Love Supreme Festival 2026: A Personal Perspective

The South Downs in East Sussex is a beautiful part of the UK. Glynde Place, the location for the Love Supreme Jazz Festival, is in the sweet spot between the bustling seaside city of Brighton and Hove, and the dramatic ridges of the Downs. Rolling countryside, flint-stone buildings, and Glyndebourne House—famous around the world for its own opera festival—are just minutes away. Love Supreme has been running since 2013, with a line-up focused on major soul music acts and the more "pop" end of the jazz spectrum, along with up-and-coming and underground artists. I must admit, with previous headliners including Chic, The Jacksons, Kool & The Gang, Van Morrison, and Grace Jones, it's never been top of my must-attend lists. But this is the elitist in me, because over the years Pharoah Sanders, John Scofield, Dave Holland, Immanuel Wilkins, Gary Bartz, plus the cream of the exploding UK jazz scene have also played. This is the perennial existential crisis I always face with music festivals. Do I want to go when half the acts have no interest for me, and if I go, how on earth to manage the time to see those that I do?

But for the 2026 edition of the event, I had the opportunity to attend on Friday and as much of Saturday as possible, camping overnight. Ezra Collective were headlining on the Friday night, the first stop on a worldwide tour for their Here Because of Hope album. Heavy traffic en route meant I missed the band being interviewed in the Jazz Lounge and a playback of the forthcoming release. Note to self (one of several)—leave home much earlier than planned. This was an event for 20,000 people, and even though you could buy single-day tickets, many were arriving on the first day to camp and enjoy the whole 3-day affair.

First impressions of the festival: a very mixed audience. To be expected perhaps, given the line-up and history. Young, old, families with toddlers and babies, and teenagers. The UK has a long history of jazz, funk, and soul appreciation via radio and in the clubs, and there were clearly many Gen Xers who were out to relive their youth. You could literally buy the t-shirt from the merch stall there and display your allegiance to this tribe. Nothing wrong with this of course; I fall into this bracket. The joy of music and dancing keeps us feeling youthful, vibrant, and relevant. The second immediate impression—luxury! Having a "Supremium" ticket meant you could enjoy cushioned wicker sofas, tables and chairs, higher quality washrooms and toilets, and a view of the main stage from behind a picket fence quite some way and far removed from the crowds that would ensue. At first, this felt like cheating to me, like some glorified English garden party. This was not the way to experience a jazz festival, was it? But perhaps given the demographic, it was for some.

Kokoroko were the first big act at the main open-air North Downs stage, early Friday evening. Pulling people magnetically into the arena by their Afro-centric grooves, their opening piece was a cover of the classic "Love & Death" by the recently departed Ebo Taylor. The crowd were itching to get moving, this was a warm-up for the high energy delivery that would come from the Ezra Collective later. Their second number had some crazy, spaced-out keyboard solos, unusual for such a brass-led band but certainly worked for me. A cover of "Natural High" by Bloodstone was next, an inspired choice and I think saved only for their live performances, they've not (yet) recorded a studio version. One of my favourite DJs, Luke Una, had just started an eight-hour marathon set on another stage at this time, and I wanted to check how he was setting the scene. Perfectly—a mix of deep Brazilian and otherworldly grooves. I got quite a shock when he played the Simone version of the Milton Nascimento classic "Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser," as I was there with my wife and this is one of "our" songs. And was somewhat bewildered to see a group of teenagers dancing to this too. They didn't know this tune, did they? Were trainspotters getting younger by the minute? We'd return here later in the night, so went back to meet our friends who had stayed watching Kokoroko. They reported the tempo had picked up dramatically for the final three tunes as the band hit their stride and kept the crowd buzzing.

