Hi!!! You went to the PinkPop Festival? How was it? I love reading fan experiences of Louis' shows (if you want to share of course if you don't ignore my ask).
Hiiii! Yes I did!!
So I have to say after the first day I absolutely hated everything and wanted to go home, and never wanted to do another festival again đ
Our parking lot was cancelled the evening before we drove all the way to the Netherlands, the car rental didnât have our car so we had to choose between a fiat 500 and an electric car to get us four plus camping equipment there - so I drove 9 hours, we arrived past midnight, had to set up the tent in the rain past midnight and I had to walk 45 minutes with my stuff after parking the car SOMEWHERE.
It rained the entire first day, but we wanted to go see Kawala because I had seen them open for Giant Rooks in Stockholm and Prague and they were lots of fun! Even though they were on first. I also met them on the festival grounds!! Theyâre really sweet, well, Daniel and Ben are, the main singer isnât really my vibe tbh haha.
Then I went to go see Yungblud and DAMN! What a great show!! The energy is amazing, his voice and show is amazing, he came down to the barricade to sing with the fans and after the show he came back again and took time to take photos and talk to the fans. I was really impressed and started listening to more than just the one song I knew!
After I went back to the tent because I was utterly exhausted and completely freezing in the rain. Everything was muddy and our tents and sleeping bags were wet bc they couldnât withstand all that rain. It was so disgusting. I was sad that I missed MĂ„neskin and Avril Lavigne, but I was physically not able anymore.
Next day we didnât manage to get to the entrance as early as we wanted to so the gates were already opened and we went straight to Louisâ stage, we slowly managed to get to the third row with people leaving after the sets, which was great.
First act was Joost Klein, and the vibe was so cool bc he had so much fun, it was completely crazy and the Dutch went NUTS! I actually enjoyed the Beatles cover band after him, but my friend fainted so I had to get out and stayed with her a bit at the medics centre before going back in. I didnât enjoy Froukje so much to be honest, but it was the last act before louis!!
So I celebrated my birthday that weekend and when louis came on stageâ the pit was PACKED and the crowd was sooo loud and all the non fans were so shocked the audience was so engaged at 6 pm haha! He looked incredible, and it was so fun to see him perform during the light of the day!! Steve didnât even have a top on when they came out and that was awesome.
I had a bit of space and very small people in front of me so right at the beginning louis made eye contact with me and I gassed him up and he pointed back at me in a similar manner and it felt so special to get to interact with him again, itâs been a long six months without him đ„Č
He was very focused on getting the singing right and tbh I think this was definitely one of his better shows when it comes to the singing haha, but it did make him a bit held back and stiff.
And although I understand that he chose to sing three 1D songs bc thatâs what non-fans would recognise and be more inclined to look him up, I wouldâve personally preferred tk her more of his solo stuff. The intros and arrangements have been changed a bit from when I saw him late last year, so it took a little while to actually believe it that he chose to sing 7 lmao, I was so âno it canât be??â That I didnât recognise it properly. During the teenage wasteland interlude he was going nuts again and he liked that, nodding to me hehe.
I also thought he wouldnât come down to barricade, but he did although it was an awfully long way!! And then he was just gone and it felt like something had happened? And everyone was confused and no one applauded or cheered bc it was so confusing that suddenly he wasnât there anymore.
After that I was super exhausted but happy!
We went to see Nothing But Thieves after and OH MY GOD I fell in love immediately and have been obsessively listening to their songs and Iâm so glad I saw them life!! Conor looked soooo cool and comfortable on stage and with the crowd, we were seriously impressed.
Calvin Harris had a big nostalgia factor in it for me for my clubbing days in the 2010s đ„Č but it was a bit boring besides that bc he literally just DJs.
The last day was another early start for Sea Girls, I didnât listen to them much bc I skipped the London show where they opened for louis last tour, but they were a lot of fun! And Iâve been listening to some of their songs as well.
After I went to see The Kâs, they were charming but had some tech problems, and surprise! Andrew Cushinâs sound tech also did their sound! So we missed meeting him for a beer but he let us know that The Kâs had a gig in my hometown the next day so I promised Iâd try driving back super quickly to make it in time for their gig (I did lol and went for Kebap with them as well and tbh the front singer is a bit of a dick, but the guitarist was really sweet!).
We only half listened to Loreen which wasnât really my thing and to James Arthur, who is super pretty? And had a great voice but I was so exhausted and frankly needed some alone time.
And then honestly the grand finale.
Hozier came on stage and maybe itâs something about the tonality of his voice with the way his guitar sounds? But it went straight into the back of my skull, down my spine and turning into violent goosebumps. I basically cried through his entire set but not bc I wasnât feeling well or was sad I was just so emotionally overwhelmed by how physical and spiritual I felt his music right there live. It really was such a treat hearing him, and he seems sooo gentle and heâs sooo tall, and he brought out Ed Sheeran for Work Song which was crazy! The tears just wouldnât stop coming.
And then Ed Sheeran was also insane. I was already still sort of one bump from being back to crying and he just was on stage alone?? Just him his guitar and his looper??? I was SO impressed. And he was very emotional, too. But calm. And I just cried about everything again, the songs, what he said about his wife, then little seven-ish year old boy so happy to be there and on his dadâs shoulders to see Ed, the friendship groups that held each other and the couples that enjoyed it together. It was a really beautiful experience and I felt so fucking grateful for the fact that I can enjoy music so haptically, that I get to have the ability to feel it SO deeply and that live music is gorgeous.
Thank you for asking lovely! Iâm sure you just wanted to know about louis, but I really wanted to talk about all the acts I saw at Pinkpop!
