‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL, SOUTHSEA 22-24.8.25
We are back for Day Three of the UK Live Awards 2024 ‘Major Festival Of The Year Winner’ namely the annual ‘Victorious Festival’ which is taking place at stunning seaside location of Southsea overlooking the Solent, near Portsmouth during the Bank Holiday weekend of 22nd, 23rd and 24th August 2025. If you missed our reviews of Day One then click HERE To see them, and if you missed Day Two then click HERE to see those.
The UK’s biggest metropolitan festival is held annually and is billed as “the ultimate family-friendly festival experience”. This is reflected by the expansive selection of varying music artists across many genres plus an incredible collection of other artists and comedians. The Bank Holiday extravaganza event was held across 12 stages on the three days. So without further ado, we get down to business…………
DAY THREE – SUNDAY 24TH AUGUST
This is article three of three and concentrates on the happenings on Day Three. Day One’s account can be found HERE and Day Two’s account can be found HERE.
OVERPASS – Castle Stage (13:06pm – 13:32pm)
Overpass are not a band I was familiar with but noticed they are set to headline Concorde 2 in Brighton in early October, so I thought it was a good idea to check them out. They are a high-energy four-piece indie/alternative rock band from Birmingham and feature Max Newbold (vocals, guitar), Indie Armstrong (bass), Elliot Rawlings (guitar), and Jake Bishop (drums). There is a good-sized crowd as the band arrive on stage. Max says, “Portsmouth, how are we doing? Good to see ya,” and they kick off with ‘Be Good To Yourself’. This is the first of five songs they play from their second EP ‘Dependent’, which was released early this year. The next song is also off the EP. It’s called ‘Slow’ and it’s good to see some keen youngsters singing along to it down the front. Next, we hear the 2023 single ‘Right Time’. This has a catchy tune and has Indie adding backing vocals. Max says, “Thank you very much” and asks, “Victorious, let’s see some hands in the air”. They continue with ‘Take It Or Leave It’, which appears to be the standout track from the previously mentioned ‘Dependent’ EP and has the crowd jumping up and down. Max is asking, “OK, Victorious, let’s see you moving now” as they play the 2022 single ‘3AM’. This appears to be a crowd favourite. Max then says, “It’s been a pleasure, enjoy the rest of your day,” and receives good applause. They finish their decent set with ‘Beautiful’, the last track off their 2024 first EP ‘From The Night’. Their headline show at Concorde 2 is on Thursday, 2nd October, and features support from Opal Mag and Rafferty.
(Ian Holman)
OWEN VINCENT – Seaside Stage (13:50pm – 14:20pm)
Owen Vincent is a Portsmouth based singer-songwriter backed by a three piece band who are reasonably pokey. The bass player is wearing a Portsmouth football shirt, and there seem to be quite a few people who know their stuff. During ‘Dream’ somebody’s guitar is out of tune. Bit of a schoolboy error there. The drummer is really good and should possibly be doing something that’s a bit more interesting musically. Owen plays some rudimentary lead guitar during ‘Black And White Movie’. Apparently they were on the ‘Introducing’ Stage last year – so onwards and upwards. ‘Surprises’ is a really good song! It’s possibly taken them two or three songs to warm up. There’s some great lead from guitarist Morgan James. No sooner have they got into their stride than it’s time for their last song! The intro sounds a bit like ‘Hotel California’, which is not a good thing. Don’t borrow from really famous songs. Owen plays more rudimentary lead. This is not to be encouraged when he has a really good lead guitarist. He should stick to his strengths, which are very clearly songwriting (there’s some good material here) and singing. Why have a dog and bark yourself? See you on the Castle Stage next year Owen.
