NASS 2013 Review
The MixUp arrive on day two of NASS 2013 when the music kicked off and the action sports really hit off. The weather was FANTASTIC and the grounds were full of people basking in the warmth and relaxed vibe of this awesome festival.
Throughout the day the Pro Park saw Skateboard, Inline and BMX athletes battling it out for a coveted spot in Saturday’s finals. The park saw athletes from all over the world as well as the top competitors from all over Britain perform and set the standards for the following day.
In the outside area of the festival site Street Artists worked on stationed cars and walls were adorned with their versatile illustrations and digital art techniques for festival-goers to take in whilst enjoying the glorious weather. This live art spectacle ran throughout the duration of the festival and drew a huge crowd from start to completion. The MixUp had a chance to catch up with the genius likes of Bristol based graffiti wizards SP Zero and Loch Ness and psychedelic street artist Dom Williams.
Dom Williams, Loch Ness and Sp Zero76
Next to the streets art was the setting for the FMX performers. These guys wowed the crowds with 3 shows on each day, jam-packed with backflips, no handers and other tricks barely comprehendible to most. The crowds pooled from all of the festival to see this grand spectacle and watched in awe at their guts and skill.
After the action sports events died down the music scene lit up the Nass grounds. The Main Stage saw an electric mix of some of the biggest names in contemporary music entertain a packed, high energy crowd. Performers on the Main Stage included Watsky, We Are The Ocean and Hadouken! But the highlight of the acts to see the Main Stage on Friday was chart topping dance floor siren Katy B. The crowd eagerly danced and sang along to her chart hitting tracks as the sun began to set.
Once the sun had gone down the D&B Arena and Get Darker Vs This Is Dubstep stages erupted and saw bassline ravers hit the ceiling. RAM Records took over the D&B Arena gifting the crowd with the likes of Wlikinson, Claxy & TeeBee and of course, the infamous Andy C. His timeless tunes had the crowds going wild until the early hours of 3am. Over at the dubstep area Digital Soundboy was taking over with the likes of Radio1’s B.Traits and the renowned Shy FX.
Andy C & GQ
Day three of NASS 2013 concluded the weekend with outstanding musical performances and some of the most exciting action sports NASS has ever seen.
The finals drew in huge crowds to watch the althetes perform for the chance to win huge prizes and the title of current World No.1. The bladers were up early and out in force this morning to take the street course by storm with really strong Inline Pro Final performances. French powerhouse Roman Abrate ended up taking 1st place. The MixUp caught this champion leaving with his winnings and seeing the huge grin on his face congratulated him on his achievements. He told us that he hopes to use his £1,500 winnings to build his own ramp in a wood in France which he hopes will encourage others over there to take part in Inline. Currently he said the French only recognise Skateboarding and BMX but hopefully his win over here in the UK will start to change this.
Roman Abrate – Inline winner
The Skateboarding saw Danny Leon from Madrid, Spain takes top spot at the NASS 2013 World Cup Skateboard comp winning 5,250 GBP! He was nearly flawless as he produced technical tricks all over the course during the 15 minute Final jam.
The BMX finals saw an incredibly strong foreign contention making the trip over to NASS with a full on battle for the podium places between 3Australians. In the end Ozzie Logan Martin took the top spot are being the only rider doing down whip flair.
The Main Stage saw Hip-Hop’s most celebrated lyricist Nas delight the crowds with a headline set that drew on his iconic back catalogue and showcased his verbal dexterity. Zane Lowe cemented his position at the forefront of new music with a song selection that married contemporary sounds with old school favourites and drove the crowd wild. UK Grime star Skepta’s traditional high energy show was another highlight blowing the Main Stage roof.
The D&B Arena played host to dance music royalty DJ Marky and Hazard until the early hours of Sunday morning. Banger after banger saw the packed arena rocking like never before. Earlier in the evening the stage had been set as BBC stalwart Crissy Criss who whipped the stage into a frenzy. The Get Darker Vs This Is Dubstep arena was curated by Dubstep pioneer Benga. His progressive set was one of the moments of the weekend, and showed just why he remains one of the most respected figureheads in the game. Benga’s star turn was ably supported by longstanding favourites such as Roska, Jakwob and the irrepressible P Money.
