Portsmouth’s Victorious Festival has rapidly grown into the UK’s largest metropolitan-based music festival since its inception. What started as a local music celebration at the city’s Historic Dockyard has evolved into a major music event in the UK Festival calendar, drawing thousands of music fans from across the country down to Southsea seafront.
What has set the festival apart is perhaps its varied mix of artists – past headliners have included everyone from The Prodigy to Brian Wilson with many musical bases covered in between. Take this year for example, no other major festival in the country has Idles sandwiched between One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson and Snow Patrol on the main stage. For all this musical variety the fear would be a sense of sonic disorientation but Victorious proudly embraces this eclecticism and the punters do too. This year’s edition welcomes over 100,000 through the gates.
Big name artists abound and Friday’s action kicks off with old hands Razorlight bringing what you’d expect onto the main stage in the afternoon sunshine. But it is Idles that provide the weekend’s first ‘were you there?’ moment. Their set is full of tubthumping energy with the band delivering a fast and furious festival ready set, leaning on a number of fan favourite tunes. Shaggily bearded guitarist Mark Bowen leaves the stage to run past the front row before jumping into the pit during ‘Never Fight a Man with a Perm’ whilst ‘Mother’ gets the crowd shouting back the chorus to a prowling Joe Talbot .
Over on the Castle Stage, Maximo Park show off their angular pop rock as per. Paul Smith is still an energetic force on stage and the crowd are rewarded with a career spanning set. There is certainly a lot to be said about the power of the mid noughties indie band in the UK festival scene. A case in point being Friday night co-headliner Snow Patrol who produced the weekend’s biggest crowd despite being a good decade past their chart troubling prime.
Their set is slightly plodding, though frontman Gary Lightbody does crack a good line about looking like a rock God whilst playing guitar in the high winds swirling about. The torch songs – ‘Run’ and ‘Chasing Cars’ – provide sing-a-long moments for those in attendance as the sun begins to set.
Friday headliner Fatboy Slim again offers more evidence of the pulling power that turn of the century British alternative music seemingly has. However, despite the wrinkles and greying hair, Norman Cook provides a brilliant hour and half of bouncing tunes from across his career. The music is great and is matched by the stage show and big screens on each side of the stage. AI graphics with pop culture references come to life throughout – from Walter and The Dude from The Big Lebowski to the fatboy himself – front cover star of ‘You’ve Come a long way, baby’ album – ‘singing’ along to the songs.
Saturday’s weather doesn’t want to play ball and the storm brewing the previous day decides to come down full force in the morning. The Amazons on the Castle Stage appear just after the rain and provide some muscular pop rock that’s well received by the crowd.
Later on at the same stage, The Sugababes continue their recent original line-up comeback with a set that contains many more songs by them then you realise you knew. Incidentally, a slot just before Pixies on the Castle Stage was not what I had on my festival bingo card this summer but there you go. Pixies produce a headline show showcasing their legendary status. Beginning with the hypnotically dark ‘Gouge Away’, the band play a set full of alternative rock gems lifted mainly from their first few albums culminating in a mass sing-a-long of ‘Where is my Mind?’. Definitely a classic Victorious moment in the making.
Onto the third day and Sunday afternoon sees Yard Act battle the high winds billowing around the Common Stage. Favourites of the 6Music Dad, the band’s frontman James Smith provides Jarvis Cocker like storytelling and social commentary. It’s a set which shows the bands potential though the dreary weather reduces the goodtime festival vibes a main stage afternoon slot probably needs.
Over on the Castle Stage, Soft Play – formally known as Slaves – clatter about, producing an intensely enjoyable rattle. Moving into the evening and with the festival coming to a close, we are treated to arguably two of the best sets of the weekend.
First is Arlo Parks at the Castle Stage. It’s her last festival show of the year and she is in a buoyant mood. On record, Park’s songwriting quality is obvious though her often hushed vocal can often be a little introverted. In the live arena though, backed by a three piece band to give added bite we get an absolute powerhouse of a performance – a mix of lush soul, chilled hip-hop and delicate pop, there’s a real joy to her set with a summer of gigs not seemingly doing any harm to her voice.
As festival closers, Biffy Clyro provide exactly what you want from a big name headliner. BIG tunes throughout, huge rock choruses and even sparks and flames shooting from the stage. Of course, the pyrotechnics and stage theatrics waver within that grey area of rock cliche and visual awesomeness but it’s a spectacle and luckily, Kilmarnock’s finest have the tunes to match. Kicking things off with ‘The Captain’ – certainly fitting with the rain swirling in the wind and the waters of the Solent just to the left of us – this is quickly followed with ‘That Golden Rule’ and the head nodding ‘Who’s Got a Match?’.
With these first three bangers you wonder whether they’ve played their hand too quickly though ultimately the set is perfectly paced. Consisting mainly of songs from their classic mid-career albums of ‘Puzzles’ and ‘Only Revolutions’ its a set that highlights the bands position as one of the country’s biggest rock bands. The stage theatrics and mass sing-a-longs continue with the anthemic ‘Mountains’ offering an arms aloft festival moment in particular before they finish with ‘Many of Horror’ played out to the obligatory end of show fireworks.
And with that, Victorious 2024 is a wrap. The festival has cemented its place as a major player in the UK festival scene, offering a unique multi-genre musical experience as eclectic as the weekend’s weather.