‘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 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.
DAY THREE – SUNDAY 30TH AUGUST
MACKENZIE – Common Stage (12:05 – 12:35)
Opening the Common Stage on the final day of the festival was emerging pop-rock singer-songwriter Mackenzie (Burke). Mackenzie grew up in Sheffield-on-Loddon, Hampshire, is inspired by Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus, and was the Road to Victorious 2025 winner. With Mackenzie on stage are guitarist (Duncan) and drummer (Connor). The influences are clear on opening song ‘Drama Queen’ and throughout the remainder of the set. There’s plenty of energy from all three musicians, although there’s not a big crowd watching to start with, but it does grow as the set continues. There are also a few down the front wearing Mackenzie t-shirts.
The next two songs are ‘9-5’ with its jagged guitars and pounding drums, and ballad ’That Much Better’. The young vocalist shows her appreciation to those who are watching, saying, “We’ve played in a room with literally nobody in it, so to be able to play for you guys is just incredible.” Fourth song ‘Soul Wounded’ features a guitar solo from Duncan, while the next one ‘I Hate July’ is a standout track. New single ‘Raining On My Own Parade’ follows. Unfortunately, for the last song ‘Idiot Of The Decade’, the vocals cut out at the beginning so a mic replacement was required.
(Ian Holman)
ASHA BANKS – Castle Stage (13:05 – 13:35)
I make the trek over to Castle Stage to see Asha Banks, who started her career as a child actress, making her professional debut at the age of eight in ‘Les Misérables’ at the Queen’s Theatre in London’s West End. Her acting career also includes playing Princess Pamina in the 2022 movie adaptation of ‘The Magic Flute’, as well as starring as Noah in Prime Video movies ‘My Fault: London’ and ‘Your Fault: London’. As a singer-songwriter, Asha released two EPs last year.
As Asha and her backing band arrive on stage, there is plenty of cheer and a few screams from some of her younger fans. The catchy opening song ‘Rerun’ sounds much better than the recorded version as it is the standout track of the set for me. Asha then greets the onlookers with “Hello, Victorious, how are you? It’s lovely to be here today”. The next song is the heartbreaking ‘Shiver’ from her debut EP ‘Untie My Tongue’. For the next two songs, Asha plays acoustic guitar. The first of these, ‘Come Down’, features in ‘Your Fault: London’, while ‘Feel The Rush’ is earthy and features soft vocals. Asha tells us that the fifth song of the set, ‘Biggest Fan’, has become her favourite to perform. It features a building repeated chorus. The final song is ‘Too Busy Missing You’. This one is a soaring, soulful pop track that is both moody and atmospheric. After the performance, Asha comes out front and spends 25 minutes meeting her excited young fans.
(Ian Holman)
THE GUEST LIST – Castle Stage (14:05 – 14:35)
Manchester indie-rock five-piece The Guest List was formed in 2021 by lead vocalist and acoustic guitar player Cai Alty and four friends: Tom Quigley (lead guitar), Leio Hunter (rhythm guitar), Sid Wallace (bass guitar), and Angus Gilchrist (drums). Last year they played Under The Trees Stage in front of an off-putting bubble machine. This time around they play the much bigger Castle Stage and they have a decent-sized crowd watching them. They released their debut album ‘Something Real’ just two days ago and today’s set provides seven songs from it starting with the excellent grungy anthemic ‘Mundane’ with its scratchy opening guitar lines.
Cai delivers passionate and emotive vocals on the moody ‘If Ever Your Devil Is Kind’ then they perform one of two songs that they played last year. This is ‘Ruine’ and features a French spoken monologue by bass player Sid. The rhythm of this one is driven by Angus’ hypnotic thumping drum beats, it’s dark and also punchy. Cai’s raw and yet charming vocals stand out on the wonderful ‘Slow Down Sally’ while ‘You Should Care’ features a sixties beat sound. Cai tells us that he usually performs ‘Something Real’ with a tambourine but he left it at Leeds Festival the previous day.
As they did last year they finish with the very topical climate-changing song ‘Weatherman’. This is a set highlight that starts with some great guitar playing before Cai’s vocals come in. The song then builds throughout. Before the band leave the stage Cai says “Thank you, enjoy the rest of the festival”. An impressive performance from a band that has come a long way in the past year.
