Lovebox 2018: Childish Gambino and Pharrell Williams steal show as they denounce coinciding Trump visit

As Donald Trump's controversial visit to the UK became the focal point of press and politics last week, a leafy park on the western fringes of London hosted the perfect antidote - with another Donald (Glover) stealing the show.

Love Box lived up to its name as impassioned musicians - many of them American - confronted a sea of festival goers in what became a sunlit two days of what crowd-pleaser Pharrell Williams called "resistance" in the face of "divisions".

Many were sceptical as to whether the festival would live up to previous years after it was shafted from its usual Hackney location to Gunnersbury Park in Acton, but the grime, hip-hop and R&B line-up drew in a throng of energised music lovers.

Overpriced bag storage - at a costly £20 - was a cause of annoyance to a lot of festival-goers on entrance, and the absence of Tequila didn't go down well, but good beer and and strong sunshine meant this didn't dampen spirits too much.

Friday saw an overwhelmingly young crowd pack into one of the tents to see South London rapper Dave showcase his intellectual and infectious flow. It was a little bit fragmented with the sudden transition from hype songs to slower tracks but people seemed to lap it up as he politely asked them to make moshpits.

Headliner Skepta’s set was the day’s highlight. He didn't pull anything new out of the bag but kept energy levels up throughout as he smashed through tracks from his Mercury Prize-winning album "Konnichiwa", with the occasional pyro display lighting up the stage and keeping the crowds on their toes.

On Saturday, Trump’s coinciding visit to Britain didn't go unnoticed. American R&B singer SZA arrived half an hour late for her forty-minute set, apparently after getting caught up in the protests in central London, meaning her performance ended abruptly after just four songs.

Performing in his capacity as frontman of N.E.R.D, Pharrell Williams urged UK fans to resist the rising tide of right-wing politics, bellowing: “I understand you had an unwanted visitor this week.”

“We stand for the resistance,” he continued, prompting loud cheers from all sides of the crowd. “They came to your country because they want to divide you but we don't believe in that. We believe in inclusivity.”

The star's discernible swipes at the US President accompanied a selection of the group's biggest hits which got the sea of spectators jumping and whooping beneath the restless evening sun - the chorus to "She Wants To Move" provoking an energy even the anti-Trump protests couldn't match up to.

But no act created an excitement quite like Saturday's headliner. Closing the festival, US rapper Childish Gambino stole the show with a passion and vigour that brought old and young together in wonder as he performed songs such as "Sober" and "Riot" with electric raw energy.

Making reference to the protests in central London the day before, the 34-year-old told the crowd he was "very proud to see that big balloon" and, making no effort to hide his political leanings, told them: "You gotta fight for that shit," before aptly throwing himself into "This is America".

Safe to say, Love Box 2018 did what it says on the tin - it created a capsule of musical love and passion at a time when hostility and divisions appear to dominate in the wider world.