Dave should be lauded as a national treasure; a calming, tenacious force in the budding UK rap scene, heâs evolved with it to become one of its most beloved and talented stars. He is at once radically truthful about the state of the nation, but equally able to let loose and have a good time. And at this yearâs Reading Festival, heâs âso happyâ to be the youngest-ever solo headliner, aged just 24. Who wouldnât be after releasing his mesmerising second album, âWeâre All Alone In This Togetherâ earlier this year to rave reviews, and countless chart hits? The Streatham native relishes the chance to air these cuts in a festival headline set as momentous as this one.
His show rises to the occasion: Dave opens to the sombre âWeâre All Aloneâ, accompanied by a live band and a twisted metal cage to resemble a broken heart. Whilst the live band is dressed in black and even the screen visuals are in black and white, Dave pops out in a colourful denim two-piece; a stark contrast. Throughout, he calls upon a strings quartet to up the drama. He’s musical talent is no secret, too, and less than ten minutes into his set heâs on the keys, solo, crafting a beautiful melody to end his first track.
But thereâs lots more to come. âI wanna take you guys on a journey,â Dave says before a medley of grandiose live renditions of his early viral tracks like 2017’s âSamanthaâ and the Drake co-signed âWanna Knowâ. Itâs all because âthereâs so many people here, I feel like itâs only right to go back to the very startâ. This fun section ends with Daveâs first Top 40 hit, âNo Wordsâ from 2017 EP ‘Game Over’, and the crowd roar the chorus back to him.
Speaking of throwback Dave tracks and, after being teased by the crowd chanting âOh, Thiago Silvaâ to the tune of ‘Seven Nation Army’, the earthy 808s and zippy synths of his popular grime track âThiago Silvaâ lands with aplomb. His longtime friend and collaborator on the track, Ladbroke Groveâs AJ Tracey pops out to perform with him before his set on the main stage later this weekend.
Weâre plunged into darkness for the reciting of âHeart Attackâ; a track where the south Londoner reflects on the Britain that we live in today. Later in his set, he punctuates this sentiment by, what he calls, simply, âplaying the piano whilst he talksâ. There he calls out the UK government: âThe people who are running this country arenât fundamentally good people⊠I pray that the next generation can do betterâ.
For the penultimate track, âClashâ, Dave goes for it, making you think rap juggernaut Stormzy wouldnât come out to do his verse. But halfway through, the Croydon rapper does so with comical white heart-shaped sunglasses on, jogging all over the stage. The pair pulled this trick during Stormzyâs Reading headline show last summer, but this time feels cheekier with Stormzy’s energy and the crowd screaming âDonât die for nyashâ unanimously.
As the crowd walk away thinking thatâs it, Dave calls us out: âHold on, you might have to hold your places as we have one more thing to doâ. That thing is âStarlightâ; his first UK Number One. As the wheezy sampled track fills the air, the crowd rap along knowing this is Daveâs farewell, and is a star at the pinnacle of the career. With such gratitude, Dave smiles big showing us his sliver-capped teeth, as he thanks us for coming to his history-making set. The stillness of his set makes it a special one to round out an otherwise rowdy first day.
Dave played:
‘We’re All Alone’
‘Professor X’
‘Funky Friday’
‘Wanna Know’
‘No Words’
‘Heart Attack’
‘Thiago Silva’
’18HUNNA’
‘System’
‘Location’
‘Twenty to One’
‘Both Sides of a Smile’
‘Clash’
‘Starlight’
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