‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL, SOUTHSEA 28-30.8.26
Over 150,000 people descended onto Southsea Common overlooking the Solent near Portsmouth for three days of unforgettable live music performances and family fun at this year’s annual ‘Victorious Festival’ which ran from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th August.
‘Victorious’ is the UK’s biggest metropolitan festival and The Live Awards ‘Major Festival of the Year – Winner 2025’. The ultimate family-friendly festival experience is reflected by the expansive selection of varying music artists across many genres plus an incredible collection of other artists. The Bank Holiday extravaganza event was held across 12 stages on the three days.
We sent some of our team members along to catch the atmosphere.
This is article one of three and concentrates on the happenings on Day One. Day Two’s and Day Three’s accounts will follow in due course.
DAY ONE – FRIDAY 28TH AUGUST
M60 – Common Stage (12:05 – 12:35)
Opening the Common Stage on day one of this year’s Victorious Festival was M60, a four-piece indie-rock band named after the Manchester orbital motorway. Although the band members are in their mid-twenties, they’ve been around for some time, having formed in 2015 by school friends (Matthew Morton and Bradley Smith) when they were just 15. They opened the main stage at Kendal Calling last year and headlined Manchester O2 The Ritz earlier this year. Their dream is to play at Old Trafford or the Etihad Stadium.
They opened with their 2015 single ‘Honey’, which was quite a popular track with some of the early birds that had gathered down the front to see them. For an opening band, they attracted a reasonable amount of spectators. In the song opener, there’s a clear Arctic Monkeys influence from the Wythenshawe line-up. Their seven-song set also included their recent single ‘Southpaw’, the upcoming single ‘Old Town’, and they closed with crowd favourite ‘I Don’t Mind’, which has over one million Spotify streams to its name.
(Ian Holman)
FINNIAN JAMES – Under The Trees (12:35 – 13:05)
I made a swift trek over to Under The Trees stage to see Finnian James perform. Although I missed the opening song and a half, I did manage to witness most of the set. Finnian was recently the rhythm guitarist with Brighton alternative/indie band Weakday, but is now concentrating heavily on his solo music career.
Unfortunately for Finnian, there were only around 50 or so people watching him and his band perform. They put on an impressive set that included songs titled ‘Losing Sleep’, ‘Kill The Engine’ and ‘Let Me Be Your Anchor’ as well as the upcoming single ‘Why Don’t You Think About It’ (released 11th September) and the rousing debut single ‘Roses’. Finnian’s original, powerful vocals transitioned from delicate to highly charged and atmospheric.
Beside Finnian were four other Brighton musicians. Keyboardist Quilla Robinson (Moon Idle) added beautiful backing and harmonic vocals. Luke Palmer (Luke Palmer and the Cavalry) played bass, James Stevenson (Dirtsaharks / Alligatr) was on drums, and Charlie Jenkins on guitar. You can catch Finnian playing ‘Melancholy Fest’ at the Green Door Store in Brighton on Sunday (6th September).
(Ian Holman)
THE LOVE BUZZ – Under The Trees (13:25 – 13:55)
When the full line-up for the festival was announced, I placed The Love Buzz high on my list of bands to see, and I was not let down by their performance at Under The Trees this afternoon. They are an energetic indie-rock/power-pop four-piece from Kinsale in County Cork, Ireland, although for today, Hot Wax’s Alfie Sayers was deputising on the drums. In 2023, they made it to the final of the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition and ended up playing five different stages at ‘Glastonbury Festival’, including an opening slot on Woodsies stage. They also toured with NewDad in 2024 and recently played Truck, Tramlines, and Ynot? festivals in the UK as well as Haldern Pop Festival in Germany.
They played a seven-song set this afternoon, starting with the catchy ‘Pretty Happy Alone’. After performing the recent single ‘Pushing On’, bassist Aiden Lynch invited his young cousin Freddie to join them on stage, playing guitar for the third song ‘Freeloaded (Cool Kitten)’. Freddie received a round of applause. As Freddie climbed back over the barrier to join the onlookers, Aiden said, “It’s his first festival, so look after him. You can’t buy him a pint, but you can buy him a coke.”
