Festival Review: Cross The Tracks // Brockwell Park - May 2025
Cross the Tracks may not have the media attention of Wide Awake this year; but it still operates as a vital spot on the festival circuit offering up a celebration of the best of the past, present and future of Jazz in Brockwell Park that earn the festival’s status as the No. 1 funk and soul festival in London.
Kneecap may have been the story of the summer of Brockwell Live events, in addition to their threat of closure from Brixton NIMBYS, but there are other festivals happening in the park as well – and one of them is Cross the Tracks, a uniquely curated brand of jazz both the past and present. It’s a fascinating lineup ranging from old guard Cymande, London band who have recently released a documentary to coincide with their new album, Renascence, a record of rebirth and triumph, originally active in the early 1970s and only reforming after a new wave of rap acts sampled their work. They came out to an adoring crowd that waited patiently for them to resolve their technical problems – thankfully few and far between throughout the festival; and were the real highlight of the day.
The first act that I saw was rising star Mychelle; ahead of her headline tour later in the year at London’s historic Jazz Café. As a first timer at a non-Wide-Awake event in Brockwell Park; it took some adjustment to the different stages going by different names and the calmer; less lively but equally apt crowd meant there was no moshing to be found – but that didn’t stop me from loving Mychelle all the same. The crowd were a lot more respectful at her act than later in the day as it got bigger – her song Sweet Nothings that she ended on got the crowd enjoying a sing-along on a sunny Sunday afternoon “are you okay, are you good?” captivated the audience – and she promised to give them badges if they found her later throughout the day wondering around the festival. You can tell artists like these are equally fans of the music that they perform and the other acts and it shows in her work – passionate and showcasing a real star on the rise. Her new album, Good Day, is a cracker – and it’s earned her a passionate fanbase as one of the best of the decade. She’ll be back at Cross the Tracks in a few years – and it’s very easy to see her headline.
Fabiana Palladino is one of the best singer-songwriters in the game at the moment and it was a real treat to see her in weather that wasn’t torrential downpour (pour one out for Rally festival, raining two years in a row on the only wet day in August, where she played last year), and she ran through her tracks from her debut self-titled album with an air of confidence that deserved more than an early afternoon slot – she herself, admitted she wasn’t expecting this many people to attend this early. The 80s/90s synth gave her a powerful impression on the audience and she shows that not only that she deserves the endorsement from Jai Paul; she can stand on her own as an artist. The killer melodies of Stay with Me Through the Night deserves it to be a much bigger hit than it is; the jazzier vibes fitting in perfectly with this festival. She does give fans a warning: Jai Paul is not here today – it’s rare that the two have performed on stage together. But that doesn’t stop her from delivering a mammoth rendition of I Care – filling in for Paul’s vocals on her own, joking that she’s doing his voice – echoing Kate Bush at her best. I’m also a big fan of I Can’t Dream Anymore – the lyrics prove she’s incapable of writing a bad song.
Cymande came next, after a lengthy technical delay. They are one of the legendary funk bands and arguably, the most underappreciated London band of all time. Their documentary Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande tells their story as being one of the Windrush Generation, a group of Caribbean kids freezing in England finding joy, connection and solidarity in music. They formed in 1971 and eventually broke up only a few years later in 1974 – shut out by the industry in Britian after three incredible soul albums that cemented their reputation. America was more accepting and the rappers at play including icons like De la Soul took them under their wing and reignited their popularity – leading to a reassembly and renewed appreciation. It’s almost unfair to call them underappreciated – the peak of “you’re not ready for this yet, but your kids are going to love it,” music – and it’s great that they’ve finally had their overdue moment in the sun. The funk band got the energy going properly offering up multiple new songs, Road to Zion and How We Roll got the energy going. Road to Zion feels like a reflection on the bands’ mortality – they’re now older men making peace with the darkness they can’t run away from – and it’s hard not to admire that they’ve still got the energy to keep going and often more than their much younger crowd would give them. Chasing An Empty Dream is more of a slow-burner – the split between the old and the new is fused seamlessly together as the legends return to the stage en masse.
This was where the crowd was getting to large, almost uncomfortable levels – there was no real clashes to split the audience ala Wide Awake; which grouped much of the crowd onto one stage; and the healthy breaks between key artists meant that the sheer variety of food stalls were stretched thin with queues across the park; a friend reported that they had to queue 45 minutes at one stall – the beer stands were of course, quicker and more efficient to get through – and whilst the sheer variety of food was appreciated more could’ve been done to separate the crowd and with some of the stalls being close to the stages; the sound bleed from the food orders particularly on Terminal Stage for poor Nala Sinephro affected the quieter acts; and when Jorden Rakei got going she suffered from the sound-bleed from the next stage over.
But it was a credit to Nala that her set was life-changing despite the tough conditions; my most anticipated artist of Cross the Tracks 2025 did not disappoint – the best energy kept away from the headliners for a majestic, non-vocal harpist deliver a non-stop set at that is joined by the bass of synth, and then into a saxophone and then into a cabalonga shaker. It’s a catastrophic onslaught of the senses that allowed the artist to run through much of Continuum, one of the best albums of 2024 released only late September, and gave the audience a real breath of fresh air – or at least; to those who bothered to shut up enough to listen to one of the best artists on the London scene. There were very few breaks in the music as she just kept going and going – a real majestic display of talent at their best with everything of ambience perfectly curated in the crowd. I’d love to have seen her on a tent stage as I do think the Terminal was the wrong atmosphere for her – but she made the most out of her setting and was greeted by a raptous audience who did listen – and the pure artistry of jazz in its most innovative form did not disappoint. One of the off-kilter bands for the festival that could only end up at something like Cross the Tracks – and you could only witness one of the performances of a lifetime there.
The final act for me due to the unfortunate clashing of train times was Ezra Collective – the third time I have seen them since 2019 and they’ve been no less than excellent every time; getting the crowd started by encouraging the audience to interact with each other and find out their names. This is the exact same band that have been operating since they formed in London’s Southbank, and frontman and rummer Femi Koleoso came out wearing an Arsenal shirt in celebration not only of the season just gone; but also the Women’s Team’s Most recent Champions League Victory over Barcelona the night before. He promised that for all the horror and the despair in the world it was going to be a session of real joy and everyone in the audience obliged; joining in and becoming one with the Collective – a real mission statement from the band. They opened up with a song that was more of a promise – You Can’t Steal My Joy – and continued from there – God Gave Me Feed For Dancing turned Southwark Park into the largest open air dancehall in London that Saturday. A resounding success – Koleoso even had time to thank the support of one of his die-hard fans; who had been messaging him words of encouragement since the early days and after a spell of illness, was finally able to come to a gig. This is what the magic; the happiness and the hometown vibrancy of Ezra Collective is all about, bringing joy and love as a mission statement. It’s hard not to get swept up in the brilliance of their charm.
Headliner Michael Kiwanuka came on after – and there were also slots for a whole host of talented musicians, Skinshape, Egyptian Lover, Baby Rose, Naomi Sharon, Gilles Peterson and Free Nationals – that made the actual music one of the best curated jazz lineups in the country. Whilst it was let down by a packed; half-invested crowd and sound-bleed from rival stages and fairground rides, Cross the Tracks still delivered on some of the best sounding jazz in London and proved not only a real introduction to the scene but a must for the die-hards – Fabiana Palladino, Cymande, Mychelle and Ezra Collective showed the sheer brilliance of the mix of old and new, and Nala Sinephro stole the show with the best act of the night. You couldn’t ask for anything more – a real return to form after last year’s short-noticed Erykah Badu cancellation.
Words by Miles Milton-Jefferies
