Victorious Festival
Southsea Common, Portsmouth
23rd-25th August 2024
If winning in life is on your list of summer priorities, then attending a festival called Victorious would be a swift and easy way to edge your existence further into a state of fulfilment and joy. Nominative determinism? It’s by no means unreasonable to claim. If you haven’t sampled Victorious before, it’s three days of taking in quality bands whilst taking the sea air on Southsea Common, Portsmouth. And if you have just spent two weeks in front of the Olympic coverage, slowly nurturing an indent on your sofa the shape of your rear end, then imagine the mind-blowing combination of fresh air, splendid entertainment and actual movement of your body that beckons.
The festival takes its name as a reference to Admiral Nelson’s historic flagship that sits proudly in Portsmouth’s naval docks. Far from catching a free ride on the ship’s historic kudos, Victorious has made its own waves over the years, becoming a strong part of the City’s cultural history. It thinks big, attracts big names and gathers suitably big crowds. There’s also a careful musical mix of new and new-ish contemporary acts, and a comforting array of acts that have been there for us over the past few decades. That makes the line-up broad and accessible, not only for the genuinely youthful, but also for those who can only get away with labelling themselves as ‘youthful in mind’ nowadays.
The Common Stage provides your headline focus, with The Castle Stage (a short walk away) a substantial second stage arena with definite main stage vibes. Topping the bill on the Common in 2024 are Fatboy Slim (Friday), Jamie T (Saturday) and Biffy Clyro (Sunday), giving you plenty of opportunity to lose your inhibitions, or your shirt if you’ve gone ‘full Biffy’ by the end of the weekend. If you’re not ‘right there, right then’, you could equally be at the Castle, enjoying headline sets from Jess Glynne, Pixies and Wet Leg on consecutive evenings.
IDLES provided one of the stand-out Glastonbury shows this year, so we can expect to be bowled over by a similar blast of love and ire when they take to the Common Stage on Saturday. The Lottery Winners drove seven hours to play their first Victorious set (thirty minutes long) in 2021, opening the main stage to a small but appreciative audience. Suffice to say they’re back three years on and commanding a much deserved promotion in terms of time and prominence. Since 2021, Victorious has initiated an ‘afternoon headliner’ slot, a cunning move to get crowds to commit to earlier arrivals. It’s certainly made a positive difference to the overall feel of the day. This year’s slots are filled by Razorlight, Tom Walker and The Kooks.
Quite frankly, whatever your taste in music, you ought to find plenty at Victorious that sails heartily up your ear canals. You could be the recipient of some fine orchestrated noise from The Futureheads, The Murder Capital, The Lathums, CMAT, Arlo Parks, Panic Shack, Personal Trainer, Eaves Wilder, Yard Act, Soft Play, Do Nothing, Echobelly, Baby Queen, Snow Patrol or Maximo Park.
If you’re angling for a bit more pop in your selection of popular music, there’s plenty to choose from, including Becky Hill, Holly Humberstone, Sugababes, Natasha Bedingfield, Louis Tomlinson, Professor Green and Smoove & Turrell. You can always find plenty to smile at during a festival, whether that’s just from the good-humored company you’re keeping or the daft bucket hat your mate’s just bought after one too many gins in a tin. The Big Top Comedy and Cabaret Tent offers some genuine belly laughs, with headliners Frankie Boyle, Russell Howard and Al Murray.
Beyond the main stages, there’s much value to be gained from wandering and exploring. The site is well managed and well judged in terms of how big it is for the number of festival goers. It’s definitely one you could bring your kids to, developing their miniature party animal credentials. One warning – the kids’ area is so good that if you do ever want to get back out of it and see some bands, you’ll need a pretty savvy exit strategy, or take it in parental shifts, where one meets SpongeBob and the other slides away surreptitiously to catch The Lightning Seeds and Black Grape. The World Music Stage always throws out acts that make you stop and dance. The Under The Trees Stage (formerly The Acoustic Stage) brings a chilled quality to proceedings. The Introducing Stage is somewhere you’re guaranteed to pick up a new earworm.
In a country where almost nothing has seemed value for money for far too many years, there’s a lot to be said for investing time, energy, cash and emotions in a festival like Victorious.
You can find information on all things Victorious here.
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All words by Jon Kean. More writing by Jon on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive. He tweets as @keanotherapy
All photos © Simon Reed. His website is here and you can visit his author profile for Louder Than War here. He tweets as @musicalpix
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