Last night was the opening party to Tinie Tempah’s hit Ushuaïa residency, Disturbing Ibiza. Offering something a little different on the club circuit, the Friday night takeover will showcase some of the biggest names in r&b, hip-hop, garage and grime, plus headline performances from the man himself. Inspired by Tinie’s record and fashion label, Disturbing London, the Ushuaïa event debuted last year to resounding success. This year, it’s back every Friday for a whopping 15 weeks, and last night set the bar for it to be one of the biggest parties on the island.

It’s often a case of all play, no work here on the island – but that didn’t stop partygoers having the Friday feeling at Disturbing Ibiza. Ushuaïa truly encapsulated summer vibes yesterday – perhaps even more so than normal. The sun was shining, the crowd was mellow, nobody was particularly dressed up and everyone was dancing. Even at the front towards the main stage there was room to breathe, and room to dance and move around. The mood was upbeat – helped by the fact that a lot of the earlier DJs were playing well-known songs, classic R&B and hip-hop from the 90s and 00s which people were singing along to. If you ignored the spectacularly over the top surroundings of Ushuaïa’s beach hotel, pool and massive main stage, you could almost be at a festival.

And just to add to the summer, festival feel a little bit more, these DJs really know something about engaging a crowd. As Tinie Tempah arrived in the late hours of the afternoon he was followed by a camera that was projected onto the main stage and the crowd were getting hyped for it. Later on, he fleetingly walked through the crowd carrying champagne, something else that was caught on the big screen and had fans keenly anticipating his performance. Another early highlight was Charlie Sloth getting the crowd to sing Wonderwall – particularly poignant in the wake of the recent Manchester attack, and consequent One Love concert. From that point forward, the crowd felt united and harmonious, and you just knew it was going to be a night to remember.

The lineup last night was pretty impressive – Sammy Porter, Charlie Sloth, DJ Craze, Jazzy Jeff, DJ EZ and DJ Charlsey playing alongside Tinie – and the way they worked the crowd even more so. By the time the sun was setting, the intensity had began to build amongst partygoers – the crowd was packed more tightly and you could sense the anticipation in the air. When DJ EZ came on at around 10pm, it was to raucous cheers. During his hour long set as night fell, fans were well and truly in the party spirit – with him whipping them even further into a frenzy for the long awaited Tinie Tempah set.

At 11pm, fans could be heard chanting ‘Tinie, Tinie!’ When he did arrive on stage, you certainly knew about it – Ushuaïa’s famous lights, pyrotechnics and fireworks were out in spectacular force; crowds were singing every word to his famous songs and listening, enraptured, during his freestyle. Ushuaïa, Tinie Tempah and Disturbing Ibiza definitely know how to put in a show. But even in the now-madness of the crowd, the mood was upbeat and mellow, just like a proper summer dance party should be.

There are 14 more Disturbing Ibiza Fridays, and Tinie is bringing along some really exciting guests over the coming weeks. For tans looking for light-hearted, feel-good festival vibes on the island, this could be just the ticket.

Booking & information:
w: www.ushuaiaibiza.com