They performed ‘Sing! Sing!’ next, then the upcoming single about postmen called ‘The Message’. Lead vocalist Kieran Hurley broke a string on his guitar during this one, but it didn’t faze him as he continued with the remainder of the set. Freddie was back on stage to add some backing vocals for the last song of the set, ‘Harp’. Unfortunately, hardly anyone was watching at the start of the set, but by the end, there were a fair few gathered to hear the impressive, raw sound. The Love Buzz headline the Green Door Store in Brighton on 24th November as part of a six-date UK tour.
(Ian Holman)
ELOISE CARTER – Under The Trees (14:15 – 14:45)
Friday at Victorious starts for me with Portsmouth based singer/songwriter Eloise Carter at the Under The Trees stage. Today this stage is sponsored by BBC Introducing, as well as Casemates Studio. This means that Eloise gets a cheesy BBC introduction from somebody who may well be a BBC presenter, but who I don’t recognise. Including herself, Eloise has a five-piece band comprising two guitarists, a bassist, drummer, and a backing vocalist. The harmonies between Eloise and the backing singer are really something else.
The set starts off with ‘Under Street Lights’ which has a classic indie feel and has ‘hit’ written all over it. All of the songs are very accessible without descending to servicing the lowest common denominator. Eloise tells us that ‘The Moment’ is on Spotify. So are a few of her other songs too. This has a fab spindly guitar riff. Eloise and the lead guitarist seem to be particularly enjoying themselves. The set closes with ‘No-One Like You’, which is catchy and immediate like the rest of the set. Ace guitar solo too. There’s an unfortunate instrumental coda that doesn’t do a great deal. Indeed, some of the arrangements could do with some fat being trimmed, but apart from that, this has been an impressive set.
(Mark Kelly)
PIXIE LOTT – Common Stage (14:20 – 14:50)
I headed back over to the main stage to see chart-topper Pixie Lott rattle through a crowd-pleasing seven-song 25-minute set packed with her classic pop hits. Arriving on stage a little later than billed, Victoria Louise Lott wore a bright red bodysuit/swimsuit-style ensemble that billowed in the windy weather. Joining the popstar on stage were two guitarists, a keyboard player, a drummer, and two backing vocalists.
Pixie opened with her second number one single ‘Boys And Girls’ and after said, “So good to be here. What a vibe. What a crowd.” In relation to the weather conditions, she continued, “How good is this wind machine, keeping us cool?” During the next song ‘Turn It Up’, the Bromley-born singer encouraged the crowd to jump and sing along; they then swayed their arms in the air for mid-tempo pop ballad ‘Cry Me Out’.
Next up, it was Pixie’s debut chart-topper ‘Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)’. The crowd joined in with the “Uh Oh’s” and sang word for word as she covered The Killers’ ‘Mr. Brightside’. The penultimate song of the set was another number one single, 2011’s ‘All About Tonight’. The crowd seemed less interested in the final song, Pixie’s recent single ‘Dance Like No One’s Watching’, although some did clap along with it.
(Ian Holman)
THE CORAL – Common Stage (15:30 – 15:50)
I remained at the Common Stage for the first of two 90s formed Liverpudlian bands, The Coral, a band that I have admired since their Mercury Prize-nominated top five self-titled debut album was released back in 2002. Their material is an eclectic mix of 1960s-inspired psychedelia, folk rock, and garage-pop.
They arrived on stage a little later than planned due to a few technical hitches. Once they arrived, they came out and just got on with it, entertaining the wind-swept crowd, filling their far-too-short 30-minute set with eight toe-tapping songs. They opened with two songs from their chart-topping second album, ‘Magic And Medicine’. These were the James Scully penned ‘Bill McCai’ and number five single ‘Pass It On’. Next up was ‘Simon Diamond’ from their debut album. There was a remark from one of the guitarists, “Thank you so much, it’s f***ing windy up here”.
