Roots Manuva

Having seen the homegrown UK hiphopper that is Roots Manuva rock the crowd once already this year on his March UK tour, I was eager to see what Rodney Smith & Co. would deliver at this year’s We Love... Homelands festival. Roots Manuva’s last visit to the Matterley Bowl Estate was in the Drum n Bass arena during 2002, a set that was dogged by technical issues and eventually abandoned all together, so perhaps Roots Manuva (backed by a 7-piece live band) felt he had something to prove in 2005.

The band kicked off the show with a funky instrumental intro before Roots Manuva himself walked onto the stage amidst much applause from the waiting audience. Launching straight into Too Cold, the grimey star got the large crowd bopping to tracks from recent album, Colossal Insight. The live band funked as hard as they could, while the newly-added female backing singer brought extra soul to the performance.



Radio 1 favourite, Colossal Insight, went down extremely well with the dancing throngs, but it was the old favourites that really made this performance. Returning to his Mercury Music Prize nominated second album, Run Come Save Me, Roots Manuva ended his set with triumphant renditions of Witness The Fitness and Dreamy Days, as the crowd sang along and threw hands in the air.

Latest Updates