Here's a short film made by our Matt of what went down at Preston Park in The Calabash Tent this year (2013) over Brighton Pride Weekend
Pride weekend is my favorite one of the year and has been for many years. To be fair I would quite happily lose a New Years Eve party and have two Pride weekends instead
Anyway on to my round up
Once again we were situated bang in the middle of the festival which meant you couldn't miss us what with all the music emanating from inside the tent and cheers lead by the occasional use of dare I say it rather "colourful" language from the djs on the mic
The Calasbash Family all volunteer their services free of charge each year from the singers, back stage / front of house crew, film crew, security (Eddy) to the djs .... it's a group effort all in the name of spreading the message whilst making a musical presence felt at the festival
The mainstays of Calabash are my dj partner Affy and fellow Calabash planner / dj / organzser and general supplier of "Jump Up DnB" Snoop who get the ball rolling each year with all the arranging and meetings with the festival organizers well ahead of the day itself
Without their work Calabash would not be what it is if at all. However, on cue and as usual, there's always a few dramas with things not working, people going missing and guest lists getting confusing, but in the end it always comes off and everyone ends up with a massive smile on their face thanks to Affy, Snoop and all the team
For me and from a djing perspective, Calabash as an event / space at a festival is as pure an experience for a dj at my level on this kind of scale as it gets
Every year I count myself lucky to be part of "The Calabash "Experience" with my friends whilst being able to to play music on such a scale that is more or less unobtainable to the street level guys like myself throughout the festival season here in this country
You could say I'm doing all of this with these guys firmly at the front of my mind out of respect for the craft that many are skilled in yet few get to deliver outdoors throughout the summer
However djing is only a miniscule part of the experience for me as the day is predominantly about supporting my gay and ethnic friends past and present whilst remembering all those that have struggled to have had their colour, sexuality and or beliefs excepted without prejudice. Sadly a struggle that continues even to this day
Next year it will be Calabash's 10th anniversary up at the park and my 5th anniversary playing music for the lovely crew that has formed as a result of years of friendships being formed around one of my favorite musical families since I started out 20 years ago playing Hardcore raves in Scotland (Rezerection)
I truly hope I get asked back once again and if not then I can still come and help with being part of the day that helps me to remember others and times gone by with fondness and (excuse the pun) PRIDE !!!!
For now here are some pictures I've collected from what I've seen online and also what I managed to take whilst djing and hanging out having a whole heap of fun with everyone across the weekend
Thanks for a brilliant few days as always
Ali