Lead vocalist James switched from acoustic to electric guitar to perform the next three songs. These were ‘Lover Undiscovered’, ‘In The Rain’, and ‘Jacqueline’. For the final two songs, James switched back to acoustic. The first of those was 2005’s number six single ‘In The Morning’, getting a good cheer as the song started. Referring to the wind again, one of the band members said, “I feel like Mary Poppins up here”. They finished with the wonderful ‘Dreaming Of You’, their second single to hit the charts and first to make it into the Top 20.
(Ian Holman)
SMUDGE – Live At The Bandstand (16:10 – 16:40)
I now wander over to the Bandstand stage for Smudge. As I approach there is a gaggle of young girls at the front of the stage, so I assume that he’s a young guy. So I’m somewhat surprised to find an older guy playing acoustic guitar. His lyrics are very socio-political and he reminds me of Billy Bragg, which is no bad thing. For the second song ‘Smile Like A Thousand Suns’ it becomes clear why the girls are there: Smudge is joined by his daughter Polly Smith, and they’re her friends! It’s the first time that Polly has appeared onstage, but it doesn’t show. She adds rhythm guitar and backing vocals faultlessly. The song is apparently about her. She stays for one more song, ‘You Shaped Hole’ (which is about losing someone) before running offstage. The girls wander off too. Poor Smudge!
He doesn’t seem bothered though. ‘Rescue Me’ features the rather brilliant lyric “sick of doing backstroke through quicksand,” and with ‘Same Through Different Swine’ Smudge says he’s “gonna get a bit political”. There’s been a political edge to most of what he’s done so far. This has more than a hint of the Levellers about it, which suits me fine. Smudge’s set ends with ‘Just Kicking Cans’, which is about nostalgia, and includes the wonderful line “forced to see through clockwork orange eyes”. Smudge is a most impressive songwriter and performer, but unfortunately doesn’t seem to have any online presence. This is a shame, as I for one would love to hear more.
(Mark Kelly)
CAST – Common Stage (16:20 – 17:05)
The other Liverpudlian band to perform on Common Stage were Cast. Formed in 1992, their line-up consists of three original band members: John Power (former bass player and backing vocalist with the La’s) on lead vocals and guitars, Liam ’Skin’ Tyson on lead guitar, and Keith O’Neill on drums. With them on bass guitar is Martyn Campbell (formerly of The Lightning Seeds).
By the time they arrived on stage, the wind had picked up even more. Both John and Martyn had their hats strapped around their chins to prevent them from flying away. John welcomed the crowd, and they started with one of their seven Top 10 hits, ‘Free Me’. Next, they played their popular third single, ‘Sandstorm’. With dust flying across their faces as it’s played, it actually must have felt like they were in fact in a sandstorm. In his Scouse accent, John said, “Hold on to your hats, I don’t know what the wind is like down there, but up here we’re flying”.
They played their debut single from July 1995, ‘Finetime’, next, and then followed it with ‘Poison Vine’, the first single off their latest album, ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’. Following some warm applause, John said, “Thank you so much, everyone. I’m getting confident now that my hat is not going to fall off. It’s tied on, and I’ve Velcro’d it to my head”. They continued with another new one, ‘Calling Out Your Name’, then it’s back to a couple of classic top teners from the 90s. These are ‘Live The Dream’ and ‘Walkaway’. Another newer track was performed next. This was ‘Free Love’, then they closed out their solid set with two more from the 90s, ‘Guiding Star’ and ‘Alright’. John thanked the crowd and said, “See you further on down the road”. The four-piece merged together at the front of the stage to take a bow to their appreciative audience.
