From Dr Banana's incredible garage selections to DJ Seinfeld's pure bliss 80s electronica sounds, Baltic Weekender truly was a sublime festival this long weekend!

I was lucky enough not only to attend this year's festival but also to play on both days at two of my favourite venues in Liverpool.

I spent the rest of my time taking in as many performances as possible; here's what I thought…

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DAY 1

Proceedings kicked off at 2pm on day one, with local duo Ecks Etra alongside Jade Li at Camp & Furnace, whilst just metres away, Jazzy Lioness & Riko Dan, No Fakin DJs, LO Sound and Lucid were kicking things off over at Hangar 34 and 24 Kitchen Street.

Standout performances:

Elkka at Camp & Furnace

From energetic disco to dirty garage, euphoric house to hard techno, Elkka was without a doubt a standout act at this year's edition of Baltic Weekender.

She brought her set to a close by mixing an incredible Drum & Bass edit of Amerie's "1 Thing" before blending into "Sweet Dreams" by The Eurythmics, followed by "Lost In Music" by Sister Sledge, a perfect way to finish things off before Hunee took over.

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Interplanetary Criminal at Hangar34

Zachary Bruce, AKA Interplanetary Criminal, has risen up the ranks at a tremendous pace in recent years. His performance at Hangar34 on Friday showed us all exactly why.

From UK Garage to Old School Dubstep, he played a killer set full of the wobbly 2 step sounds he's known for.

Juggling tracks between the turntables and the CDJs, the energy he brought to the room was hugely infectious!

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Ben UFO at Camp & Furnace

Ben UFO played a hypnotising set full of his signature electronic gems, taking the dancefloor on a journey through his fast-paced, garage-not-garage, techno-esque collection.

Averaging just over the 130bpm mark, Ben gave ravers a performance they'll never forget. His technical ability and obscure track selection go hand in hand whenever he plays; his set at Baltic was a prime example of this.

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DAY 2

Day two kicked off at 2pm with the Brasseye & Crackle DJs warming things up at Camp & Furnace, Nineted & Charlie Kidd igniting the flame at Kitchen Street and Dropjaw Audio and Baltic Allstars at District & Brick Street.

Standout performances:

Ross From Friends at Camp & Furnace

The legend Ross From Friends blew Liverpool away on Saturday night with an exceptional live performance.

He was joined by Slumberjunkie on the guitar to his left and Cameo Blush on the sax to his right. The three of them performed in perfect harmony, with each individual element shining through beautifully.

Peaking at 166bpm, the trio hypnotised the dancefloor with sharp breakbeats, emotional trancey synth sounds and powerful bass noises for an hour and thirty minutes.

Finishing off with a live remix of Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, followed by a massive round of applause from the whole warehouse, Ross, Cameo Blush & Slumberjunkie definitely made a huge impact on the event as a whole.

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Hillas b2b Rich Furness at 24 Kitchen Street

Baltic Weekender's head honcho, Andrew Hill AKA Hillas, was joined by Abandon Silence resident Rich Furness for a few hours of everything from Garage, Grime, DnB, Techno, House, Disco and beyond!

Andy & Rich took over the club room of Kitchen Street, taking ravers on an eclectic journey through the dark and grimey yet euphoric and high-energy areas of their collections which really summed up the festival as a whole and tied the whole experience off really well.

Other notable mentions throughout the weekend were Dr Banana's incredible garage sounds in the Kitchen Street garden, the Brasseye lads at Brick Street and Jacinta's synth-heavy house and techno DJ set at Camp & Furnace.

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CONCLUSION

The festival brought an impressive, eclectic selection of DJs, MCs and live performers to some of the city's best venues in the Baltic Triangle.

The artists varied from huge household names to local rising stars to keep your eye on, both of which impressed massively.

Baltic Weekender will return in 2023, and I really can't wait to see what's to come. A huge thank you to Andrew, Ioan, Nikki and the rest of the team at 24 Kitchen Street, as well as all of the other venues, staff and artists involved in making this event special.

Baltic is belter x