks. Not only did the trio bounce around the stage like little kids, they had two amazing dancers making us all SO jealous.

9. MØ

We were so excited to see this Danish songstress take to the stage and she did not disappoint. The serial collaborator bounded onto the stage whipping her bleach blonde hair around while singing hits such as ‘Kamikaze’ and ‘Final Song’ and it was AMAZING.

10. Wolf Alice

These guys are no strangers to a festival main stage, especially after killing it at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. They stunned the Bestival crowds with tracks from their debut album My Love Is Cool. 

11. Izzy Bizu

The ‘White Tiger’ hit maker was one of our festival highlights as she filled The Big Top with her amazing voice. Yes, we all knew before she performed how much of a big deal she is in terms of rising talent, but for us her live show really cemented her place in the music scene. Watch this space because Izzy is going to take the world by storm.

12. Wiz Khalifa

The last act on the main stage of the whole festival was the one and only Wiz Khalifa. We couldn’t have imagined a better way to end the main stage shenanigans than dancing along to hits such as ‘Black & Yellow’.

13. Bastille

Two days after the release of their long awaited second album, Wild World, Bastille took to the main stage at Bestival, fancy dress and all. Donning their WWCOMMS boiler suits the London five piece played songs from their smash hit debut as well as loads of tracks from the new record, including our personal favourites ‘Fake It’ and ‘The Currents’. They attracted one of the biggest crowds of the weekend and didn’t let them down.

14. Sean Paul

And last but by no means least, dancehall legend, Sean Paul took to the main stage and absolutely smashed it. With a back catalogue like his it must be difficult to choose which songs to perform, but he delivered a hit filled set featuring all his biggest tunes such as ‘Get Busy’, ‘Got 2 Luv U’ and loads more.