(Ian Holman)
BROOKE COMBE – Common Stage (14:20 – 14:50)
I made my way swiftly back over to Common Stage for the tail-end of Brooke Combe’s set. Unfortunately, I only managed to catch the last couple of songs. Brooke is a 26-year-old Edinburgh-born woman with an amazing, soulful voice and now is based in Liverpool. I previously saw her perform a headline show at Komedia Studio in Brighton back in November 2023. I was very impressed back then, and it’s no surprise that she has moved on to bigger and better stages since.
The two songs I managed to catch this afternoon were her recent single ‘Love Was Made Of Stone’ and her 2025 release ‘How Can I Tell You? (To Love Me More)’. Both were beautifully sung. Brooke will be supporting Jalen Ngonda on his UK, Europe and North America through October, November and early December.
brookecombe.fontana-records.com
(Ian Holman)
SEB LOWE – Castle Stage (15:05 – 15:35)
Because of the Bandstand Stage being closed the day before because of high winds, Sunday for me starts at the Castle Stage (I can’t get away from the place!) with Seb Lowe and his band. I saw Seb a couple of times three or four years ago and was interested to see how he had progressed in the intervening years. One thing is for sure, he and his band are not in the least bit intimidated by appearing on a big stage. In addition to band members Kate Couriel on violin and drummer Joel Goodwin, Seb is joined by a guitarist and bassist.
The opening song may or may not be called ‘Little Toy Soldiers’, and features a cracking guitar solo plus a violin solo from Kate. One thing that quickly becomes clear is that Seb’s lyrics are intelligent and witty. So much so that many of them are on his stage backdrop. The second song deals with the concept of a country, and what that actually means. Amongst other things the song deals with nationalism and its links to racism. The verses are essentially rapped whilst Kate sings backing vocals whilst playing, which is pretty impressive. This song is quite a masterpiece. I wish I knew its title!
The third song is new and “doesn’t have a name yet”. Seb tells us that it’s “about the human tendency to f*ck things up.” It starts gently with Seb on acoustic. Then the drums and bass come in, followed by the guitar and violin. It gets gradually louder and displays a wonderful sense of dynamics. ‘One Day To Live’ is a recent single. It’s in ¾, and has a drum intro while the riff is played on guitar and violin. ‘Don’t Say No To Hitler’ is probably the highlight of the set. It sounds like the kind of semi-jokey song that The Sensational Alex Harvey Band might have done about fifty years ago. The lyrics are very witty and the song sounds as if it could have originated from the Weimar Republic, rather than being a song that was released this year. Sadly the lyrics are very relevant to today, and the name Hitler could easily be substituted with Putin or Trump.
‘Terms And Conditions’ starts with a drum intro and has a gloriously raucous coda. The set ends with ‘Step In Line’, which features some nice acoustic fingerpicking from Seb and ends with a sweet faux rock ‘n’ roll ending. Without a doubt Seb Lowe is one of the most interesting artists of the whole weekend. I really hope that he manages to hold onto his band because they really are awesome. Seb and the band tour the UK and Europe in November and December. They play London Outernet on 17th November, and Brighton Chalk on 18th November.
(Mark Kelly)
REEF – Common Stage (15:20 – 16:05)
I remained at Common Stage to see English rock band Reef. A band that was formed in Glastonbury in 1993. The last time I saw them perform was way back in 1995. The current four-piece line-up features original band members Gary Stringer (vocals) and Jack Bessant (bass), as well as Amy Newton (lead guitar) and Luke Bullen (drums).
The Reef rock groove gets underway with their 2003 release ‘Stone For Your Love’. The delightful 70s blues-rock sounding ‘Naked’ is next from their debut album ‘Replenish’. Following this, we get ‘Higher Vibration’ and ‘I Would Have Left You’ from their chart-topping second album ‘Glow’. Gary advances down the front of the stage after this one, giving the rock sign to the audience. Sticking with ‘Glow’, they perform their two Top Ten singles from the album, the funky and groovy ‘Place Your Hands’ and ‘Come Back Brighter’ with its soulful swagger.
Next, there’s ‘New Bird’ from 1999, then we are back with yet another one from ‘Glow.’ This is ’Summers In Bloom’, for which Gary tells us it is a song about Somerset. It features a rumbling bass riff with more soulful vocals. The funk-infused rock of ‘Loose’ from the band’s debut album follows, then it’s an AC/DC cover of ’T.N.T.’. A song Gary tells us was the first record he bought. As you would expect, this one really rocks and it’s an impressive cover with Gary’s vocals sounding like he could easily front the Australian-formed band. There’s one further song from the number one album, ‘Glow’. The excellent ‘Yer Old’ with its thumping drums, then they finish fittingly with ‘The End’ from their debut long-player.
