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Festival-goers had many Reasons to be cheerful over the weekend. The third edition of the festival saw a record of over 3,000 spectators enjoy dance sounds concocted by over 30 acts under the sunshine.
Organisers had said they'd "smashed a number of booking ambitions" with The Blockheads and Primal Scream. The headliners certainly did not disappoint and smashed it out of Coronation Park while the rest of the line-up made for a varied mix of music.
The day wasn't off to the most auspicious start with several showers threatening to put a damper on the festivities as the doors opened. But even the sun couldn't resist coming out when Leeds formation, The Gentleman's Dub Club started playing.
The nine musicians made their entrance on the main stage clad in black suits and tie, but they clearly showed they weren't there for a formal performance. Their energetic style and their clever mix of reggae and dub helped the many spectators ease into festival mode.
Video: Reasons To Be Cheerful-Part 3: Gentleman's Dub Club
It seemed as though suits and tie were the dress code for the day when Jenna & the Gs made the crowd sway later in the afternoon. The fruit of the union between soulful vocalist Jenna G and 8 Gold Rings, an eight piece band from Manchester, Jenna & the Gs delivered an eclectic set that included a few covers, with some funk and a whole lot of soul.
As the sun went down, the heavy duty bands came out to play, including longtime booking ambitions of the organisers, The Blockheads and Primal Scream. The former who inspired the name of the festival with their song titled "Reasons to be cheerful - Part 3", played for over an hour in front of a packed Coronation Park.
It was then the turn of Primal Scream to climb on stage and the Glasgow band didn't fail expectations. Playing until late in the night, they made the crowd go wild with their hits mixing alt-rock, dance and house music. Their set will certainly go down in the history of Reasons and organisers will have a tough time finding an even better one next year.
While the main action was understandably on the main stage, festival-goers had a large area to explore and enjoy themselves. Two other stages were set up in Coronation Park, each with its own style. The Mango Stage catered from drum & bass enthusiasts with a dozen of acts playing for nearly twelve hours.
Not far from the Mango Stage sat the Clique tent. While the name makes it sounds like it was a restricted area, where only the hippest crowd was allowed, it wasn't so. The tent remained packed for the whole afternoon and even later in the evening and turned part of Coronation Park into an electro nightclub.
Video: Reasons To Be Cheerful - Part 3: Clique Techno Tent - Denis Sulta
With an eclectic line up of artists, Reasons attracted an eclectic crowd that basked in the sunshine and swayed happily to the music. Organisers definitely kept their promise to deliver an "inclusive and unique way for lovers of all areas of dance music to come together." With a record number of tickets sold for this third edition, they will have to be prepared for an even bigger crowd for next year. Word is 3,000 people already can't wait for Part 4 and even more Reasons to be cheerful.
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