NASS Festival 2019

NASS Festival 2019 ramped up on Friday 12 July providing an unparalleled selection of music, street art, skate and BMX. Having sold out of Weekend Camping and VIP Camping tickets, the Bath & West Showground was buzzing with 30,000 festival goers keen to make the most of NASS’ incredible selection of music acts, spread over 15 stages.

Main Stage headline act Giggs delivered an unforgettable set, pleasing the crowd with his unmistakable voice and energetic stage presence. Supporting on the Main Stage was East London’s hottest new rapper Yxng Bane, living up to his reputation with a unique and genre-spanning set. Hip hop legend Grandmaster Flash turned up the heat with an unbelievable performance, scratching and mixing iconic tracks. Birmingham’s Lady Leshurr entertained the crowd with her infectious humour and ingenious lyrics. With the sun shining over NASS, Maverick Sabre utilised his impressive vocal range and meaningful lyrics to create a captivating set, while iconic street art duo, PichiAvo treated the crowd to live street art.

The vibe in the Southbank stage was electric, housing some of the biggest names in drum & bass including Crissy Criss, SaSaSas, Turno, with a high-octane final set from Bou to close the stage for the night. Elsewhere the likes of Redlight, Preditah, Hannah Wants and Panda blew the roof of the Hangar stage.

Pretty Weird, the creation of DJ Chloe Robinson AKA Barely Legal, took over The Lock In stage with an eclectic offering of artists including One Man, Novelist, Barely Legal b2b Madam X, Sicaria Sound and Myles Diverse.

It was an awe-inspiring first day of BMX and Skate competitions, Charlotte Worthington (GBR) took home the BMX Park Women’s title beating off fierce competition from Sasha Pardoe (GBR) and Kayley Ashworth (GBR) who finished second and third respectively. After an exciting qualifier and final of the BMX Street Open, Mike Suttle (GBR) was crowned champion after combining huge airs with technical tricks.

In the skating, John Howlett (GBR) impressed the judges and lively crowd with an astonishing display of skating, earning him the top spot of the Skate Men’s Open. NASS’ legendary Ring of Fire made a triumphant return this year, a true spectacle, some of the world’s best skaters stomped tricks through a burning hoop in return for cash. Following a similar Cash-for-tricks format was the Roscomar Skate Container Jam which saw skaters blasting huge wallride combos from ramp to ramp via the container, an honourable mention goes out to USA’s Will Lara who nailed an impressive backside blunt off the top of the container. New this year was the Vans Bump to Bar, built to look like an actual pub bar, it produced an amazing display, with skaters putting their bodies on the line despite a packed schedule of competitions and jams throughout the day.

Images provided by NASS Festival and James Leigh.