Ahhh another glorious Victorious! This glorious place is pretty much on my doorstep and has become a well loved favourite over the years with it closing out festival season most years, in absolute style!
Victorious has always been somewhere special to me. Being a Pompey girl, and having this festival in my home town means the world! Where else in the world can you find a festival that's right on the beach and also incorporates a lighthouse/castle into one of their stages!? If you've been to Henry's House, you know exactly what I'm chatting about!
Friday was a full day this year! Exciting! Even though for many, Friday was a working day it didn't stop the crowds coming in thick and fast! There was a lot of hype for Louis Tomlinson playing with young fans holding their spot on the barrier for HOURS before his set. But for me personally, this wasn't who I was most excited for!
The afternoon special guests on Friday were Razorlight bringing a huge hit of 2000s nostalgia, blasting out hits like America and Golden Touch. A very well rounded performance that drew a huge crowd! Would love to see these guys down here again, perhaps for a later evening slot next time?
One of the big pulls for me on Friday was a band who admitted on stage they were worried no one would come see them as they were on the same time as Louis Tomlinson! Lottery Winners! These guys hail from the North but have a lot of ties to the South, particularly Pompey and have played down here a lot. Last time being the Guildhall! Having just come off tours with Nickelback and Avril Lavigne, and with a new album being finalised they were on top form. Their lead singer Thom is hilarious and the band are being tipped as one of the potential supports for the upcoming Oasis reunion shows! A great band with a unbelievable sense of humour.
Friday led us to be treated to essentially a double headliner! Fatboy Slim and Snow Patrol!
I was lucky enough to meet Snow Patrol prior to their set at Victorious, when Simon sat down and interviewed them. Genuinely lovely people and talk of new albums! Exciting stuff! These guys smashed out all of the hits we know and love, with the crowd singing the lyrics to Run so loudly that at one point Gary Lightbody just stood and let us sing them for him! They said on stage how much they enjoyed Victorious, so fingers crossed they'll be back soon! I am very excited to hear what's coming on the new album which is out very soon!
Final act of the Friday for me was Fatboy Slim! Having been a fan for a number of years and remembering back to the infamous shows on Brighton Beach, many moons ago! I was incredibly excited for this set, hoping to hear classics such as "Weapon of choice" and "Praise you". However, although the graphics were stunning with a beautiful nod to local artist My Dog Sighs both with his shirt choice and graphic choice. I have to say I was left a little disappointed by his set. I feel like I have to preface this by saying, it was an outstanding dance music DJ set, but a dance music festival Victorious is not. I would've preferred to hear his own songs rather than songs I didn't know or that weren't his own. Of course, there will be people who absolutely loved it. But I know listening to friends and people stood near us, we were not the only ones who'd been expecting to hear his own songs. Overall, a great fun set, but just not what I was expecting!
Saturday rolled round super quickly as it always does during festival season! I swear festival weekends are always the quickest weekends ever! Saturday was the day of rain at Victorious this year! We were fully anticipating this, having experienced the washout when The Prodigy played a few years ago! Unfortunately. It was absolutely torrential which I think put some people off, as the site was noticeably quieter in the earlier part of the day, but that didn't take away from the incredible atmosphere on site as always!
Cannot talk about Saturday without mentioning the infamous secret special guest set! Last year we had McFly and I joked, months ago, about how it should be Busted this year! Well! As soon as I saw the post saying "There's something major going down on Portsea Island" ... I knew I had every reason to be very excited! I have been a fan of Busted for far longer than I care to remember and despite the torrential weather, they absolutely smashed it! Admitting they arrived a mere minute before their set was due to start, they ran through all the classics including taking everyone back to where it started with "What I go to school for". I have seen these guys before and every time I see them I am transported back to being a teenager the first time round! A fantastic choice for the afternoon slot!
Couldn't talk about Saturday without talking about the local boys Crystal Tides! Having played Victorious numerous times, starting out on the smallest of stages. This was their main stage debut and what a debut it was! These guys are great both on record and live, and whilst on stage announced their biggest hometown show to date! The Box at Portsmouth Guildhall! Which as I write this, is already 70% sold! Absolutely made up for these guys! Good luck on the upcoming tour too!
Aaaaand finally... Fun day Sunday!
I appreciate I am incredibly biased, but Sunday was my favourite day line up wise! Biffy will always be up there as one of my favourite bands. Both live and on record!
Honourable Sunday mentions go out though ....
The Hunna - I have absolutely loved these guys for years. Simon had them in for a live session on Voice FM back in 2016, where they played You and Me acoustic and I have been a fan ever since! They've changed direction a lot since then, but are still an absolute powerhouse band win an incredibly loyal fan base. Really hope these guys are back soon and further up the bill!
The Comedy Tent was particularly busy all weekend and I caught snippets of a few fantastic comedians, but managed to sit (outside the tent cause it was so busy!) and watch Al Murray do his Pub Landlord set. This character he has developed has gone from strength to strength and his crowd work is so quick it's unbelievable. Kudos to the guys behind the comedy tent, it has come so far and is now a big part of the festival pulling in huge titans of the comedy scene! Having the screens and speakers outside was a great decision! Meant I could see and hear what was happening even if I couldn't actually get into the tent!
I could go on about so many bands and artists I saw over the weekend. But I'll end with one final one....
Mon the Biff! I have been a huge fan of these guys for a number of years, having see them come up from playing venues like The Joiners, all the way to headlining Festivals and venues like The O2! There was a huge buzz of excitement on Sunday for this set, with fans having travelled from abroad for this set and a sea of Biffy T shirts being spotted all over the site! My own included! Opening with "The Captain", which was very apt considering the location! The set was a run through of some of their greatest hits with the huge crowd singing back lyrics to pretty much every song at them! With Simon admitting they hadn't played the festival before but were really enjoying it, it would be great to see them back down here soon! The festival was closed with Many of Horror and accompanied by beautiful fireworks! A fitting end to a great Victorious 2024!
As always, Victorious proved itself to be a beautiful festival. A place of kindness, joy and fun. Victorious is a family festival by the seaside that caters to a great variety of music tastes and is enjoyed by people of every age. I cannot wait to see what they come out with for 2025!
Written by Lucinda Wilson
Photo Victorious Festival/Strong Island
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