The drummer Moses Boyd was on next at the South Downs stage, this being a huge tent with some open sides. Boyd had just released a new single, "Say Yeah," which he premiered with some call and response asks from the crowd. Unusually for him it was a vocal number, featuring a trio of gospel-like singers here, the diminutive lead conducting the audience with her commanding voice, a crowd pleaser for sure. It will be interesting to see if this is a new direction for Boyd, as the following number was also a vocal one, and another new piece called "Guess I'll Be Alright." Kicking off with the feel of a Cameo track, it moved into more Brit-funk-style grooves, ticking a lot of boxes for the audience. I was pleased to see two of my favourite "ones to watch" in Boyd's band, giving solo improvisations throughout the set. Artie Zaitz was on guitar, sporting his trademark fedora hat. Zaitz plays with Mark Kavuma's Banger Factory collective, is a little Carlos Santana perhaps in style and always lifts a performance, smiling constantly. Donovan Haffner was on alto sax, Jazz FM Awards "Breakthrough Act" 2026. Now touring in his own right after the release of his outstanding Alleviate album. This level of exposure was exactly what I believe Love Supreme was programmed to do, bringing a talent of Haffner's level to a new audience. Ending the set was the hugely influential "Rye Lane Shuffle." Now 10 years old, it's a number that has been the backbone of the UK scene, an anthem for many and an homage to Peckham in South London.

Too much hanging around in the North Supremium area (I was getting used to the luxury) meant leaving it a little late to get a spot anywhere near stage front to watch Ezra Collective with the masses. There was no way I wanted to experience the show from a sofa, but as soon as the band were on there was an exodus of people running to the North Downs arena. Our friends, veterans of the festival, knew exactly what to do and had secured their spot at least 15 minutes before the band came on. We had to watch from the rear of the arena, so couldn't quite partake in the "Temple of Joy" the band had created for the show. But the energy was infectious, their signature blend of Latin and African funk and jazz filled the air, all delivered with the fever of a Brazilian carnival but with that unique UK style, born in the youth clubs of London. The band paid homage to their influences via riffs from Fela Kuti to Ini Kamoze, brought on vocal guests kojey radical and Leona Lewis. People were instructed to dance in circles of five with strangers, saxophonist James Mollison jumped off stage and played in amongst the crowd, drummer Femi Koleoso was preaching positivity and love throughout. The band's story is remarkable, I recall a gig for 30 people at Foyles Bookshop in London in 2013, and now they had 20,000 in a state of collective ecstasy, in the palms of their hands. A huge inspiration for the next generation of jazz artists, and an act responsible for introducing so many to a whole new world of sound. A young couple camping next to us said they were the main reason they had decided to attend the festival. Who knew what jazz epiphanies they might leave with, from catching other acts too.

Some performers faced the inevitable challenge of going up against the headliners, being dealt the same time slot. One that I was determined to support were the Qow Trio, whose recent album "The Rule of Three" I've enjoyed immensely. The band includes the 80-year-old legend of the UK jazz world, drummer Spike Wells. Having played with Tubby Hayes, Bobby Wellins, Stan Getz and Roland Kirk, he now provides the glue that holds together this trio with Riley Stone-Lonergan on tenor saxophone and Eddie Myer on bass. I arrived to the band delivering their swinging cover of Big John Patton's "Along Came John," Stone-Lonergan's firing horn replacing the lead of Patton's Hammond organ. There may have been only 100 people at this stage, but this was the jazz I had come here to see. It was so heartening to see a young teenager completely transfixed by the band, perhaps he'd never heard anything like this before, and this would be the start of his journey in jazz.

The Solomon Gundy Band were on the same One Jazz Radio stage, safely performing once Ezra Collective had finished. Another act I had definitely wanted to see, given how good the first tracks from their Hancestry album are. The band was led by Sean Corby on trumpet, and featured Trevor Edwards on trombone, a veteran of the Jazz Warriors and The Jazz Jamaica All Stars. I hadn't realised he was in the band, noting only that Courtney Pine blows on the studio version of "Divine Days (for Leon Forrest)." Pine didn't join the band when they played the number here, but instead Corby introduced Charles Rothwell on alto, acknowledging his studies at Trinity Laban and in New York. The combination of Rothwell and Edwards was straight out of the Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley school of James Brown funk, and was cooking. "Choose To Be" took the pace right down, showing the versatility of the band, a gorgeous lilting tune well suited to this line up. "Wadada (for Leo Smith & the people of Grenfell)" was electric-era Miles Davis in its intensity. This album is going to be a highlight of the year, and this show was certainly mine of the festival.

