And the good energy was not just a result of a gig-deprived world. It's in the name and it's what brings people back year after year.
Stan Walker, Tauranga Moana himself, knew the presence and gave more than his heart in his performance as one of the main acts on the first day.
While singing the classics, even hailing to Little Black Box, his iconic number following Australian idol, he decided to belt bars better than anyone could admit mid-performance.
Image 1 of 12: One Love Festival, Wharepai Domain, Tauranga. 07 February 2021 The Bay of Plenty Times Photograph by Andrew Warner.
Walker's performance of Aotearoa also gave the crowd more than they anticipated on Waitangi Day.
A supporting chorus accompanied by extraordinary musicians supplied the crowd with a performance adept for Aotearoa's national day.
With the cool air of the stream machines, people were deciding to jive rather than care about the heat belting down from the sun. The water jets were the hardest workers in town as they competed with soaring temperatures up to 28C.
The glitz and glam of One Love were giving performers on stage tough competition, but it wasn't about that - people felt more than safe to be expressive of who they were and where they came from.
And doesn't that make for a festival that has longevity.
The happy buzzed-up crowd seemed to agree, soaking up the sun and settling into the festival with a first-day line-up that included House of Shem, Sons of Zion, Tomorrow People, and headliner, Kora.
If you were to remember anything about the first day, it would have to be Kora's phenomenal performance just after the sun dipped under the Kaimais.
But no one was cold, the band didn't give anyone a chance while displaying flare on stage that just kept giving.
I have had Kora at the top of my "must-see list" for a while but nothing could have prepared me for the musicianship that didn't stop.
My legs were tired four minutes in - I have no idea where they get the stamina to jump around the stage as they do.
Everything about One Love is magical as if woven together like a fine feathered korowai of aroha.
With a fair few thousand there you would hope there was enough kai to go around, but a market area to the back of the festival lined with food carts was enough to make your puku grumble.
Again, I might be biased but the mussel fritters were exactly the munch I was looking for, and with smiles and service that good, who wouldn't go up for seconds.
Day 2 had a hotter lineup. There were whispers flying through the dust as the crowd said their first goodnight. And it sure felt like a bigger day as we re-entered the festival on Sunday.
The Black Seeds warmed the crowd up with an early performance at 12.45pm. Katchafire made an appearance at 2.50pm and an hour later Dave Dobbyn welcomed the masses home.
Fat Freddy's Drop was, of course, nothing close to disappointing - in fact, they could have played for three more hours.
All would have been good had everyone been able to see the stage but a VIP ticket was needed to get any closer than 800m.
What seemed like a money-making tactic was the only upset, it didn't feel very 'New Zealand' or 'One Love' centric. Gated off with their own toilets and bar seemed excessive and by no means was a way of controlling large crowds.
And you can't tell me the close to 10,000 people in there can all be considered very important people?
