Outbreak Festival 2025 brings hardcore, alt rock, emo and hip hop to London for the first time, from its Manchester roots Outbreak took over East London’s Victoria Park, drawing 15,000 fans for a landmark celebration. It has been over a decade since Outbreak began but with this years London debut there was a lot to be excited for.
Here at Noctis there were a few of our favourite acts gracing the stages and a few must see’s on the list, some new bands, some old bands and some bands that get played every day. It may seem high risk to run a festival on a hazy Friday with the ominous threat of rain but arrival to any of the nearby tube stations instantly showed that the alt faithful would be out in full force for this. Being placed at the site of Lido the following day there was some odd sights for a hardcore festival. From Tequilla stands to a heavy presence of G4s security and other issues which will come up a little later.
Arriving late (fashionably obviously) we took to catching the end of Speed at Stage 2, starting our day with some proper hardcore punk to set the tone and did they deliver.
*At this point it may be worth noting that there was the classic issue of having too many bands to see with too little time .so there was lots of rushing between stages and missing half of sets. But unluckily this is the life of a journalist at a music festival and yes while you think it.. such a hard life. It is…. please send postcards of the worlds tiniest violin.
After a scout around to work out where everything was we arrived back at Stage 2 to catch Superheaven bringing the 90s grunge vibes. Sludgy and down tempo to a full tent of fans screaming every word. This gave a sense of things to come. Superheaven bring a heavy sound that filled the tent and set us up for the rest of our afternoon and evening.
At this point there was a quick dive across to Danny Brown on the main stage. This initially seemed like more of an alternative booking yet was one of the acts we were really excited to see and it was everything we expected. A great performance which took some unsuspecting crowd members and the classic “afternoon hanging out at the peripheries of the audience” and pulled them in, delivering track after track Danny Brown is 100% a must see if you have a chance. Unluckily as per my previous note. The fun here was short lived, as there was another band that had to be seen.
So let me begin this next section by saying that music journalists can be known for darting stage to stage, hanging out at the back. Sipping a beer, nodding their heads and taking in the ambience of the show. Unluckily the next act we were here to see was Glassjaw and honestly that went straight out the window. By the time the band were on stage we were nearing the front few rows. By the time the first pit opened up, we were sucked in. The following length of time I would say was some of the greatest performances I have seen in a while. Although please take this with a small pinch of salt as maybe the sound at the back was great but for anyone in the front 20 rows there was almost no vocals in the mix.
Luckily for Glassjaw this was not going to be much of an issue as they appeared to have brought some supplementary vocalists with them.. This may have been unwittingly for them as seemingly this included half of the tent. I will say I have seen Glassjaw before a long lot of years ago and I will say that they remain to be a band that I will watch perform live again and again.
Luckily after exiting a tent which honestly appeared to be at least 10 degrees hotter than outside at this point we were relived to have a break in our schedule. Although at this point it was needed. (I will say here, if you plan on Outbreak next year and it’s anywhere above 20 degrees and plan on getting into the midst of the fun, jeans are not the best of attire due to feeling like I’d just done a length of the Olympic pool nearby wearing them)
This led us to catching some of Alex G who has clearly built a huge following and was debuting a new song although this maybe was not for us so we headed forth to one of the hardest clashes of the evening. Kentucky hardcore outfit Knocked Loose or Seattle icons Sunny Day Real Estate.
And here is shown one of the main issues for Outbreak. I do not blame the festival for this as they were using the site designed for Lido the following day, but Stage 3 had a capacity and one in/ one out policy which unluckily for the people in the queue which was snaking around the festival to catch a glimpse of Sunny Day Real Estate seemed like a serious issue.
Luckily for us we were able to catch a few songs before making way hoping that this would free up space to let others in to enjoy the band. As we expected this is emo at it’s finest and for a band formed in 1992 ‘SDRE’ still have their chops now. There may not be many examples of this but I will say they sound as good live as on their recordings and were one of the top acts of the day.
This meant we got a chance to catch Knocked loose as well so after fighting out on stage 3 we arrived back at stage 2 which at this point was beginning to feel like a home for the day.
Knocked Loose bring hardcore. Thats it. If you have ever heard them or seen them live then you understand. If you havn’t. Then honestly I suggest that you do. A rip roaring act from start to finish. Great live sound and a huge stage presence. The set was perfect and even though yet again the ever growing urge to step in to one of the opening mosh pits this time we were able to stay proffesional. Well almost. This idea fell apart as during one final moment the ‘Wall of death’ was summoned in Victoria park.
As the other stages finished it was time for Turnstiles to take to the mainstage. Now if you are reading this then the chances are you may have read some other reviews from Outbreak. So I can probably keep this short and sweet.
Turnstile brought their own hardcore sound. It appears that most of the crowd had come here for this. Collaborations on stage with the likes of Blood Orange may have been the icing on the cake but this was a perfect end to a great day out.
Outbreak is a great festival and we will be heading back next year. Not even the rain finale could stop the crowd.
The issues faced by the festivals first ever appearance in London seemed more to do with issues that it faced from being lined up next to Lido the next day but the festival has all the chances to make London a future second home.
“Never forget. If someone falls in the pit. Pick them up”
www.outbreak-fest.co.uk
Images: Outbreak festival & our ‘point and shoot man in the pit’ Luke Hutchings
Words: Erin Davies