(Mark Kelly)
YOUNG KNIVES – Castle Stage (14:05pm – 14:35pm)
I remained at the Castle Stage to see Young Knives. Their current touring line-up consists of brothers Henry Dartnall (lead vocals / guitar) and Thomas Bonsu-Dartnall (vocals / keyboards / bass), and Henry’s son Arthur Dartnall (drums). They started off as a post-punk band, playing an indie-disco sound, but have since moved on to perform experimental music. They entered the stage with bags of beach balls and launched them into the crowd with Thomas stating, “We got props.” It’s a warm summer’s day, yet drummer Arthur is wearing a green woollen scarf. They start their set off with the catchy ‘Weekends And Bleak Days (Hot Summer)’ from their 2006 debut album ‘Voices Of Animals & Men’. Henry says, “Good afternoon, enjoy the beach balls.” The second song, ‘Barbarians’, is a heavy-sounding rock track with added keys. ‘Fresh Meat’ from their latest album ‘Landfill’ is next. This one starts slow, builds, and gets heavier once Thomas adds his shouty vocals. Henry then waves a homemade flag with the words “Fresh meat” emblazoned on it. Next, it’s another catchy tune titled ‘Terra Firma’. This has the crowd moving. Henry then states, “We are a serious band from Oxford.” There are a few chuckles in the crowd, and he continues with, “We never do covers. Maybe we will do a cover today.” They then cover around 20 seconds of the opening song from the Minecraft movie: ‘I Feel Alive’, a by Jack Black. This intro leads into ‘The Decision’ from Young Knives’ debut album. A song that reminds me of Sparks. Another new track is next. The experimental ‘Cause & Effect’. Henry is then told they only have five minutes left. This disappoints Henry as they still had two songs from their setlist to play. They ask the crowd which one they want to hear. They end up leaving out ‘Turn Tail’ and finish with ’She’s Attracted To’. Before it’s performed, Henry says “Have a great weekend, enjoy what you do”. As the song ends, Henry holds his purple guitar above his head and does a lap of the stage, returning to his mic to say “That’s the way to finish a set”. There is plenty of applause from the audience for what was an enjoyable set.
(Ian Holman)
MIMI RAE – Seaside Stage (14:40pm – 15:10pm)
Mimi Rae is a Portsmouth based singer/songwriter with, including herself, a five piece band. Mimi plays guitar, there’s another guitarist, plus somebody who alternates between guitar and keyboards, a bassist and drummer. ‘Homesick’ is bouncy indie pop. The band are commendably enthusiastic. Everything is fairly up tempo, ‘Deep End’ in particular. When the guitarist / keyboard player is on keys, Mimi is on guitar. ‘All Alive’ is something of a power ballad, and Mimi is atop the bass speakers. Throughout the set lead guitarist Matt Hennessey peals off one ace solo after another. He’s a bit of a guitar star! Hang onto him Mimi! The set finishes with ‘What’s In It For You’, which is probably the best song Mimi plays today. I have to say I’m pretty impressed. I’d like to hear more. As she leaves the stage Mimi shouts “Free f*ckin’ Palestine!” Well said. Seemingly Mimi has no further gigs planned, but when she does, you could do a lot worse than check her out.
beacons.ai/mimiraemusic
(Mark Kelly)
THE WAEVE – Castle Stage (15:01pm – 15:38pm)
The WAEVE are a duo featuring Blur lead guitarist Graham Coxon and his partner Rose Elinor Dougall, who was an original member of Brighton indie-pop girl group The Pipettes. Today they performed live with three other band members. They are Thomas White on drums, Joe Chilton on bass and multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Glasson on violin, saxophone and tambourine. Both Rose and Graham are on vocals, with Rose also playing keys and Graham on lead guitar and mandolin. They play exciting experimental music that takes in a number of different genres. As the band arrive on stage, Graham says, “How you doing? Having fun? We’ll start with a noisy one”. They perform ‘Broken Boys’. Next is the catchy ‘City Lights’. Rose introduces the next song ‘You Saw’ but has to stop as she realises there is no backing track being played. She mentions this and says, “Sorry, we have technical issues”. Graham replies with “Don’t speak about the track” with a grin on his face, and continues, “Everything you hear is being played by us.” The backing track starts up and they continue. Next, Rose tells us, “I wrote the next song for our daughter; it’s about Mr Tumble. It’s called ’Song For Eliza May’. Rose also tells us that her daughter doesn’t like her mummy singing the song to her. The next song is the only one of the afternoon that doesn’t feature on The WAEVE’s 2024 second album ‘City Lights’. It’s ‘Can I Call You’, the opening track from their 2022 self-titled debut album, which is also the first tune they wrote together. During this song, Graham’s notes fly off the stage and are frantically retrieved by a technician who was standing at the side of the stage. Rose then tells us, “It’s time for the last song”. Graham says, “It’s eight minutes of prog rock that takes up a third of our set”. Graham continues, “It’s the last song of the summer.” Rose says, “Strap in, hope you have a great festival”. They perform ‘Druantia’. Before leaving the stage, Graham says, “You were great. Thank you very much”. It was another enjoyable set.
