Gorillaz Demon Dayz festival review: Buoyant party atmosphere in the midst of chaos

Britpop frontman Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett take over Margate’s Dreamland with performances from De La Soul, Little Simz and Kelela

The festival saw performances from De La Soul, Kelela, Kano and more

After a six-year hiatus, Gorillaz’s cartoon universe set its sights on the sleepy seaside town of Margate with a one-day festival named after the band’s second studio album, Demon Dayz.

But as the sun blazes down on a 15,000 strong crowd, one begins to wonder why co-creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett decided to skip down to the Isle of Thanet to host their event.

Hampered by a reputation that haunts many British coastal towns, Margate is well known for its dilapidated seaside charm and, controversially, as an area forcibly hounded by UKIP’s Nigel Farage back in 2015.

Inevitably, it seems that rather than the town’s burgeoning coastal art scene, stunning seafront or Carry On-style cockles ‘n’ muscles, it was politics that brought the two together.

Envisioned as a party album for a world gone mad, Humanz made a worthy addition to Gorillaz’s politically charged collection of hit records and just three days after an election result that shocked the country, the band’s message had never felt more fitting.

“It’s been a weird week in this country,” Albarn said. “A real surprise and then an inevitable bullshit outcome.”

Held just days after the general election results, the band’s message had never felt more fitting (Credit: Mark Allan)

“But this is only the beginning cos there’s some of you out there who weren’t able to vote this time, but next time you’ll be able to vote,” he continued. “It’s going to grow.”

An optimistic, buoyant atmosphere that felt palpable at all times, Albarn delivered a star-studded spectacle packed with stellar performances from the likes of De La Soul, Kelela, Vince Staples, Danny Brown and Kano.

Tickets for the star-studded show sold out in just an hour (Credit: Mark Allan)

But it was a warm-up performance by London-born Little Simz that really shone through. A rapper who has been compared to iconoclasts like Lauryn Hill and praised by Kendrick Lamar; the 23-year-old artist commanded the stage as she shifted seamlessly between singing, spitting and jamming on the guitar.

Returning to join Gorillaz on the stage for an exclusive performance, Little Simz was just one of many guests to come and go throughout the night with Shaun Ryder roaring along to Dare, while De La Soul’s Maseo let out his notoriously fanatical laugh for Feel Good Inc.

While politics predictably loomed over the show, Demon Dayz festival demonstrated Albarn’s ability to get the very best out of his collaborators and to create a sound that still sounds just as fresh and inventive as it did some 16 years ago.