Citadel Festival with Jose Cuervo
If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat (sweetmonday) you may have seen that I attended Citadel Festival in Victoria Park yesterday. Stew and I were invited along on behalf of tequila brand Jose Cuervo who had a pop up #TequilaTown located in the heart of the festival. With DJs spinning some classic tunes and three iced margarita cocktail bars, it’s safe to say that TequilaTown had the best vibe of the festival. On a beautifully sunny, hot day what more could you want that ice cold margaritas and great music? Not to mention the fantastic sugar skull dancers. They provided great entertainment whilst we queued for our slushies, moonwalking, mime and even providing a conga type chain throughout the crowd. Whilst we could’ve stayed here all day sunning ourselves and listening to good music, alas there was a festival to see!
Conceived by the creators behind Wilderness Festival and Superfly, Citadel is only in its second year but with headliners such as Sigur Ros, Caribou and Lianne Le Havas, they have well and truly made a dent in the festival calendar. A one-dayer held in Victoria Park, East London, Citadel is the perfect Sunday festival combining great food, fantastic music, comedy and entertainment. Creating a beautifully relaxed, chilled vibe. The best way to end a sunny summer weekend in the city.
Whilst Caribou was the top of our list to see, I have to say Lianne Le Havas blew us away! Her voice is absolutely incredible, even more so live. Heading a smaller stage, she drew in a huge crowd, all of whom were singing and dancing along to every word. She was absolutely breath-taking to watch. A must see!
Caribou didn’t let us down either, we enjoyed the beginning of their set with a beer and Mexican chilli in hand and soon got up to dance the rest of their set away as they performed some of their bigger hits. I had previously caught a bit of them at Glastonbury last year, but the sound hadn’t been great. With a band who perfect their sound to the finest of details, it can be hard to convey this on a huge stage. However, Citadel is the perfect size for a band like this. Although on the main stage, the area is smaller and narrower than that of Glastonbury, and so the sound travelled well over the crowd. Stew had never seen them live before, and we’re both big fans – I treated him to their album ‘Our Love’ at Christmas and we often play it on repeat. So I was so happy for him to be able to see them.
Sigur Ros were also fantastic. Not having heard a huge amount of their music, I had of course heard of these Icelandic legends and was excited to see them live. Whilst their music isn’t what I would normally choose to listen to, I could appreciate the skill involved and their set was mesmerising to watch. The lighting and screens surrounding the stage, provided an incredible backdrop, perfectly balanced with their unique sound.
All in all it was an incredible day of delicious food (the fries covered in pancetta, chorizo, jalapenos and pickles were amaze!), tasty cocktails and fantastic music. Topped off by the awesome weather. We really couldn’t have asked for a better day. It’s certainly been a highlight of my year so far and I will definitely be attending again next year.
If you live in London and are looking for something to try next summer, I would highly recommend Citadel. And be sure to buy a margarita or two at Jose Cuervo’s Tequila Town! (You can also find them at Lovebox and Wilderness).