(Ian Holman)
COAST – Seaside Stage (15:30pm – 16:00pm)
Coast are a four piece indie band from Portsmouth, which probably accounts for the rather large crowd that they’ve managed to attract. The lead guitar is far too low in the mix, but that is soon rectified. ‘Can You Hear Me Breathing’ is an old song that they’ve re-written. It’s pretty impressive. ‘Hurt’ is the first song from their debut EP. It’s also pretty good. There’s a lot to like here. Particularly the lead guitar courtesy of Josh Law. ‘Black Smoke’ is a new song and today is the first time that it’s been played live. ‘This Time’ features some good harmonies. The crowd clap along. ‘Friday’ is another song from their EP. This time the crowd sing along. All four members of the band are very proficient. They play Portsmouth Wedgwood Rooms on 6th September. After that they go to university and won’t be doing anything band-wise for nine months. So see them while you can!!!
(Mark Kelly)
STARSAILOR – Castle Stage (16:05pm – 16:35pm)
Next up on the Castle Stage are Starsailor. What is surprising is they have only been allotted a 30-minute slot despite being an established band with four top 20 hits. The band arrive on stage with frontman James Walsh wearing a black t-shirt with “Choose Love” written in bold white letters on it. The shirt is covered by a lightweight unbuttoned black jacket. The band go straight into ‘Poor Misguided Fool’, which I’m very surprised to find out wasn’t one of those Top 20 hits. The slower starting ‘Alcoholic’ is next. James then says, “When the next song was released a few years ago, the USA was bombing the Middle East; nothing’s changed”. They perform the heavier sounding ‘In The Crossfire’. This is followed by the 2009 track ‘Tell Me It’s Not Over’. This is a great rousing song from their fourth album ‘All The Plans’. Next is ‘Four To The Floor’. James gets his phone out and takes a video to capture the crowd. He then says, “I will keep talking to a minimum so we can get through as many songs as possible”. Their biggest hit, chart-wise, is next, ‘Silence Is Easy’. James says, “Thank you, Portsmouth, take good care of yourselves and everybody”. They finish their very good set with the crowd singing along to the excellent ‘Good Souls’. James says, “Thank you, Victorious.” He waves to the crowd, raises a two-finger peace sign, and turns to leave the stage with his band members.
(Ian Holman)
THE ZUTONS – Common Stage (16:50pm – 17:35pm)
The Zutons were a fave band of mine back in the day, so I’m a little bit nervous about seeing them again. Will they still be as good as they were? I haven’t seen them for seventeen years. That’s a very long time. So it is with some trepidation that I approach the Common Stage. After a few minutes the band take the stage, crash into ‘Zuton Fever’ and the years melt away. They’re on absolutely cracking form!!! Dave McCabe’s vocals are spot on, as is Abi Harding’s sax. Dave’s lead guitar on ‘Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love’ is also ace. A couple of songs later Abi is on lead vocals. It’s a song I know but can’t quite put my finger on. It’s a cover of Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’! I wasn’t expecting that! Amy covered The Zutons’ ‘Valerie’, so the band are belatedly returning the favour. During ‘Dirty Dancehall’ Dave solos using his volume control, making his guitar sound like a synth. We even get a newer song – ‘The Big Decider’ – which was the title track of their album from last year. It fits in well with the older material, which I guess was the intention. There’s a huge crowd for The Zutons, and deservedly so. They sing along loudly to the aforementioned ‘Valerie’. After ‘You Will, You Won’t’ Dave McCabe says he feels 23 again! The set closes with an instrumental version of ‘Zuton Fever’, which showcases the band’s musicianship. This has been an excellent gig, the band playing every bit as well as before. Unfortunately they don’t have any further shows planned at present. Time to get back on the road guys!!!
(Mark Kelly)
THE REYTONS – Common Stage (18:05pm – 18:50pm)
The Reytons are an unsigned independent band from Rotherham, and they’re rightly proud of it. For those who have never been to South Yorkshire, the name Reytons translates as ‘right’uns’. It suits the band and their audience, including everyone at Victorious today. There are obvious comparisons with The Arctic Monkeys, but that is largely down to their accents, together with their literate lyrics. Opening song ‘Red Smoke’ is accompanied by flames at the front of the stage and red flares in the crowd. Frontman Jonny Yerrell tells us that we’ve got “45 minutes to go f*cking mental!” Right you are Jonny! They’ve got a bit of a hooligan image, but they’re clearly not hooligans. ‘Harrison Lesser’ is really punchy but with very socially aware lyrics. Indeed, most of their lyrics are socially aware. There’s been a lot of people watching going on. If Ray Davies came from 21st century South Yorkshire, these are the kind of lyrics that he would probably come up with. There’s nothing wrong with the band’s musicianship either, as evidenced by the ace solo in the middle eight of ‘Retro Emporium’. Jonny tells us that “This is the best f*cking festival in the UK!” Well, it’s certainly not bad Jonny. Meanwhile during ‘Adrenaline’ guitarist Joe O’Brien solos with an e-bow. I may have misheard this, but apparently you can buy shares in the band. Last year they bought kits for 50 local football teams, which has to be applauded. The set closes with two definite anthems: ‘Kids Off The Estate’ and ‘Low Life’. What a cracking band!!! They’re possibly indie’s best kept secret. Not for long though: they play Wembley Arena on 6th December.
