INTERVIEW: Barney Dufton on Love Supreme Festival

Recently, a rather wonderful resurgence has been bubbling up in the jazz scene. In the States, Los Angeles practitioners like Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and others have been integrated with the hip-hop and RnB scenes, breathing new life into contemporary jazz and reminding the world what it can do. Elsewhere in the US, bands like BadBadNotGood have been championing a whole new approach to the genre, and bands like Comet is Coming, Sons of Kemet, Mammal Hands and Yussef Kamaal have been helping that approach evolve on British soil.

Do you know what all the artists I just name checked have in common besides that? They’re all on the line-up for Love Supreme this year, alongside the likes of Herbie Hancock, The Jacksons, George Benson, Gregory Porter, Corinne Bailey-Rae and Laura Mvula. A Love Supreme was founded in order to celebrate jazz in a full blown weekend festival setting, where before only one or two-day urban festivals had really catered for it.

Back when it started, this new rise in popular jazz music had only just begun, but now it’s in full force, resulting in perhaps the most impressive Love Supreme roster yet seen. The questions remains though, how exactly does a jazz-oriented weekend festival function? Barney Dufton has been working on the Love Supreme production team since the very beginning, so if anyone is equipped to explain, it’s him.

 

Love Supreme started out as a way to give jazz a new footing in the UK festival scene, is that still the goal or has it moved beyond that?
I think it has always had two jobs and that’s still the case. The first job is to showcase the best of what’s going on the worlds of jazz, funk and soul, be that new artists coming through, established artists with new music or legends coming back. The second job is to just provide a great weekend for people. The summer UK festival experience is such a unique thing that we want to make sure that the people that love the music we book can enjoy it in a beautiful site.

 

The festival is in its 5th year now, what are the most prominent changes you’ve had to make in that time?
We’ve just made it bigger and better we think. We’ve always added things each year, the Verve Jazz Lounge, The Blue In Green Bar in the woods, the Wellness area last year. We haven’t made any massive or drastic changes, just tried to hone what we have and build on it. The most prominent change has come in the shape of the crowd though. As jazz has started to crossover more the mix of people we get is now incredibly diverse.

 

Are there any new styles of music or attractions being injected into the festival this year?
We’re doing some late night live music with our friends at Jazz in the Round. We have had afterparties with DJs and live bands for those that want to dance but if you want a chance to wind down after a long day we’re going to try and recreate that relaxed late night in a jazz club atmosphere… in a field.

 

A lot of new acts are gaining ground in the UK jazz scene at the moment, what’s it been like for you seeing the local scene grow and develop?
It’s been really encouraging. It makes programming the festival a challenge though as there’s so much good stuff that we want to book and we only have a limited amount of slots! It also feels very vital again. Jazz suffered from having a stuffy image for a while but that’s gone now these new artists are making music that’s feels fresh and exciting.

 

How has the crowd changed since the festival started (apart from getting bigger)?
It’s got more diverse. The best bit of Love Supreme is we have people of all ages and walks of life where the one unifying quality is the music. Everyone enjoys themselves but in a really positive and respectful way and it makes for an amazing atmosphere. It might sound cheesy but the atmosphere at Love Supreme is the best bit of the weekend.

 

Which acts are you particularly excited about this year?
That’s always tough but I think seeing Gregory Porter close the festival on the Sunday will be special. He performed at the first Love Supreme early on in the afternoon so to have seen him grow into an international superstar has been incredible for the genre as a whole and us as a festival.

 

If you could base another music festival around a certain kind of music, what kind of music would you opt for?
Me personally? I was into punk rock as a kid before I discovered jazz, so something like that would make me happy.

 

The British festival scene is always changing, what would you say is the key to maintaining a successful festival?
I think having an identity, sticking to it and growing it organically. Know what you are and keep trying to make it better.
If you could give one piece of advice to any newcomers to the festival, what would it be?
Just follow your ears. A lot of our audience come because they think they might like jazz, so if you’re one of those jump in two footed if you see something you like.

 

Love Supreme takes place in Glynde Place in Essex from the 30th of June to the 2nd of July. Get your tickets here.

Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.