It was then off to see how Luke Una's DJ set had progressed over the last few hours, and to end the evening there. Going via the South Downs tent demonstrated how mixed the audience, expectations, and enjoyment could be at this event. DJ Pee .Wee (AKA Anderson .Paak) was dropping everything from Nirvana to OutKast to obvious recent pop smashes that I couldn't identify to a packed tent, people spilling out of the sides. There must have been thousands of people in there, and would have been musical torture for me, so we moved swiftly on to the Blue In Green stage to see a real DJ in action. It was astonishing to hear Una play a track like "Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic at 1 a.m in the morning, along with New York house music anthems including "Dis Poem" by Mutabaruka, a rollcall of those who have fought against oppression and racism.

Saturday morning was a struggle. Sleeping under canvas is not my forte. It was hot, boiling in the tent, so essential to get out and about after a fitful night's sleep. I'd never seen so many people up at 8am at a festival, so they must have been thinking the same—let's get up and get on with the day. Queues for showers and coffee were already long, and a little early for the Supremium baristas to be serving. But by 9.30am things were beginning to happen across the site. Those keen enough were joining yoga sessions in the wellness area, but we decided to escape the heat in the Jazz Lounge tent, sup on coffee there, and listen to talks from invited speakers. It was very entertaining, one featuring royal biographer Andrew Lownie entitled "Send them victorious or off with their heads!," and another with satirical impressionist Rory Bremner and other commentators/comedians discussing the state of British politics. There were insightful observations from those who worked from within the system, and these days, the jokes almost write themselves... We moved on after this, but noticed how the audience changed when the topics switched from politics and the Royal Family to climate change. Instead of the average age being over 45, it was now more like under 30. Encouraging.

We sauntered over to the North Supremium area, the sofas were calling. On the main stage was a young singer-songwriter called aron!. His brand of gentle jazz-pop is not usually my cup of tea, but I have to say, was perfect for lounging in the sun this time of day, drifting away.

The Supreme Standards tent was one we hadn't checked on Friday, so dipped into that to hear Joe Webb and his trio enthralling the crowd with his clever blend of traditional stride piano numbers, and covers of modern tunes like "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee." This was how to unite the generations; no wonder he's another Jazz FM Awards Winner. Then fellow pianist Eliane Correa and her band tore through a blistering set of Latin pieces, before bringing birthday-girl Plumm on stage to roar angrily in two vocal numbers that were more punk-metal than Cuban grooves. Rosie Turton on trombone and Allexa Nava on sax were in the band, reminding me how strong the "Women In Jazz" movement is in the UK.

I couldn't resist flicking through all the crates of vinyl that Rough Trade had brought to the event, set up in the Jazz Lounge. The second-hand section was excellent and well-priced. No Discogs gouging here. I left with the Pat Metheny Group live album Travels on ECM, Freddie Hubbard's Polar AC on CTI (any AC was welcome), and Willie Bobo's Hell Of An Act To Follow (appropriate for the event). The new releases organised by day and the artist performing were a neat touch.

The plan was to see Courtney Pine in the afternoon, then head home. But our energy levels were falling. We did see '80s legends Loose Ends play in the South Downs tent, who were tight, emotional, and managed to re-create the sound and vibe of their heyday immaculately. This was one for the ageing soul boys and girls, who would have been spoiled again if they stayed to hear Maze on Sunday. We made the decision to cut and run, and I'm still a little annoyed as clips from Pine's set online looked intense and powerful. I've consoled myself by purchasing his retrospective album, Out Of The Ghetto: A Modern-Day Jazz Story. An essential double-disc. At the time of original release, most of his music passed me by as my focus was elsewhere, so this has been a revelation. In places it is deep and spiritual, exactly what moves me today.

The rest of the weekend promised delights from Esperanza Spalding, Samara Joy, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, The Temptations, De La Soul, Light Of The World... quite a line-up, some real heavy hitters spaced out strategically by the organisers. One day / night was really not enough, but all we could do this time.

So, would I go again? Oh yes, without a doubt. There's absolutely no need to be a jazz snob here; there were so many incredible acts to enjoy. But I would plan ahead, stay off-site, arrive early at the stages to bag good spots. Jazz may be free and spontaneous, but sometimes it pays to be a little more organised. Hard for those who indulge in improvisation, but well worth the effort.