(Mark Kelly)
REVEREND & THE MAKERS – Castle Stage (18:35pm – 19:16pm)
After a break, I returned to the Castle Stage in good time to see Reverend & The Makers. Once again, I was lucky enough to find a position near the front, just one row behind the barrier separating the crowd from the photographers’ pit. This was the first time I had seen the Sheffield band perform live. Three minutes before they entered the stage, the fanfare of the Rocky theme tune ‘Gonna Fly Now’ was blasted out of the speakers. The band arrived on stage and started with the 2012 track ‘Baseline’, with frontman Jon McClure welcoming the large crowd with “We are Reverend and the Makers, we came to rock the house”. They then performed ‘Open Your Window’ from their debut album, 2007’s ‘The State Of Things’. The crowd were thrilled and started bouncing. Jon said “Banger after banger” and true to his words this is what we got for the entire set. ‘Shine The Light’ is next and Jon joins in with the bouncing. He then says “Sheffield is outnumbered as we even have two southerners in the band now. We should have been massive but I cocked it up. We had a bad 2010s but now there’s a renaissance, although it’s a Radio 2 renaissance”. A much newer song was performed next. This is ‘Heatwave In The Cold North’, which is a groovy track and has a different feel to the other songs in the set. Next, it’s time for the song everyone has been waiting to hear and the band’s only top ten single ‘Heavyweight Champion Of The World’. The crowd go into a frenzy for this one. The recent single ‘Haircut’ that features actress Vicky McClure (no relation) on the recorded version was next. Jon followed this with “Banger after banger”. The set continued with ‘Out Of The Shadows’, then Jon took off his tie and started swinging it in the air during the popular sing-a-long track ‘He Said He Loved Me’. The final song was the psychedelic-sounding ‘Silence Is Talking’. This ended in a mash-up with The Beatles song ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’.
reverendandthemakers.os.fan
(Ian Holman)
BLOC PARTY – Common Stage (19:35pm – 20:35pm)
I’ve been aware of Bloc Party since their superlative ‘Silent Alarm’ album was released twenty years ago, so I’m pleased to get the opportunity to finally see them. Frontman Kele Okereke tells us that it’s the final night of their UK performances and that we’re going to have some fun. Sounds good to me! The set starts with the appropriately titled ‘So Here We Are’ from ‘Silent Alarm’, but second song ‘Hunting For Witches’ is possibly a better example of their gloriously energetic and complex indie. Kele is a genial frontman and at the end of third song ‘Mercury’ says “bye bye photographers”, as the snappers only get three songs to secure their images. Drummer Louise Bartle is superbly powerful and dextrous, and worth watching in her own right. I must confess I’m ever so slightly in awe of good drummers. On ‘Song For Clay (Disappear Here)’ Kele and guitarist Russell Lissack both play some impressive lead. Kele also demonstrates his excellent falsetto. He asks us “Did you like that Victorious? I liked that too. Don’t Worry. There’s plenty more where that came from!” Well, that’s good news! He asks us if we feel like a disco. We do, and ‘Traps’ does the job admirably. The rhythm is partially created by one of Russell’s guitar pedals. Kele asks us if we want to get high, because he can “smell the weed from the stage!!!” There are lots of influences at work here: indie, post-punk and more. On top of that, there’s a degree of experimentation that pushes the music towards prog, purely because this is genuinely progressive music. Kele stands stock still for the introduction of ‘The Prayer’. It’s a rare instance of theatricality, but it seems totally natural too. During ‘Like Eating Glass’ Kele occasionally sounds a little like Robert Smith. He tells us that they have “one more rocket left in our pocket” and they play ‘Ratchet’ from ‘The Nextwave Sessions’ EP. Kele’s in the pit and knocks some water over. This has felt a very warm set. The band have made a real effort to communicate with the audience. It’s been a very inclusive performance.
