Quite surprisingly, the first thing you hear at Boa Nova Festival is bass. Heavy, squelchy, acid-tinged baile funk, pumping out of a stretch tent positioned immediately on the right as you queue for entry and walk in. It sets the tone before you've found your bearings, and watching people's faces as they pass it for the first time is one of the small pleasures of the afternoon.

That stage, created in partnership with Baile Funk Culture, is where the day really comes alive. Mango & Ginger start things early, before a selection of DJs shifts through a range of propulsive rhythms in the beaming sun. There's a brief detour into drum and bass and garage earlier in the day, that splits opinion, and feels slightly displaced from everything else going on around it.

The main stage, however, operates slightly differently. Where the tent pulls you into the floor, the main stage builds slowly. A Música De Tim Maia are the highlight here, bringing a dramatic, rhythmic energy that moves between jazz, samba, and theatre. Progressive, attentive, and building, the set is driven by deliberate dynamics. 

Across the crowd, large fans wave flags, football shirts, and traditional dress. In spirit of the approaching football World Cup, Brazil are playing on a screen in the background of the main stage at one point, which creates a nice community feel.

One of the things that makes a day like this feel different from a themed night in a basement is exactly what London does well when it does it properly. Events run by communities, for communities, with everyone else (such as ourselves) invited in. Boa Nova is a festival put together by people who have been running sold-out Brazilian nights at the Jazz Cafe for years.