(Ian Holman)
THE VACCINES – Common Stage (17:35 – 18:35)
Next it’s a trip to the Common Stage to see The Vaccines. The Vaccines were the ‘nearly men’ of the early 2010s, having released a cracking debut album, ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines’, and a more than reasonable follow-up in the form of ‘Come Of Age’. However, the cards simply didn’t fall in the way that had been expected, and they ended up not achieving the mega-success that had been predicted for them. In the last decade two of the band’s original members have left, but The Vaccines have released four more albums and are very much operational.
This being a festival set the band give the people what they want, and the first eight songs are from their debut album. Frankly, this is faultless. More than anything, it makes me want to go home as soon as the set ends and dig out the album. Unfortunately that’s not possible. The band are a five piece onstage these days, with touring member Matt Hitt on keyboards, rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Vocalist Justin Hayward-Young looks relatively cool in shades, and opener ‘Blow It Up’ has a hint of The Velvet Underground that I hadn’t noticed before. ‘Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)’ is the ultimate rabble-rousing anthem and is inarguably brilliant. Likewise ‘Noorgaard’ is still awesome. I remember Amanda Noorgard being interviewed around the time the record came out and being asked what she was listening to on her iPod (remember those). Naturally it was The Vaccines!
Justin announces that they’re celebrating the release of their first album (you don’t say….) prior to a storming version of ‘If You Wanna’. It’s not all nostalgia though, and we get a new song: ‘Ten Years Too Far’. It’s fast and tuneful and stands up well alongside the songs from the debut album. ‘Headphones Baby’ is from 2021’s ‘Back In Love City’ and mentions Reddit to confirm its modernity. ‘Handsome’ is dedicated to the waterslide at Portsmouth’s Pyramids Centre. Justin says that he has yet to see a better one. ‘Heartbreak Kid’ from the band’s most recent album ‘Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations’ abounds with brutal crash chords, together with an inflammable guitar solo from Timothy Lanham. There’s really nothing not to like here. ‘I Always Knew’ from their second album sounds like a classic. But then, most of their songs do! The Vaccines are still a cracking live band. They tour China, Australia and New Zealand between now and December, when they return to support Kasabian on their UK arena tour.
(Mark Kelly)
LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER – Under The Trees (17:45 – 18:15)
I headed back over to Under The Trees’ stage to see Look Mum No Computer. This is the stage name of Grantham-born electronic musician, YouTuber, and eccentric inventor and performer, Sam Battle. Sam now lives in Ramsgate, Kent, and has become famous for building bizarre and creative musical instruments out of vintage and obsolete technology. His creations include an organ made entirely out of modified Furbies, a synthesizer built into a Raleigh Chopper bicycle, and a machine using dozens of Nintendo Game Boys. He runs ‘This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete’, a physical space in Ramsgate, that displays quirky vintage and electronic devices. Sam represented the United Kingdom in this year’s Eurovision Contest with his electronic track ‘Eins, Zwei, Drei’ but unfortunately finished in last position, receiving just one point from the judging jury and 0 points from the public televote. Despite all this, I was intrigued to see Sam perform.
As I arrived, on stage there was a huge, unique wooden unit that I can only assume is one of Sam’s inventions. It must have been around six and a half feet tall. The top half of it looked like something you would expect to see at an old telephone exchange. It was full of switches and plugs and also included the face of a Furbie that was wired up. It also contained a keyboard and some push-button pads and below that what looked to be another set of switches. To the right of this, there was a modified synthesizer.
There was a good round of applause as Sam entered the stage. He said, “I’ve got to tune this thing.” In fact, the first track of the set was titled ’Tuning Song’ and just contained some electronic noises. Sam, wearing a headset and ear defenders, then turned to the audience and said, “Apologies, I’m going to be facing the wrong way for most of the set.” And then continued, “I’m trying to invent something so I can just use the front of my t-shirt.” The next track featured electro beats with added vocals from Sam. He seemed rushed as he kept saying he had to stick to his time, as he was weary of going over his 30-minute slot. Later in the set, he played his Euro entry song. This got a round of applause. The last two songs of a somewhat interesting set were hashed-up versions of TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’ and Blur’s ’Song 2’.