(Mark Kelly)
GABRIELLE – Castle Stage (20:08pm – 20:54pm)
I remain on the Castle Stage to see Hackney-born singer Gabrielle perform some of her great hits. Known for wearing an eye patch over her right eye due to a childhood condition causing a drooping upper eyelid. That eye is now covered by her sweeping hairstyle. What I found amazing while watching the set was how Gabrielle’s voice appears to sound exactly how it did when her chart-topping debut single ‘Dreams’ was released back in 1993. Tonight she starts things off with three of her ten Top 10 singles, ‘When A Woman’, and follows it with ‘Give Me A Little More Time’ and ‘Sunshine’. Next, we hear the title track ‘A Place In Your Heart’ from her latest album and then continue the rest of the set with further top ten hits. The first of those is ‘If You Ever’ (this one was recorded as a duet with East 17), and then it’s ‘Don’t Need The Sun To Shine (To Make Me Smile)’. This is a song Gabrielle calls “A boogie shaker.” The next one is a cover, namely the Burt Bacharach and Hal David-penned ‘Walk On By’. A song written for Dionne Warwick in the 60s and covered by many other artists including Isaac Hayes, Gloria Gaynor, The Stranglers, and Sybil. Gabrielle says “Loving the vibe”. There are just three further songs in the set, and they are all big ones. The first of those is Gabrielle’s second number one hit, ‘Rise’ from 2000. The end of this song tonight sees lead guitarist Hattie Moran rock out to it in great style. The penultimate song is ‘Out Of Reach’. Then we hear ‘Dreams’. This appears to be the one a lot of the youngsters in the audience have been waiting to hear, with many singing along word for word.
www.gabrielle.co.uk
(Ian Holman)
KINGS OF LEON – Common Stage (21:20pm – 22:50pm)
For a long time I’ve been of the opinion that Kings Of Leon at least partially lost their mojo after their ‘Because Of The Times’ album, when their rough edges were comprehensively knocked off, and their music became a little sterile. The production of their records buffed up the songs with a little too much sheen. I’m hoping that their set tonight will prove me wrong. As they start with ‘Supersoaker’ from the ‘Mechanical Bull’ album, the screen on the right hand side of the stage is showing the footage being shot as a mirror image, so they all look like left-handers! It continues like that for the whole show. Maybe it’s deliberate – a way to mess with our minds! Second song ‘The Bucket’ from ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ is the way that I’m hoping that the set will go. We’ll see. The band is fleshed out by two touring musicians: Liam O’Neil on keyboards and percussion, and Timothy Deaux on rhythm guitar and percussion. Everybody sings backing vocals. Someone in the crowd has a Tennessee flag, which the band appreciate. Early in the set it becomes clear that although their music has undoubtedly become more sophisticated, they’re still a ‘meat and potatoes’ rock band. They still rock out more than convincingly.
Caleb Followill tells us that we’re “one of the better looking crowds” that he’s seen in a long time. I bet that he says that to every audience!!! Jared (they’re all Followills) plays some nice melodic bass during ‘Revelry’, and there’s nice interplay between the guitarists throughout. There are crowd surfers during ‘Waste A Moment’, which I must confess surprises me somewhat. I haven’t viewed this crowd as being particularly rock ‘n’ roll! A sea of phones greets ‘Nowhere To Run’. Melanie C is headlining the Castle stage. It’s rammed here. I’ll be amazed if anyone is watching her! This is more like it: ‘Molly’s Chambers’! Something to remind people what the fuss was all about in the first place. In terms of live performance this is probably their best song, and proves that they’ve still got it, if only briefly! Another highlight however is ‘Beautiful War’ from the ‘Mechanical Bull’ album. ‘We’re Onto Something’ is a new song that only came out a couple of days ago. It has a country rock feel, and features Liam O’Neil on harmonica. The crowd sing along to ‘Pyro’, whilst Caleb conducts. There are some wonderfully searing guitar licks on ‘Closer’, followed by an equally searing solo. The set ends, perhaps inevitably, with ‘Sex On Fire’, which is by far the most popular song of the evening. This version has far more energy than the record. I still believe that Kings Of Leon’s first three albums are their best, and that they’ve never really regained the spark that they had at that time. Live, the band are undeniably tight, but they’re not the most charismatic band in the world, and they don’t stray from the template of their records. However, they have loads of well known songs, the crowd love them, and yes, ultimately I enjoyed them.
(Mark Kelly)
Tickets for next year’s ‘Victorious’ festival are on sale now and the various options can be viewed HERE.
