THIS year’s Tennent’s Vital was the biggest yet as nearly 70,000 people packed into the site at Boucher Playing Fields over the 2-day festival recently.
On Saturday night 40,000 fans danced the night away to a stunning headline set from superstar DJ Calvin Harris. The all-star supporting line-up, featuring Ellie Goulding, John Newman, Disciples and Burns, delighted the Tennent’s Vital crowd throughout the day and provided stellar support to the Scottish DJ’s headline set.
Disciples and Burns kicked off proceedings on Saturday with Disciples dropping their smash hit collaboration with headliner Calvin Harris, How Deep Is Your Love, to which the crowd went wild.
John Newman helped get the party started with a high tempo, energetic set starting off with hit single Blame, his number one collaboration with headliner Calvin Harris. “You look beautiful” he told the crowd, before blasting through his set.
Also on the first day, Ellie Goulding inspired a mass sing-a-long with this year’s number one hit single, Love Me Like You Do. Blown away by the support from the enthusiastic crowd, the pop princess encouraged the crowd to dance along to her endless list of chart anthems. Before leaving the stage she thanked headliner Calvin Harris for having her, and paid tribute to the energetic crowd.
The success of Calvin Harris’ impressive back catalogue was in full force as he took to the stage with his single Sweet Nothing, a smash hit collaboration with Florence Welch which included an impressive visual display.
Welcoming the crowd the DJ said: “Belfast, my name is Calvin Harris – it is amazing to be here”.
He carried on his set with I Need Your Love, Drinking From The Bottle, Outside and Say My Name.
Then, asking the crowd to “make some noise”, to which they obliged, the night sky erupted with an impressive pyrotechnic display, the biggest ever to be used in Ireland.
Ending the night with his John Newman collaboration Blame, Calvin said: “Give me everything you’ve got one last time, Belfast!”
Throughout the night the superstar DJ effortlessly mixed classic dance tracks including Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat with his own stellar hit collection.
The second night seen Irish rockers The Script thrill the crowd with an epic show of stunning lasers and spectacular pyrotechnics.
The band kicked off their set with a fan-led parade through the Tennent’s Vital crowd, culminating in an epic performance of Paint The Town Green, with flag bearing fans lighting up the crowd.
Taking to the stage lead singer Danny O’Donoghue said: “We’re from Dublin and it’s been too long since we’ve been back in Belfast…it’s good to be back. As I was walking through the crowd I could see so many familiar faces there”, before powering into smash hit Breakeven.
The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, For The First Time and Man on a Wire showcased the band’s impressive back catalogue and the final song, Hall of Fame, gave the crowd one last chance to sing their hearts out at Tennent’s Vital 2015.
Thanking the crowd for an incredible evening, Danny said: “Music meant so much to me growing up so what I want to do right now Belfast, is I want to make something that we’re going to remember, not just for this festival, this year, but for the rest of our lives”.
As the band took their final bow Dayy told the crowd: ”Belfast, Tennent’s Vital, we can’t thank you enough. This is officially our last show in Ireland, and we’re going to go and make some badass music for you and we’ll be back before you know it”.
Kodaline’s performance was packed with festival anthems, from High Hopes to Love Like This, Honest to Way Back When.
The band’s hit single The One, dedicated to guitarist Mark’s newlywed cousin. Telling the origins of the song, the Irish rockers explained they forgot to get the happy couple a wedding present, so instead wrote them the perfect song for their first dance. They then closed their set with the epic All I Want.
The queen of dance music, Annie Mac, stormed the Tennent’s Vital stage, treating the crowd to a dazzling selection of dance music perfect for a sunny afternoon.
Annie brought with her the summer vibes as she adorned the stage with neon palm trees, recreating a classic dance festival atmosphere and showing the 25,000 strong crowds exactly why she’s one of the most respected DJs around.
Clean Bandit’s unique blend of classical and dance music got the party started as thousands of fans were treated to their massive hits including Real Love, Stronger and, in what was a crowd-wide singalong, Rather Be. Their infectious pop vibe went down a treat and fans revelled in the party atmosphere which only grew as the day continued.
Singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti brought his soulful summer tunes to warm up the Tennent’s Vital crowd as they basked in the hazy afternoon sunshine, playing hits from his critically acclaimed fourth album including Written In Scars, Broken Glass and his new single Back Where I Belong.
Justin Green of MCD extended his thanks to all involved saying: “MCD Productions wish to extend their gratitude and thanks to all those who made the Tennent’s Vital 2015 a great success, in particular local residents and the business community, Belfast City Council, PSNI & security personnel, NIAS, medical staff, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, the many artists, crews and all those involved in running the event, not least the 65,000 well-behaved fans who made the whole experience special.”
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