Last day at NorthSide with glitter, pearls and an audience with attitude

It's as if fatigue has settled like an extra layer over the entire festival site this Saturday. Not only in the legs of the guests – but also in the mud, which after three days of rain and trampling now covers most of the ground. The sky is heavy, it's drizzling, and the air feels more like September than June.

But NorthSide isn't finished. Not yet.

Because even though the square seems a bit dull at 15pm on the last day of the festival, the audience slowly trickles in. And amidst the somewhat grey landscape, the colors still pop up in pearl plates, flower garlands – and in the form of strong opinions.

An audience that listens – and takes a stand

During the concert with the Danish/Turkish/Kurdish trio AySay in the Nova tent, it becomes clear that music can also be a form of protest. The group themselves had doubts about whether they would even play at NorthSide this year due to the American private equity fund KKR, which now owns a large part of the festival. The fund is involved in investments around the arms industry in Israel.

But AySay chose to take the stage – and use it.

“We are playing today because we have something to say. It is not appropriate for Danish festivals for the owners to support Israel,” the band said from the stage. Shortly afterwards, a large banner was unfurled – “Blood money out of the music industry.” After which lead singer Luna Ersahin sang a Palestinian folk song.

Creative concentration and tote bags in the rain

NorthSide is also something other than concerts and cold draft beers. It's the quiet moments and the creative breaks amidst the noise. In the embroidery tent, summer hats were embroidered and beaded bracelets were sewn, while the conversation flowed and the hands worked concentratedly.

Next to it you could decorate your own tote bag and people did. Despite a little mud under their boots and grey clouds over the square, the guests sat with focus and colours in their hands. Some in raincoats, others with braided flowers in their hair. It all went at its own pace. And that was part of the charm.

Glitter Wrestling and girl power in Sideshow

The Sideshow tent has high ceilings, and so should Glitter Wrestling. It's not about knockouts, but about knocking your opponent out, while the audience cheers loudly and glitter is thrown at the participants.

Friends Emma and May competed against each other and May came out on top. They had seen the show last year and decided to join right there. “We practiced once on the carpet in the living room,” May said, still out of breath.

"It's been a bit of a dream since last year, and for a year we've been telling each other that we should do it. We were about to regret it this morning, we have stage fright, but the atmosphere was so cool, and we were really welcomed," Emma said.

Denzel Curry and full-body bass

The Nova tent was later visited by Denzel Curry, and it was like lighting a match in a pool of gasoline. He was everywhere. The audience was jumping, sweating, and screaming along. It was one of those concerts where you forget about the mud. Where you're just in it.

When you feel out of place

However, not everyone had easy access to the experiences. A wheelchair user I met before the Denzel Curry concert told me how the disabled platform at the Astra stage this year had been moved all the way to the side.

“You feel less included when you are placed on the edge,” she said. And in the Nova tent? There was no ramp at all.

“Luckily I have a good friend who pushes me,” she said with a laugh and a twinkle in her eye, but the point was clear enough. There is still work to be done when it comes to inclusion at festivals.

When the festival atmosphere gets a little dull

It's Saturday. Last day. And you can feel it. Some have gotten a little too drunk and are stuck in their own worlds. Others just seem tired and the parties from Thursday and Friday have taken their toll. The atmosphere is more dull than magical.

It wasn't the sunny finale that some had hoped for. But mud and half-tired smiles are also a kind of ending. And who knows – maybe the most memorable moments are hidden where you least expect them.