On Saturday afternoon, while zigzagging across the Waterworks Festival site, a series of songs of the summer, with accompanying whoops from the crowd, could be heard blaring across the park from the Orbit stage. Jorja Smith's "Little Things," MCR-T & horsegiirL's "My Barn My Rules," Darius Syrossian & George Smeddles' "Back In The Dance"—SASS, AKA Saoirse, Shanti Celeste, Peach and Moxie, were taking the dance floor on a jubilant four-and-a-half-hour trip, seeing out the end of the summer in style.

For many, Waterworks is the final hurrah of festival season, with programming that draws from the breadth of London's dance music communities. But last weekend's third edition had a different energy, the kind usually only found in June or July, when the weather is peaking and September is only a spectre on the horizon. Saturday was extremely warm, which lent the one-day festival a crazed buzz, evident in the colourful, unbridled get-ups and the fervour with which the crowd embraced the day, necking drinks, bear-hugging mates and bouncing around.

This year's edition saw several subtle yet effective changes that elevated the festival's stage design and production. Take Commune, a tent nestled in the north-eastern corner, where the booth had been shifted to the back, making the dance floor easier to navigate. During THC's joyful afternoon set, inky psychedelic visuals floated overhead. Cedar had been moved further into the canopy of surrounding cedar trees, while over at Pressure, a towering structure with impressive lighting built from blue and red wooden slats, the platforms and shipping containers that framed the stage in 2022 were no more, leaving a more open dance floor that never felt too busy.

The festival as a whole felt roomier this year, despite the capacity increasing from 2022. The energy was on point all day. The sun shone, the vibes were high and there was always space to dance. One of many standout moments happened at Resident Advisor's SIREN stage, when Skream played a surprise dubstep set alongside SGT Pokes, whisking the crowd back to the late '00s with anthems like Benga & Coki's "Night" and La Roux's "In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix)." When the latter dropped, phone torches lit up the leafy dance floor as someone in the crowd grinned: "He never plays this out anymore!"

Here are five key performances from Waterworks Festival 2023.

Team Woibey (Ell Murphy, FAE, Mixtress, ohmydais)

How would you open a stage at Waterworks? Ambient? Downtempo? Maybe some amapiano? Not Team Woibey. With only minutes on the clock, the UK quartet—AKA Mixtress, Ell Murphy, ohmydais and FAE—were already slamming down dark, ravey tunes. Come 12:30 PM, the BPM counter was hovering around 135. Their audience, small but steadily growing and clearly split between sun and shade seekers, cut their first shapes of the day, encouraged by Pressure's booming system. Going two for two and obviously having a whale of a time, the DJs smashed together UK garage, trance, hip-house, Leggoh's smutty gem "I Chant, You Vogue" and, towards the end, Kodat's rowdy remix of Snap's "The Power." By the time Mixtress slowed their final track to silence, giving way to reams of applause, the crowd was ten times bigger than when they started. Job done.

Marie Montexier

Maybe because of the promise of roomy shade, Commune was nicely busy come mid-afternoon. The other factor, of course, was Marie Montexier, who is enjoying a sensational breakthrough year. Mixing impeccably on vinyl, she eased through varying shades of weighty, super-rhythmic house, her bobbing head framed by a wall of plants. A version of Childish Gambino's "This Is America" went off, as did the still-potent punch of Pearson Sound's remix of "Xtasis" by Nick León featuring DJ Babatr. Down at the front, legendary local raver Michael Peacock jerked feverishly along in a skimpy rainbow number, pausing only to wipe the sweat from his brow and take long chugs on a vape.

Charisse C

With Vigro Deep a no-show, it was left to Charisse C to represent London's flourishing amapiano scene. The latter followed DJ Holographic at Water Tower, who signed off with big slabs of classic house. How would the Water Tower crowd react to such a steep drop in tempo? Barely anyone moved. If anything, the throng swelled, topless ravers lured in by the change of pace and heady alchemy of sunshine and log drums. After funky cuts like Vigro Deep's "Soundcheck" and fun edits of Daft Punk and Sugababes, the set peaked with the cartoonish melody of Madonna's "Hung Up." From the cylindrical booth, Charisse C conducted the singalong. Not long after, as she exited stage right, she squeezed past former Manchester United footballer Patrice Evra, who had somehow snaked through the crowd without incident to get a prime spot for the next act: salute back-to-back Yung Singh.

Nick León

RA's Breaking Through star Nick León took to the decks at Hi-Hat at 6 PM. Of all the festival's production adjustments, Hi-Hat's had the biggest impact. The tipi-style tent was bigger this year and open on all sides, with higher ceilings and the booth moved into the middle. Below the tent's two peaks were white discs that looked like giant Lego pieces lit up in bright colours. The sound was punchy and clear, the ideal system for León's adventure through fast, percussive club sounds from across the Latin American diaspora. Out of the sun, the air in the tent was heavy as people danced hard and fanned themselves, the BPM seldom dropping below 140. As León opted for tracks like his own remix of Matias Aguayo's "El Camarón" and Dinamarca's 2017 take on the '00s trance classic "Resurrection," some couples folded their bodies into each other as they moved.

Eris Drew back-to-back Angel D'lite

The centre of Orbit, which, as the name suggests, has a circular dance floor, had also been revamped. Last year's draped ceiling had been replaced with an LED light display and a mirror ball that sparkled in the middle like the eye of the disco solar system. In a rare back-to-back, Eris Drew and Angel D'lite played the closing set. Their taste for hi-NRG and rave cuts is emblematic of a pocket of some of London's most welcoming parties, including Drew's own Temple of Dreams. The back-to-back was everything the pair do best: pure, bubbly dance floor elation, including tracks like Strike's classic "U Sure Do" and Chupher's "Systems Pumping (Saints & Sinners Mix)." Behind the booth the trees glowed pink and purple, while plumes of smoke intermittently filled the dance floor.

The set was due to finish at 10:30 PM, but with around 30 minutes still to go, the sound cut and the stage went dark. Drew and Angel D'lite wore similar expressions to the confused-looking crowd, who began to disperse, wondering whether to head to another set or make an early exit. The dancers who stuck around made the right choice, as about five minutes later, the stage burst back to life and people rushed gratefully back to their spot. One of the first tracks after the silent intermission was dazzling '90s house, bright and peppered with rave stabs. They slowed the record right down for a moment before ramping it back up, accelerating towards the finish line, destination cloud nine.

Additional words by Katie Thomas