(Ian Holman)
THE ENEMY – Common Stage (16:35 – 17:20)
I stayed at Common Stage to see 2006 Coventry-formed indie rock and punk revival band The Enemy for the first time. They are Tom Clarke (lead vocals, guitar), Andy Hopkins (bass guitar), and Liam Watts (drums). Along with them, they have an additional guitarist, Gary Openshaw. They open with the first two songs from their debut number one album, ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’. These are ‘Aggro’ and ‘Away From Here’. Fans down the front are joining in, singing word for word. From these opening songs, it’s no surprise that The Enemy have been compared to The Jam as that is the feel I’m getting here. They are impressive as they continue with another couple of songs from the debut LP. These are their catchy Top 5 single ‘Had Enough’, and ‘You’re Not Alone’ with its passionate and soaring lead vocals, driving rhythm, and fast, infectious beat. ‘Be Somebody’ is next from the follow-up album, ‘Music For The People’.
It’s then back to the chart-topping debut album for the remainder of the 40-minute set. Tom tells us, “I’m losing my voice. Which is a f*cker ‘cos this is my favourite festival in the whole of the UK”. He asks for the crowd to sing louder. They perform the slow, sorrowful, and reflective ballad ‘Happy Birthday Jane’ with the lead vocalist struggling with the high parts. Tom switches to acoustic guitar as they perform the title track from their number one album. There’s vocal audience participation for this one from those that know the words. The closing song is ‘This Song’. It’s an epic extended finale to the set with a soaring structure that goes on for 12 minutes.
(Ian Holman)
SLEEPER – Castle Stage (17:05 – 17:50)
I’m back at the Castle Stage for Sleeper, a band that I haven’t seen play for thirty years. I feel oddly nervous for them. I hope they’re good because I used to really like them and I don’t want to have to give them a bad review. Sleeper are actually unusual amongst re-formed bands in that they still have three-quarters of their original line-up, which is a good sign. Their bass player Kieron Pepper joined the band in 2017, and they have a touring member, Amy, on keyboards and percussion. She comes from Portsmouth, which is nice.
They kick off quite safely with the classic ‘Nice Guy Eddie’ from ‘The It Girl’ album. However, second song ‘Cellophane’ is a relative newbie from 2019’s ‘The Modern Age’ album. The song sits well alongside ‘Nice Guy Eddie’ and features a saxophonist. There’s no hint of jazz however. It still sounds like an indie song. Singer Louise Wener straps on a Telecaster for the coda, and they go straight into ‘Delicious’, an oldie from the ‘Smart’ album. It’s dedicated to all the women here. It’s dull and overcast, and Louise tells us that they’re going to bring the sun out for us. Apparently if we wish hard enough it will happen. I suddenly feel as if I’ve been teleported back to Woodstock, but only for a nanosecond though. This incidentally, is before ‘The Sun Also Rises’, another newer song from ‘The Modern Age’.
Jon Stewart’s guitar playing has been excellent throughout, but I knew it would be. I’ve seen him playing with The Wedding Present for quite a few years, and he really is awesome. ‘What Do I Do Now’ gets an airing, and has a really nice synth line that I don’t remember from the original. Still, it was a long time ago. Amy’s parents are at the side of the stage. They get a friendly round of applause. A cracking version of ‘Statuesque’ features another superb Jon Stewart guitar solo. They then play a cover of Blondie’s ‘Atomic’ which segues into Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. They’re both brilliant songs, and they’re good versions too, but I don’t really see the point of Sleeper playing them when they have such a great back catalogue. Maybe they just enjoy playing them!
Louise tells us that we’re “going back to 1994” for ‘Inbetweener’, before the set closes with ‘Sale Of The Century’, which has a synth bass part in addition to the bass guitar part, which makes it particularly powerful. The band, Louise in particular, have been on top form. This has been an electrifying set where the band have made thirty year old songs sound fresh and exciting. Even better, their newer songs are as good as the old ones. The band have been playing a tour of festivals this summer, and finish up at Blackpool Live at the Blackpool Winter Gardens on 12th September.
(Mark Kelly)
BLOODWORM – Under The Trees (17:45 – 18:15)
I head over to the Under The Trees stage to see Bloodworm from Nottingham. They were really good when I saw them at the Rockaway Beach Festival in Bognor Regis last year, and they’re even better today. They’re a gothic post-punk three-piece who owe a not insignificant debt to Joy Division. There’s more than a hint of The Cure about them too. Guitarist George Curtis is superb. He seemingly effortlessly combines playing rhythm and lead.
