Tucked away in a picturesque area of the country better known for the sprawling festival behemoth that is Glastonbury, Relentless Energy Drink NASS Festival offers a diverse spread of music from around the globe, alongside an impressive roster of today's most exciting action sport stars competing for glory in the UK's only weekender of its kind.

As enthusiastic punters spilled through the gates on Friday, the various camping zones, stages and shopping areas were quickly transformed into a bustling festival metropolis populated by riders, skaters and eager ravers milling about the various ramps, street courses, fairground rides and more. The excitement in the air was tangible.

Down on the main stage, Redlight and Dread MC opened proceedings, and despite some issues with volume, did an admirable job of warming up the masses early on. By the time Nero took to the decks, the sound system was rumbling nicely and strobes traced their way around the venue. The duo's rise to commercial prominence was confirmed as the main stage at full capacity proceeded to go utterly bonkers for the duration of a set that defined stadium dubstep and drum & bass and featured an impressive display of pyrotechnics.

Friday night's headliner Sub Focus brought his impressive live show to the Somerset crowd, delivering a devastating selection from his own back catalogue of tracks including cuts from his debut album, remixes and older tracks, with dance floor favourite X-Ray threatening to tear the roof clean off. After months of touring and honing his performance skills, he deftly manipulated both the audio and lighting from his custom built stage set with a range of controllers and motion sensors ringing every last drop of energy from the heaving crowd. As things drew to a close, Sub Focus' live partner MC ID thanked the appreciative audience for the energy throughout before the set closer Let The Story Begin levelled the place.

Other highlights of the day included Modestep's high-energy performance and a brutal sub heavy 140 set on the dnb stage courtesy of Flux Pavilion. In terms of atmosphere, Joker undoubtedly played one of the sets of the day, his sound bordered on euphoric at times and hit the spot with a packed out crowd in the indoor arena.

Saturday got off to a slow start after heavy rain hit the site early on, but as afternoon came, so did the sun. Our faith in the British weather restored, we headed down to the check out what day two had to offer.

Having co-written last year's smash Pass Out, hotly tipped producer Labrinth's live show drew a lot of interest and built things up nicely for the night's headliner Tinie Tempah whose set ably backed up his current, simultaneous stranglehold on the charts and the urban scene. The show was slick and professional from start to finish and as Tinie and crew smashed through hit after hit inciting mosh pits, crowd surfing and thunderous applause, it epitomised everything a festival performance should be.

Unsurprisingly, one of the hot topics of the weekend was DJ Fresh and his track Louder. Having been tipped for the number one spot in the official charts it seemed only fitting that he would play into Sunday. Whether or not he had any idea that he was about to make history at this point, Fresh played one of the sets of his life and the crowd responded accordingly. When the track finally dropped, the whole room erupted. A Kodak moment, make no mistake.

After a weekend of big sets, also worthy of mention was Swedish skate punks Millencolin's blistering ten year anniversary performance of Pennybridge Pioneers on the Kerrang! Stage, Ms Dynamite's energetic afternoon skank out and dnb legend Hype bringing the curtain down on the festival.

Partying aside, over the weekend the Relentless Energy Drink NASS played host to heated competition and some inspirational and, at times, death defying athleticism with top prizes going to Kevin Hoefler for both the World Cup Skate final and Street Spot, Dan Lacey triumphed in the BMX Street contest and Joe Atkinson came out on top in the fiercely contested Inline comp. Mark Webb claimed glory in the BMX Pro park final but all eyes were on American rider Todd Meyn who made history landing a 1080 tuck knee no hander.

The festival on the whole was enjoyable and well run and the collision between music and extreme sport worked very well. The breadth and diversity of the crowd and the acts on the bill only served to strengthen the festival's charm and the good vibes present throughout the weekend make this one for serious consideration in 2012.

Words: Rachel Patey

 

Related Links:

• Relentless Energy NASS First Acts Announced
• Win Tickets To Road 2 Nass At Proud2
• Relentless Festivals Comp
• Relentless NASS Festival 2010
• Ableton At Bloc Weekend Festival

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