Love Supreme 2026

I should start this review with a disclaimer: I’m not a jazz aficionado. Far from it. I’m certainly partial to a bit of jazz, maybe like it more than the average person, and definitely more than my girlfriend (whose face filled with pure fear when I asked if she wanted to accompany me to a jazz festival). But I’m no expert, and my knowledge of the genre is pretty surface level.

Bearing that in mind, it probably makes sense to approach this review slightly differently.  Upon perusing the lineup, I found a fairly stark divide between the afternoon and evening in relation to acts that I had actually heard of. During the days, the festivals reflected its core billing pretty faithfully — the lineup was packed full of all different flavours of jazz, all from artists I’d never encountered before, but predominantly interesting, eminently listenable and clearly incredibly proficient musically. It seems trite to offer my jazz novice opinions about the merits or otherwise of too many of them — a feat comparable to asking someone who’s never left their hometown to rank obscure holiday destinations. But the extremely varied palette of offerings was obviously first class, with special mentions for the laid-back singer-songwriter aron!, the Latin-infused deep jazz of Eliane Correa, the brooding afrobeat fusion outfit TC and the Groove Family, and the delicious soul of The War and Treaty.

The music on offer and my lack of knowledge also allowed me to indulge in a completely new, unique and refreshing festival experience. Freed from having an absolutely packed schedule of acts I desperately wanted to see, I was able to just bimble about and relax in a manner I’d never before done. With a wide range of unmistakably chilled vibes and sounds constantly flowing from every stage, almost perfect summer weather, and absolutely no signal on my phone, I entered a state of blissful, almost zen-like relaxation. All this helped by an impressive, varied selection of food stalls and a surprisingly strong drinks offering, not to mention the beautiful site nestled in the East Sussex hills.

As we moved towards evening each night the lineup became a lot more recognisable, while still honouring the jazz ethos. The legendary soul band Maze served up a slick, commanding performance that was enthralling and challenging in equal measure, while the British jazz icon Courtney Pine’s hypnotic saxophone skills were nothing short of utterly spellbinding and frankly breathtaking. More mainstream acts started rearing their heads too — Sister Sledge put on a very fun show that got even the most curmudgeonly in attendance singing and dancing along to a plethora of hits like ‘We Are Family’, ‘Lost In Music’ and ‘He’s The Greatest Dance’, a feat that unfortunately wasn’t matched by Lemar, whose set felt flat and laboured despite his supposed star power. I feared a similar fate as I prepared to watch The Four Tops — without doubt one of my favourite Motown acts, but I feared the ravages of time and countless lineup changes would result in an assault on my cherished childhood memories working my way through their back catalogue in my dad’s vinyl collection. But my fears were unfounded, and we were treated to 45 minutes of pure soulful bangers that definitely hit the mark.

The weekend’s two best sets both filled the sunset, pre-headliner main stage slot. On Saturday, Jalen Ngonda delivered a set that perfectly illustrated his status as the undisputed heir apparent to the soul crown. The American singer’s voice was absolutely faultless, sounding like it had been laced with pure silk, and the ease with which he hit the high notes was a thing of beauty. It wasn’t just the voice that made this show so special — Jalen has the tunes to match, and with a top-class band providing the engine room, the setlist felt varied and utterly engrossing. Things were arguably even better on Sunday, when The Free Nationals filled the slot. With musical proficiency that was absolutely off the scale, Anderson .Paak’s backing band delivered an absolute masterclass in fun, laid-back, jazzy bangers. Engaging and captivating, the set toed the line perfectly between the accessibility needed for that more prominent slot and the complexity demanded by the connoisseurs, with some intricate guitar, drum, bass and keyboard playing that was truly stunning.

A special mention should also go out to the band’s ‘absent’ singer — while not appearing with the Free Nationals, Anderson .Paak was on site — albeit to perform as his alter ego, DJ Pee .Wee. Closing things out after the headliners on Friday night, the set was one of the highlights of my year so far, let alone this festival. Donning a black bob wig, huge white sunglasses and a variety of outlandish costumes, he delivered a show that was a high-octane dose of unadulterated fun and joy with fever dream levels of hilarious bizarreness. While his mixing skills left a lot to be desired, Anderson commanded the stage like a true mega star, rattling through solid gold pop bangers at a rate of knots, skipping through genres like his life depended on it, while still finding time to treat the audience to renditions of his biggest hits and countless infectious dance routines. If you could bottle mindless fun for sale, the end product would feel like this set did.

All of which just leaves the headliners. Friday’s main stage closer came in the form of Ezra Collective, who can always be relied upon to bring the party to whatever stage they grace. Their set hit all the marks you’d expect, with their biggest hits prompting repeated trumpet singalongs in the crowd. It also featured the biggest surprise of the weekend, when Leona Lewis appeared to perform their collaboration ‘All I Need’ and a cover of ‘I’m Still In Love With You Boy’. But despite all that, it felt like there was something a little lacking for me — maybe down to the fact I’d only seen them play shorter, higher energy, nothing-but-hits sets before, but it just didn’t seem to hit the heights of full-on, relentless fun I’ve previously experienced from them.

Saturday’s bill was topped by Loyle Carner, who delivered exactly the type of polished, accessible, spoken word hip-hop you’d expect. With a warm stage presence that makes it hard for you to dislike him, a first-rate backing band, and enough recognisable songs to keep even the most casual of fans entertained, the show felt like a perfect choice for the slot — despite lacking the touch of fairy dust needed to make it feel truly special.

Hip hop legends De La Soul closed out the final night. While I personally found it to be a little underwhelming having seen the full original lineup, that view clearly wasn’t shared by the vast majority of others there, who very clearly loved it. A high-energy performance  littered with some of their biggest hits (including their Gorillaz collaboration, ‘Feel Good Inc.’ — but not ‘The Magic Number’), it provided a fitting end to a great weekend.

All in all, a great little festival. Who knows how I’d have felt if it had rained and I’d been stuck watching bands I didn’t know in thoroughly inappropriate conditions under an umbrella? Who knows how I’d have felt if I’d chosen to wander to completely different stages and possibly see bands I couldn’t stand rather than the constant pleasant day time soundtrack I received? Who knows how I’d have felt if DJ Pee .Wee hadn’t injected me with such pure, unadulterated joy to kick the weekend off? And, frankly, who cares? Sometimes, without even really trying, all the pieces just fall into place and you’re exactly where you need to be, and luckily for me, that was Love Supreme 2026.