VICTORIOUS FESTIVAL 2025: SEASIDE FESTIVAL MAKES WAVES FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS

This year’s Victorious Festival in Portsmouth proved to be its most newsworthy, with The Mary Wallopers being kicked of stage in under 5 minutes on the Friday afternoon. The band were reportedly thrown off for a “derogatory chant” however organisers did not expand on what this chant was specifically. The band later released video footage directly contradicting the organiser’s statement on their Instagram which showed a stage tech explicitly pointing to the Palestine flag before their sound was cut.

The moment, so early in the weekend, did sour the mood for a lot of festivalgoers and acts alike. People in the crowd were audible in their disapproval of the band’s removal almost immediately, with Victorious pouring petrol on the fire attempting to save face thereafter. A total of four acts subsequently pulled out from performing the following day, including The Last Dinner Party, who had been due to perform the Saturday evening before headliners Vampire Weekend. Victorious have since made a “substantial donation” to charities linked with humanitarian relief effort for Palestinian people in response.

As a result of the initial scandal and the subsequent line-up changes, the first two days felt unsettled, especially given Michael Kiwanuka had already pulled out before the festival started, with Chris McCausland also cancelling on the day due to sickness.

While the controversy raged on the main stage, the festival did excel in its showcase of fresh talent, particularly on the signature Seaside Stage and Castle Stage. Highlights from the weekend on the Seaside stage, which primarily hosts up and coming acts (local and national alike) came from Circus, Mimi Rae, and Owen Vincent. “To have [Victorious] on your doorstep is amazing. To be playing on a stage where the crowd can be so enormous, and you have so many new eyes and ears on you, it’s everything for an emerging artist” said Owen Vincent before his Sunday slot.

The Castle Stage consistently hosted excellent alternatives to the main stage this year. Kid Kapichi captured the feeling perfectly with their early afternoon political anger on the Saturday, while Starsailor mellowed the late Sunday crowd the following day with hits such as Silence is Easy and Good Souls. The firm favourite for the weekend comes from a recent revival of Sheffield’s Reverend & The Makers who welcome what they call their “Radio 2 era”. Having seen the band perform at Glastonbury earlier this year, it is clear this is a band that are in peak form both in the studio and out, with current single Haircut (featuring Vicky McClure) going down a treat in the later summer sun.

Victorious opted for an all-American headline this year, with Queen’s of the Stone Age, Vampire Weekend, and Kings of Leon providing the kind of star-studded line-up that sell the volume of tickets that the festival are now trying to shift, having moved away from being a predominantly local event, and competing with some of the larger festival simultaneously taking place over the bank holiday. QOTSA visually stripped their set back to the bare bones, with no visual displays, giving the fans 90-minutes of pure stoner rock. Vampire Weekend did cause a stir as they addressed the earlier Mary Wallopers controversy stating, “if someone was punished for flying a flag, they deserve an apology”. However, while Kings of Leon performed note perfect renditions of their back catalogue, it felt at times that their set lacked either the charisma of QOTSA’s stage presence, or even the theatrics of other artists that shared the same stage that weekend. Musically perfect, but perhaps a touch uninspired.

Clearly Victorious is now trying to keep pace with more established festivals, and while they can attract some of the biggest names in pop and rock, it is still refreshing to see their commitment to the local Portsmouth scene. It would seem though that if they are going to court bigger headliners, they do need to be aware that they may also court bigger headlines. Let’s hope that some positive lessons are learnt.