On their final song the bass brings Killing Joke to mind, and bassist Chris Walker looks like John Cale towards the end of his time with the Velvets. At the end of the set George tells us “Come and see us again if you liked it. If you didn’t, don’t.” Well, they’re a cracking band and I’ll definitely be seeing them again. They play at The Gathering Sounds Festival at Stockton-on-Tees on 26th September, the Beyond The Music Festival at Manchester Media City on 7-9th October, and Nottingham Rescue Rooms on 31st October.
(Mark Kelly)
FIONA-LEE – Under The Trees (18:45 – 19:15)
I stay at Under The Trees for Fiona-Lee, who including herself has a four piece band, who are all from Yorkshire. It’s clear early in the set that Fiona has a very powerful voice. She plays a new song that is coming out later this year. It’s called ‘One Hell Of A Tightrope’. It’s about seeing someone who’s far more into you than you are into them. Considering the subject matter it’s bouncier and happier than I was expecting. There’s some great four part harmonies too. Lead guitarist Millie has a brown Telecaster like the one Jimmy Page used on Led Zeppelin’s 1977 US tour. I’m a tad jealous.
‘Through It All’ is from Fiona’s first EP. It’s supposed to have a saxophone solo, so she asks if anybody has a saxophone with them. No-one does, but you don’t know if you don’t ask, right? She tells us that we’ll just have to imagine the sax, and collectively we do. Sax or no sax, ‘Through It All’ is bouncy, tuneful, and whips along at a decent lick. ‘They’re Not My Friends’ is a sad song with a haunting guitar intro. It’s powerful both musically and lyrically.
Fiona introduces her band, who are more than impressive. As well as Millie on guitar, there’s Poppy on bass and Bridie on drums. For ‘The Balance’ Millie is on slide which gives the song an almost alt country feel. Closing song ‘Mother’ is the first song that Fiona-Lee ever released. There’s a keening vocal from Fiona to start, Poppy’s bass line has some nice melodic touches and there’s a coruscating guitar solo from Millie. This has been an impressive set. The band gel really well and the material is superb. I hope I get the chance to see them again before too long.
(Mark Kelly)
THE STREETS – Common Stage (19:20 – 20:35)
After a break, I return to Common Stage to see The Streets perform their operatic second album, ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’, in full. Towards the back of the middle of the stage, a cartoon copy of a bus shelter as featured on the album has been set up. There are also two lampposts further forward, one each side of the stage. The eleven-track album is then played out with vocalist Mike Skinner joined by four musicians and two additional vocalists (Roo Savill and Kevin Mark Trail). The plot from the concept album is played through as a play, and overall, it’s very impressive.
Initially, while other musicians are already on stage, Mike appears with a pint in hand by exiting the front of the bus shelter as the story starts. During the third track, ‘Not Addicted’, Mike graffiti’s the front of the shelter with the words “PLAY UP POMPEY”. At this point, some in the crowd start chanting the words. Then, for the fourth track, ‘Blinded By The Lights’, he wanders down the front of the stage, lifts up one of the monitors, and sits on it. ‘Get Out Of My House’ is well played out while the crowd, both young and a bit older, go wild and join in with the lyrics of ‘Fit But You Know It’. The shelter is then used by Mike as a phone box for ‘Such a T**t’. There is a large round of applause at the end. An eight-track encore follows, featuring ’Turn The Page’, ‘Who’s Got The Bag?’, the popular ‘Don’t Mug Yourself’, ‘Has It Come To This?’, ‘Weak Become Heroes’, ’Too Much Brandy’ and ’Take Me As I Am’.
(Ian Holman)
PUNCHBAG – Under The Trees (19:45 – 20:15)
Had the Live At The Bandstand stage been open today I would not have seen Punchbag at the Under The Trees Stage. This would have been a shame because they’re absolutely bloody amazing. They’re a sibling duo comprising Clara Bach on vocals and Anders Bach on guitar. Live they’re joined by a bassist who also plays synth, and a drummer. Their music is punk infused electro-pop, with some pre-programmed stuff on the synth as well as guitar and bass.
They bravely start with what is probably their most famous song: ‘I’m Not Your Punchbag’. That’s followed by ‘F*ck It’ which is punchy and bouncy. Honestly if you’re not entertained by this see a doctor because you may be dead. From here it’s straight into ‘I Love This’. There’s barely any gap between songs. This is energy in excelsis. Everyone is on backing vocals. The drumming is astonishingly good – powerful and dextrous. Clara is an amazing frontwoman. She seems to be everywhere at once! She visually engages with the audience. You feel that she’s looking directly at you!