(Ian Holman)
HARD-FI – Castle Stage (18:30 – 19:15)
Hard-Fi are an indie rock band formed in Staines-upon-Thames in 2003. They rose to fame with their Mercury Prize nominated and chart-topping 2005 debut album, ‘Stars Of CCTV’. In 2014, the band went on a hiatus and returned with new music in 2022.
They arrived on the Castle Stage with a decent-sized audience in front of them. Although I’m positioned just to the side of the stage, from the off, I can see there are some excited faces. There are plenty of cheers as lead vocalist Richard Archer and his band arrive on stage. They start off with two songs from ‘Stars Of CCTV’. These are ‘Middle Eastern Holiday’ and the excellent ‘Tied Up Too Tight’. A great start with the crowd singing along. Richard says, “Thanks very much. How are you all doing? It’s good to be back. This next one is off our new album and it’s not a time to go to the bar.” They play ‘Don’t Go Making Plans’.
It’s back to the debut album next for the catchy ‘Cash Machine’, then they perform ‘Suburban Knights’ from their other chart-topping album, ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’. Richard then grabs a small guitar to perform another new one, ‘Digo Nada’. This has a Latin feel to it. The frontman then asks, “Are you up for some punky disco? Are you feeling hard to beat?” They play a crowd favourite, ‘Hard To Beat’. Sticking with the debut album, it’s the slower ‘Move On Now’ next. This is performed solo by Richard. They finish their impressive set with a banger, and the crowd is bouncing. It’s ‘Living For The Weekend’, again from ‘Stars Of CCTV’.
(Ian Holman)
THE SOUTH SIDE RACKETEERS – Live At The Bandstand (18:50 – 19:20)
For something completely different, I head to the Bandstand stage where South Side Racketeers are whipping up a storm with their no-holds barred ska. Bassist Roisin Noble (aka Roisin Rumble) plays a double bass with no little aplomb. Vocalist Mark Ballard occasionally puts on a Jamaican accent, which is slightly iffy perhaps. There’s some ace saxophone soloing from Guy Lawson. Indeed, the musicianship throughout is fab. The material seems to be original, or at least consists of covers that I haven’t heard before. I suspect that the former applies.
The band are Portsmouth based and have an afternoon gig at the Square Tower, Broad Street, Old Portsmouth on 27th September. Doors open at a very civilised 1.30pm.
(Mark Kelly)
NEW TONIC – Live At The Bandstand (19:40 – 20:10)
I stay at the Bandstand stage for more ska from New Tonic. Much as I enjoyed the previous band, this lot are absolutely on fire! There’s some ace trombone solos and the bassist is utterly brilliant throughout. They play what may be a Hotknives cover, ‘Mary Jane’. Set closer ‘B.S.R.A’ features the drummer’s rapped vocals, plus an awesome guitar solo.
They play at Eastleigh Locomotive Engineers’ Club on 19th September. They’re well worth a look.
(Mark Kelly)
RICHARD ASHCROFT – Common Stage (21:20 – 22:50)
I felt like a very “lucky man” as I managed to find my way down towards the front to witness Richard Ashcroft’s headline performance at Common Stage. The last time I saw Richard perform was just 31 years ago when The Verve played the NME Stage at ‘T in the Park’ in Strathclyde Country Park. What I do vividly remember from that day was Richard performing barefoot. The Verve split up the following month but made a triumphant return two years later with their best-selling album ‘Urban Hymns’. That very album provided a significant part of tonight’s set with Richard performing seven songs from it.
The wind was still blowing as it had been doing for much of the day. For a headliner, Richard’s set was pretty basic with a large “RA” lit up providing the backdrop with a series of lights around it. He made up for that with a striking performance that had a large portion of the audience singing along to most of his anthemically penned songs.
