Marking the start of Newcastle’s Hit the North festival 2018, Opening Party #1 was held at the Boiler Shop and headlined by the fantastically funky Jungle.
They did not come alone however, rounding out the roster were Tom Tripp and Rae Morris set to provide a full evening of laid back, chilled, funky, synthy beats that had everyone bobbing and swaying, regardless of age.
Tom Tripp got the night off to a punchy tropical-pop start bringing along an extremely catchy selection of tunes, instantly seating him in the same vein as Michael Jackson with songs like ‘Stand’ while others more reminiscent of The Weeknd such as ‘Aurelia’ and ‘Pamela’. Tom’s style made him a great candidate to support Jungle and Hit the North was the perfect opportunity for him to showcase his sound, as only days before he released a new single, ‘Loving You More’.
Rae Morris was the penultimate artist of the evening and continued to mesmerize the crowd with a multi-faceted act of singing, dancing and piano playing to create a happy, upbeat atmosphere with songs like ‘Do It’. A soothing voice backed up with thoughtful lyrics brought about similarities to singer Imogen Heap. A strong all round performance that kept the audience hooked and ready for the headliners.
Bringing the opening party to a close and dialling the funk to 11, was the seven-strong London based group Jungle.
Undoubtedly one of the best modern funk revival groups, backed up by the fact the Boiler Shop was bursting at the seams, the headline act was a treat to behold, entering onto stage to a mighty applause, the group began effortlessly weaving big hits such as ‘Julia’, ‘The Heat’ and ‘Busy Earnin’ from their self-titled album with brand new flavourings such as ‘Happy Man’, which delightfully continued their contagious sound that no one can resist at least tapping a foot to.
Despite juggling multiple instruments each, lead singers Tom McFarland and Josh Lloyd-Watson managed to sing and sound as clean and crisp live as in the studio, delivering hit after hit to a darkened warehouse of waving hands and smartphones, intermittently illuminated by the trademark golden colours of Jungle thanks to the onstage light show.
Although only having only one album to their name, very few groups manage to curate such a special sound that resonates with both older and younger generations and results in an album with such a range of strong tracks.
By the end of the set, the backdrop was lit up to reveal the words ‘Jungle 4 EVA’ which is something I’m sure the crowd and myself wholeheartedly agreed with.