For One Night Only!: Craig David curates his dream gig for DIY's back page • Interview • DIY Magazine

Each month, we ask a different Very Special Guest Star to curate their dream gig for our latest print magazine - and for our November 2024 issue, we welcomed R&B stalwart and all-round smooth operator Craig David to DIY’s hallowed back page.

Venue: Ibiza Rocks

It’s a venue I’m very familiar with: we’ve got the pool, the stage area, the dance floor area and all the balconies which always gives me the feeling of being in the Coliseum. This will be the seventh year of my TS5 residency there and over the years the stage has moved, but when it’s most exciting was when it was at the centre of the venue. The centre circle is all LED screens so you can be inside or come out and do your thing when you need to, and it’s moving around so you’re doing a 360. One side of the DJ booth sits in the pool; it’s shallow enough you can stand in the water. The cables are far away! And the soundsystem is one like when you go to Notting Hill Carnival and the bass - ooh! It shouldn’t be allowed! The venue is all magentas and pinks and greens so you walk in and it’s like you’ve walked into Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Day Party: TS5 presents the R&B‑Dance Extravaganza

I wanted to make something that could actually happen - everyone is alive and kicking and VIBING. We’ve got DJ EZ playing the right tunes; my boy James Hype who’s gonna come in and give you the theatrics; Joe LaBelle is able to do the true art of live mixing where you’re able to create a new song, and then we’ve got DJ Majestic and this really cool collective called The Vibe Room. I wanna create the feeling where it’s not bougie or VIP and the experience feels like you’re at a house party. It’s for the people.

Evening bill: Alicia Keys and many more!

Now we go into the evening, and the stage has transformed. The middle section has elevated out so artists can come up through the middle. PinkPantheress is gonna set the tone and give people the vibes with the nu garage flow. Then we have Ms Dynamite; we met up recently through a good friend Toddla T and we had a great chat. Then BAM! Out come FLO with some really powerful UK R&B female vocals. We’re amping it up but we’ve still got more to give you! Here’s Jorja Smith! We did a remix together recently. There’s no real headliner because I just want it to be about everyone together with no elitism or red ropes, but then we have Muni Long! And now Tyla! And we lock the whole thing in and up comes Alicia Keys with ‘Fallin’’ and everyone goes crazy.

What are you drinking?

The whole USP is free drinks and free food so then you can go to the bar whenever. It’s BYOB houseparty vibes but you don’t even have to bring your own bottle. My personal favourite is tequila shots but I like to have them with a pineapple chaser; that’s the Craig David shot.

Who are you going with?

A lot of it depends on how many Craig David shots I’ve had, but if I’m relaxed I might jump up on stage and do a little something. But I just wanna be in awe of all the people playing and vibing, so I don’t need a whole crew.

Is there an afterparty?

There’s a shuttle service to a place called Pikes in Ibiza which is quite iconic and very rock’n’roll. Freddie Mercury used to go there. There’s little drinks and food on the bus and then at Pikes it’s a nice vibe and a wind down.

Any additional requests?

When you leave the venue you’ll go away with a care package that includes a link to listen back to the whole event; a little miniature bottle of tequila and mini pineapple; a big old Marvellous Creations Dairy Milk chocolate bar because you need chocolate at these times, and then for when the sun rises the next day you’ve got some sun lotion, eye mask and a spa treatment voucher. When you’re hanging a bit, you can just think, ‘What a nice thing for them to do!’

Craig David’s ‘Commitment’ arena tour begins in February 2025.

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