Richard arrives on stage wearing a light blue T-shirt (featuring a photo of Elvis on the front), a pair of blue jeans, a sparkly jacket, a pair of white trainers, a hat, and a pair of dark glasses. With him, he has four band members: a lead guitarist, a bass player, a drummer, and a keyboardist. Richard says, “Oh yes, I got the jacket on for Dolly (Parton). This one’s for Dolly”. They play his 2016 single ‘Hold On’. Following that, Richard looks out to the audience and says, “It’s like a Bon Jovi video up here”.
Next, it’s the first of the ‘Urban Hymns’ songs, ‘Weeping Willow’ and ‘Space And Time’. Both are performed with Richard playing acoustic guitar. Dolly Parton gets another mention from the Wigan-born lead vocalist. He mentions record players and says, “If you put on one of my old records and play it at 45 instead of 33, it sounds just like Dolly. Music is power”. His 2016 solo single, ‘Music Is Power’, is next. Richard starts off on acoustic, then switches to electric guitar later in the song.
Two more songs from his solo material follow. Incidentally, these were both number three hits: ‘A Song For The Lovers’ from 2000 and ‘Break The Night With Colour’ from 2006. It’s back to songs from The Verve’s ‘Urban Hymns’ album to finish off the set. ‘Velvet Morning’ is the first of these, followed by the band’s only number one hit, ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’. For the majority of this one, Richard plays it solo with his acoustic guitar, with the crowd singing along word for word. Towards the end of the song, his band join in to provide an electrifying conclusion.
Another crowd favourite follows. This being ‘Lucky Man’. Richard and the band then leave the stage and return a few minutes later for a two-song encore. ‘Sonnet’ is the first. Appreciating his audience, Richard says, “You f****ing legends”. The final song of the night to be performed is the awesome number two hit that the Verve made their comeback with after their short split, ‘Bittersweet Symphony’. This lasts seven minutes and sees Richard moving from one end of the stage to the other as he gets the crowd to sing along with him.
(Ian Holman)
KYLE FALCONER – Under The Trees (22:00 – 22:45)
It’s headliner time already so I toddle off to see Kyle Falconer from The View headline at the Under The Trees stage. He announces that this is his third sober gig. It has to be said that he looks in fine fettle, so living a more healthy lifestyle is clearly doing him good. He’s accompanied by Drew Palmer on electric guitar and backing vocals. Drew is a touring member of The View. Kyle is playing at the same time as Richard Ashcroft is headlining the main stage. During the first song Kyle encourages us to “sing so Richard can hear you boys!” We do our best.
Kyle has released four solo albums, but unsurprisingly there’s a few View songs in the set, ‘Face For The Radio’ from The View’s debut album ‘Hats Off To The Buskers’ being particularly notable. The harmonies between Kyle and Drew are really impressive. There’s an ace guitar solo from Drew too. He also doubles on trumpet. Apparently this is an instrument that he’s only recently learnt to play. If that’s the case, he’s doing well with it. For one song Kyle drags a mate from the crowd to essentially act as a cheerleader for one song. He adds the odd backing vocal and raps a bit too.
They cover The Beatles’ ‘I’ve Just Seen A Face’, but without the twiddly guitar intro. Kyle says that it amuses him when occasionally young people at his shows are under the impression that he wrote the song! This isn’t the only cover that Kyle treats us to tonight, as we also get ‘Half The World Away’ by Oasis, that was the b-side to ‘Whatever’, and was also the theme tune to the BBC’s ‘The Royle Family’. I’m actually surprised that Kyle even bothers with covers, as he’s such a prolific writer. Still I guess that he’s basically playing what he wants to play. View classic ‘Same Jeans’ appears towards the end of the set, and more than holds its own with the covers. Kyle has been a worthy headliner. He’s an artist who is probably somewhat overdue for a reappraisal.
(Mark Kelly)
Victorious Festival will return next year! The date for your diary is 27th to 29th August 2027. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased from HERE.