They play their latest song: ‘Playing God’. This is different to everything that has gone before. It really showcases the vocals, which are excellent. It’s slower and quite moving. More than anything it reminds me of Garbage, whilst the backing vocals remind me of those on Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds Of Love’! I don’t know what kind of effects pedal the guitar is going through, but it sounds like a synth. The song has a faster closing section which wraps things up very nicely. This is certainly the best song of their set. Quite a masterpiece. ‘Pretty Youth’ is very energetic with a cracking guitar solo, whilst ‘Used To Be So Sexy’ is heavier, danceable and powerful. I must confess that I’m really blown away! I don’t like to make predictions about a band’s possible success, but if Punchbag don’t have a significant degree of success then there is really something very badly wrong.
(Mark Kelly)
KASABIAN – Common Stage (21:20 – 22:50)
The headline act on Common Stage on the final day of the festival was Kasabian. The current line-up features original members Sergio (Serge) Pizzorno (vocals/guitar) and Chris Edwards (bass guitar), as well as Ian Matthews (drums), who joined back in 2004, and Tim Carter (lead guitar/backing vocals), who joined in 2013. They also have Gary Alesbrook (trumpet) for part of tonight’s set. I notice there is also one other band member playing guitar and keyboards, although I’m unaware who this is; it could be Richard Baek.
Kasabian have been one of the most successful British bands since their debut release in 2004. They have had seven number one albums and four Top 10 singles. They formed in Leicester in 1997 under their initial name Saracuse.
Prior to the band arriving on stage this evening, there is an eight-minute countdown on the large screen at the back of the stage. There is also a plethora of lights set up. The crowd sing along as The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ is played, and as soon as the countdown finishes, the band are in position, and the opening chords of their debut single ‘Club Foot’ are blasted out to the large audience filling a big chunk of Southsea Common. A couple of newish songs follow. These are the dance track ‘Call’ taken from their 2024 album ‘Happenings’ and the bouncy, catchy, and gritty ‘Hippie Sunshine’ which will feature on their soon-to-be-released new album ‘Act III’.
The anthemic ‘Underdog’ is next, followed by 2011’s ‘Days Are Forgotten’. Next, there are three big tunes that really get the crowd jumping up and down and singing along to. These are early hits ‘Shoot The Runner’ and ‘Empire’ followed by 2017’s ‘You’re In Love With A Psycho’. During the first of those songs, Serge asks for all the crowd to bounce and refers to the VIP area that is off to the left-hand side of the stage as a horse racing stand, which makes a few, including myself, chuckle.
The set continues with 2024 dance track ‘Coming Back To Me Good’ featuring Gary on trumpet and Serge on acoustic guitar. Sandwiched between two tracks from 2014’s ‘48:13’ album (‘Stevie’ and ‘Treat’) is new song ’Superpowers’. Serge thanks the crowd and says “everywhere we’ve played around the world has been unbelievable.” The intro to The Prodigy’s ‘Breathe’ is blasted out and forms the intro to the next track ‘Vlad The Impaler’ from 2009. During this, Serge asks everyone to get down, even those on the racecourse. The newish Calvin Harris & Kasabian song ‘Release The Pressure’ is performed next. I notice this includes a sample from Bronski Beat’s ‘Smalltown Boy’. It is followed by another one from the new album ‘Nothing Better Than This’ which goes down well with the crowd. Next, it’s another anthemic song, ‘L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)’ from their self-titled debut album from 2004. For this one, Gary is back on trumpet. The crowd join in with the “la, la, la’s” towards the end. The band then leave the stage with the “la, la, la’s” from the field of fans continuing.
A minute later, the band return to a round of applause and play a three-song encore starting with ‘III Ray (The King)’ from 2017. Serge asks the crowd, “Get those hands in the air. This isn’t ‘The Antiques Roadshow’ or whatever you watch on a Sunday.” The upbeat singalong ‘Bless This Acid House’ from the same year is next. Serge then says, “Thank you so much. This has been the best f*cking summer of our lives, so thank you for making this one extra beautiful.” They close the set in great style with ‘Fire’ from 2009, with the majority of the crowd around me bouncing and singing along. The band leave the stage to cheers and whistles.
(Ian Holman)
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.
