Calvin Harris and Lewis Capaldi made 4th day of Sziget a day to remember

The fourth day of Sziget had a great lineup as well. Names like Calvin Harris, Lewis Capaldi, Ofenbach, TSHA and many more performed at the stages of the magical festival in Budapest. Too many names to visit them all, that’s the power of Sziget.

Black Honey

The band from England opened the stage at the Freedome this Friday. With their indie-rock sound, they brought a lot of energy. What started as a quiet audience quickly became more energetic once the band entered the stage. They immediately stole the show with their 70’s inspired look. The lead singer, Izzy Philips, entered the stage in a long green dress, while the other band members walked around with open blouses and rolled-up pants. During one of the first songs, Philips quickly walked off stage, only to reappear moments later with a beer in her hand. ‘I’m Izzy and this is my first drink.’ A few fans at the front of the audience danced an almost complete choreography to each song, causing the rest to quickly start dancing along. After playing for a full hour, the gig was done.

Kensington

Meanwhile, the first performance on the Main Stage of the day had already begun. The Dutch band Kensington had started their set. It was very clear that the audience was mainly Dutch. When the singer of the band, Eloi Youssef, asked the audience who all came from the Netherlands the noise was deafening. During the set, there was a lot of use of flamethrowers, fireworks and confetti. The people in the front of the audience were constantly shocked when the confetti cannons suddenly exploded. All these extras made for a real show. The energy of the band itself also helped. This was not the first time they had played at Sziget, so they knew how to do it. During the song “Home Again” they made sure to continue a Kensington tradition. During this song, everyone was asked to put people on their shoulders, so as many people as possible had to go up in the air. ‘Let’s see who can keep this up the longest.’ Really everywhere you looked people were sitting on each other’s shoulders. At one point there was even a conga line of people sitting on top of each other. This made for a very special sight. Like a real rock band, the set ended with a long instrumental outro of the song “St. Helen”.

Superar Children’s choir

For the ‘special event,’ the Superar children’s choir was on the Main Stage today. This large group of children came to sing two songs. Everyone was encouraged to sing along to the lyrics on the screen behind them. After they sang the Ukrainian entry of last year’s Eurovision song contest they started ‘Imagine’. As the youngest artists of the whole festival, they conquered many hearts.  

Lewis Capaldi

Later in the evening, a show that many people had been waiting for began. Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi was on the Main Stage. As he mesmerized the audience with his voice, he played his best-known hits, such as “Bruises” and “Grace”. Somewhere halfway through his set, he sang a cover of “Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton. He also later put in another cover, the song “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. The singer’s unserious attitude left the audience with plenty to laugh about. Capaldi actually always adopts this attitude, which is apparently a success with the fans. For example, he took a phone from the audience so he could take some pictures with it. During Capaldi’s performance, the number of English people at Sziget seemed to increase significantly. Many of them were real fans of the singer and had travelled to Budapest, especially for him. 

Calvin Harris

Friday’s main act started at 9:30 PM, with Calvin Harris on the Main Stage. The festival grounds were once again packed, with people waiting for the DJ as far away as the Ferris wheel. With such a well-known artist as the Scottish DJ, it is only natural that people have high expectations. These were certainly lived up to. With a set that went on for an hour and a half non-stop, Calvin Harris turned the entire island into one big party. With every song that was started, people danced and jumped harder. In addition, it looked really fun. There was a lot of use of fireworks and lasers, which created some cool effects. You also realized how many hits this DJ actually had. Almost everything he played during his set has been a hit. With a career that has now spanned around sixteen years, the artist has certainly been productive in releasing real hits. The set also had a lot of variation. From sing-alongs like “One Kiss” with Dua Lipa to improvised drops in between. It was a night to remember. 

Bad Gyal

For the first time in her career, Bad Gyal was on stage in Hungary. In her homeland Spain she is already an absolute hit, but here her success has not yet started. Yet she stood before a full Freedome. The fact that she is so big in Spain was also evident. Spanish flags were in abundance and all around you could hear people speaking Spanish. The first four dancers entered the stage, after which Bad Gyal appeared. From an elevated position on the stage, she was singing to the audience wearing huge sunglasses. With a bedazzled microphone in her hand, she began her set. As soon as she started her first song the whole Freedome started dancing. After this song was over, Bad Gyal herself started to really dance. She showed off her twerk skills, which made the audience go wild. With the words ‘You are in the right place because my speciality is to party!’ she moved on to her next song. She was right because it most definitely was a party.

Alan Walker

In the Ticketswap Party Arena, Ofenbach had just finished their set when Alan Walker started. Because the previous set had also drawn a lot of attention, the tent was packed. As soon as the Norwegian DJ started, however, it got even busier. The crowd filled the entire tent and the surrounding area. People were even partying in the farthest corners of the crowd. Alan Walker managed to get the crowd all in on his act. When he asked everyone to turn on their flashlights and move them up and down to the beat of the music, the place lit up. Everyone joined in. With his hits like “Faded” and “Sweet Dreams” the audience went wild and sang along with every word. In total, the party lasted an hour and a half, after which he really ended the set.

Photo’s (c) Wyona Latupeirissa