51st State captured the same spirit as the much-loved, and now departed, Southport Weekender.
He Said: "Last year 51st State was a stage at Found's Ceremony Festival with Inner City live plus DJ sets from Todd Terry, Grant Nelson, DJ Sneak, Kevin Saunderson and Roy Davis Jr. providing an 'exploration of transatlantic sounds'. For this full-scale, six-stage festival, the main stage brought back DJ Sneak and Todd Terry while adding Derrick Carter, Dennis Ferrer and headliner Masters at Work for a solid education in house from legends of the scene. Live vocalists such as Josh Milan, Pauline Henry and Barbara Tucker peppered line-ups in the Groove Odyssey, Back to 95 and We Love Soul arenas among veterns including Tony Humphries, Paul Trouble Anderson, Joey Negro and Matt Jam Lamont. Away from the 4/4 the Hot Wuk line-up included Congo Natty and The Heatwave for Caribbean vibes while VIPs got the Futuredisco treatment, adding up to a festival that was very much in the mould of the longstanding Southport Weekender which held its 52nd and final festival in May - leaving a 28 year legacy.
"The appetite for the soulful sounds was large in London - 51st State sold out weeks in advance - and walking to Trent Park from Cockfosters underground station on a sunny Saturday there was an air of eagerness to get in and enjoy the music. Unfortunately it seemed everyone decided to arrive a few hours into the festval and we'd find ourselves stuck in a queuing system that was poorly organised and woefully short on lanes to get people in with many complaining of more than an hour of waiting to get inside. The organisers responded by upping the entry lanes, but Found will need to ensure this kind of queue doesn't happened again.
"Despite the long wait, inside there was a n excellent atmosphere. DJ Sneak was on the main stage having stepped in to fill Derrick Carter's slot (Carter missed his flight but would take Sneak's later on), Norman Jay was causing a road block in the We Love Soul arena and Spoony & Mikee B were dishing up garage in Back to 95. The site was long and thin creating a kind of festival high street down the centre with stages, stalls, bars and toilets to your left and right as your walked down it. We decided to head to the far end for Todd Terry who was pulling out all the house classics for a late afternoon singalong. After Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman", "Keep on Jumpin'", "Something Going On (In Your Soul), "Big Fun" and "You Don't Even Know Me" brought the smiles out and help provide our fill of the classics for the day.
"Next we opted to head to the tiny, open walled Future Disco VIP stage - or canopy - where we thought we'd have a quick look at Horse Meat Disco's set, but ended up glued to their fun-filled set of vocal-led disco - it was very much disco, disco, disco and with the low sun beating into the heart of the dancefloor, we couldn't tear ourselves away as one of the original voices of house music, Robert Owens, took over for a live/DJ set. Always ready to pick up the waiting microphone for an improptu few lyrics, Owens set took in house, disco and techno in two hours of excellence from a man who looked liked he was enjoying every minute of entertaining the small, but appreciative, crowd in front of him - and his audience responded by getting within touching distance of, for many of them, a hero of the scene.
"Following that up was hard, but we managed to get to the Back to 95 tent for Julie McKnight's live performance of Kings of Tomorrow's "Finally" to a deliriously happy set of fans before taking in Kenny Dope and Louie Vega, aka Masters at Work, for the closing set on the main stage. As a duo who pioneered the house sound with a prolific release schedule in the 1990s, it was fitting they got to have the final say, and there was a surprise appearance by Barbara Tucker to sing "Deep Inside" by Louie Vega as Harddrive to complete the day. On the tube home, a reveller who had been to Southport Weekender for 20 years said he had loved every minute because Found captured the same spirit. Coming from a Southport veteran, that is high praise indeed."
51st State was unique for an electronic music festival in that it gave the stage to the vocalists of many classics.
She Said: "Sun beaming down and the intrigue of a brand new festival embracing the finest fusion of East Coast, UK and Caribbean house music in a new setting meant 51st State had a lot going for it before things had even started. Emerging from the woodland walkway the crowds were streaming down, we were struck by an enormous single file queue snaking around the park. No clear sign posting meant many ended up in the wrong queues, but the mood was fairly amicable, people taking it as part of the test-run experience.
"DJ Sneak was making way for Todd Terry as we took our place in the crowd, the main stage area already well attended by a diverse range of revelers of all ages. Todd Terry stayed true to the style that gained him much of his success in the UK in the 90s; expertly mixing to produce a sound that gave technical house commercial accessibility. The adoring crowd cheered and swayed to classics including Stardust "Music Sounds Better With You" and Kings of Tomorrow "Finally", with some serious heavier, harder interludes and backing reminding everyone how well his sound had aged.
"Never having seen a dull set played by the legend that is Robert Owens, we made punctually for the VIP stage presented by Future Disco. The Caribbean theme was prevalent here with palm trees, parasols and tent pegs adorned with zebra print setting a welcoming scene. Robert Owens dropped punchy house, personalizing most tracks with his own haunting vocals, his array of dance moves fully expressing how playing house to his crowds is as much of a pleasure for him as it was for the animated crowd. As ever, I was incredulous at his ability to literally “drop” one track after another with little or no build up. He has such an acute sense of every single beat he simply does not need to spend time mixing. He did cunningly play around with beautiful female vocals over a simple beat to build up to one of the best shock-drops I’ve heard this year: Thelma Houston "Don’t Leave Me This Way", to which Robert lent his vocals. Amazing.
"51st State was unique for an electronic music festival in that it gave the stage to the vocalists of many classics. We enjoyed Julie McKnight showcasing her tremendous voice to the crowd who all were attempting to give their own input. Masters at Work closed, the lighting working marvellously to accompany their warm, soulful opening, made even better by our enjoying it from the foot of a big leafy tree. They soon progressed into a more up-tempo sound that rounded off perfectly with a bang that was received with a huge cheer and a beaming crowd."
She Said by Ann McManus. Images by Marc Sethi. Republished 07/07/2026.