Isle of Wight Festival: Day Three with David Gray, The Kooks, The Cure and more

After a remarkably warm weekend of multi-genre, multi-generational entertainment and both fresh and familiar music, Sunday, the summer solstice, marks the final day of Isle of Wight Festival, culminating in a headline set by industry titans The Cure. A crowd in need of a refresher following Saturday night’s Calvin Harris and Sex Pistols, the pace is noticeably slower as it wakes up to the hottest day of the weekend and longest day of the year.

It’s a good moment to explore other smaller stages across Seaclose Park. The This Feeling stage is a perfect place to spot up-and-coming talent, such as new indie rock band The Harbours with catchy bop-along tracks like So Sweet and bucket hat giveaway for dads on Father’s Day; it’s the best kind of warm-up for The Kooks, who will later take to the Main Stage. Over on the River Stage, Scottish indie-rock band Lucia and The Best Boys wow with an exciting, dramatic set and songs like Wolf Cry reminiscent of an early Florence and the Machine. Ahead of The Last Dinner Party’s Main Stage set, lead singer Abigail Morris also joins the band on-stage for a guest appearance on their collaboration Big Romance; it’s little surprises like this that add an extra bit of magic to the festival. Another highlight of the River Stage is sibling rock duo The Molotovs, who provide some raw teenage punk energy audiences probably haven’t seen in a while, high-octane head-banging and all. The guitar prowess is unbelievably polished and stage presence magnetic…it’s clear this band will be playing many more stages in years to come.

Over on the Main Stage, it’s time for some established names to take the spotlight. From David Gray to the Kooks, there’s no shortage of sing-alongs, and it feels like just the relaxed vibe needed for a Sunday. Gray delights the crowd with fan favourites, opening with Babylon and closing with an apt island-inspired Sail Away. He jokes about getting “ready to party like it’s 1999” and incidental “f*** ups” during the introduction of Please Forgive Me – it’s an entertaining character break, no forgiveness required. The Kooks deliver another reliably crowd-pleasing set, with nostalgic nods of Seaside, She Moves in Her Own Way and naturally a finale of Naive. However, one of the more poignant moments belongs to See Me Now, a letter to frontman Luke Pritchard’s father, who passed away at an early age. Sandwiched in between both acts is The Last Dinner Party, understatedly electric and twirling with indie-goth and almost operatic flair and a dash of choreography.

Finally, it’s time for eagerly-awaited The Cure to grace the stage. Suitably in line with the summer solstice, it’s the longest set, spanning over two hours and a whopping 27 tracks as they journey through their career of nearly half a century. Unbelievably, frontman Robert Smith only needs a two-minute break in the entire duration. Unbelievably again, The Cure have never actually played Isle of Wight Festival before today. As one of Britain’s longest-standing active bands, they put on a masterclass, with hits like Pictures of You and Lovesong positioned earlier to set the scene, dipping into a mid-tempo middle before launching back into peppy, euphoric Just Like Heaven and atmospheric The Forest. Every member is in fine form, particularly original member Smith, who paces the stage with red lipstick and casual cool. It’s not a setlist, but an experience. Remarkably, the songs just keep coming and coming until the familiar rings of Friday I’m in Love, Close to Me and unbeatable finale Boys Don’t Cry. It’s timeless and mesmerising in equal measure.