Festival Review: Outbreak London 2025
Photo Credit: @bufola_
Outbreak London arrives in the middle of a thunderstorm to deliver a biblical returning show for Turnstile; who last played in 2013 – eating up a line-up that included a diverse mix of rap, shoegaze and hardcore for the London crowds that couldn’t make it to Download.
It’s always tough to put on a rock show on the weekend of Download festival. It’s even tougher to put on a rock show in the middle of a thunderstorm; and sweltering heat that would make those in Barcelona jealous – I swear I felt hotter in some stages than in Primavera Sound in the Catalan capital last week. But to give Outbreak London credit; it’s a titanic tour de force of a show – starting off at 2pm with endless clashes that would give even the seasoned veteran headache. There were so many clashes missing good bands was inevitable; but like Wide Awake, you can’t really go wrong – you can have a good day no matter what you see.
First up was They Are Gutting A Body of Water; an American shoegaze outfit from Philadelphia. They’re wackier and they have a lot of fun on stage and are aware of the heat – frontman Douglas Dulgarian leads a four piece that stretches guitar music in fresh, exciting ways – sonic chaos onslaught at every turn. It always felt an odd fit to combine shoegaze with hardcore for the day but you’re seeing touches of the heavier stuff in They Are Gutting a Body of Water – the prolific artists in the DIY American scene really make a good statement piece. There are far worse first acts and few better ones.
Feeble Little Horse are another American band this time from Pittsburgh; who bill themselves as “guitar music available for funerals, wakes and any equestrian events”. They were just what the energy at the tent needed to counteract the sweltering heat and its stupid one-in-one-out club policy that meant a lot of people missed the later more popular acts that felt like an oversight to put in the smaller stagers, but Freak and Steamroller are bangers – and a couple of new songs to boot rounded off an excellent show. The four members are excellent and the horniness in parts of – especially Freak – ramps up the energy in the room. There’s a touch of Kim Gordon to Feeble Little Horse and there’s plenty of Sonic Youth comparisons here – if you like Sonic Youth you’ll have a great time. There’s vibes of The Breeders here as well – no small comparison!
Photo Credit: @ishashahphotography
Every band playing in the tent suffered from the fact that it was well, a tent in that heat. It should’ve been opened up and outdoors for more people to see the bands they wanted to see even if it was successful in keeping crowd control locked in – let’s get rid of the tent next time - and for one of the few UK venues that Have A Nice Life and Sunny Day Real Estate were playing; putting them on at a closed capacity venue felt cruel – even with the clashes; Sunny Day Real Estate was the antidote for Knocked Loose so of course they were going to get a lot a footfall, and Have a Nice Life had so many people there were campers pre Model/Actriz. Outside of that it was a similar but scaled down set-up – All Points East without the main stage – and the headliners found no problem attracting an audience.
This is the only drawback from an otherwise excellent festival, which had brilliant crowd interaction, respect, a friendly community and plenty of people eager to chat. The social community of the hardcore scene is one of its biggest strengths as a regular fest goer – easy to stop by and get along with people; avoiding the overly corporate nature that All Points East in the same part felt by its Outbreak associations – this felt more of an Outbreak fest than a traditional Lido one, for good more than ill.
I only caught a bit of Speed’s set thanks to clashes but it was a hardcore vibe that really ate up the second stage tent in a sweltering outdoors atmosphere. Considering the last time I saw them frontman Jem Siow got pulled into the pit and had to be rescued by the rest of his band members; they were probably relishing a stage with a barrier! Crowd turnout for the hardcore sets was excellent and one of my biggest disappointments of the day was not getting to see Knocked Loose – justifying that by saving it for Jera on Air in a few weeks and taking the opportunity to finally see Alex G instead, not playing as often where I can see him, who did not let me down.
Photo Credit: @ishashahphotography
Model/Actriz are an appointment band for me, I’ll see them every single year. It was also the first chance to get involved with a mosh for their all-too short set that allowed things to get hot and sweaty. Mosquito was a belter of a track to end on – frontman Cole Haden using his cheeky charismatic charm to get the crowd ramped up and energised from the moment they came onto the stage to the end. Dogsbody is one of the best albums of the decade so far – “with a body count, higher than a mosquito,” Cole cheekily comments to his adoring fans – and never has there been a more raptous audience on such a hot, sweaty day. It’s not often your favourite set of a day fest comes before sunset, but that was very much the case here; the band finding a way to do this at every festival I’ve seen them at so far. Their solo gig in Bristol in November can’t come quickly enough – be there!
The first act at the main stage for us proved to be Danny Brown and having seen JPEGMAFIA earlier in the year it was fantastic to finally get the chance to see the other half of the genius behind Scaring the Hoes. Bucket list is seeing them both perform it together. Brown got the crowd energised as one of the rare rap artists on a hardcore festival – it feels like an odd booking but the line between the genres is becoming ever more blurred – Peggy is supporting Linkin Park on the London leg of the tour and his frequent collaborator here played three of their songs – the titular SCARING THE HOES, Steppa Pig and Burfict! to compliment the consistent list of names. It meant missing out on Glassjaw, but the energy in the Danny Brown show got the vibes nice and ready for a headline show.
Odd bookings for hardcore festivals are the watchword of the day and Alex G offered some good counter programming for Knocked Loose. He ran through seventeen songs in immaculate, presence and calming fashion – the perfect calm before the storm of Turnstile – even if it let to the choice of getting involved in the Turnstile pit or seeing Knocked Loose. The crowd crept up quickly around us – Gretel, Fay, Forever got is going and playing a new song got the crowd a glimpse of some of his material. Rich, experimental and downright bizarre at the best of times he has a mesmerizing hold over the audience and feels as humorous and energetic as any other. This felt like a weird placement between Brown and the heavier Turnstile as the energy was brought down again for something calmer – but the welcome calm before the storm was needed – literally and figuratively; as by the time Turnstile came on the heavens had started to open – a thunderstorm had been looming all day and several bursts of lightning in the background of Victoria Park provided the backdrop for the second time I’d seen this legendary hardcore band in a week; and the second of three times I’m seeing them this month in three countries. BRAT summer is out; Turnstile summer is in. Don’t want to listen to me? Listen to Charli XCX – who suggested that Turnstile would be the next band to capture the zeitgeist.
Never Enough may have tricked any casual Turnstile fans into thinking this was going to be a softer set with an emotional singalong “Can't hear what you're told, Never let your guard down, Anywhere you go” allowed the crowd to pour their emotions and lay them bear on stage so everyone could mosh with that baggage out of the way – and mosh they did – the crowd was hyped up, energised, and sustained the energy in Victoria Park for the full hour thirty that the Baltimore band were allocated. For an extra special treat they even brought out Blood Orange for Alien Love Call midway through the set, a real treat for fans of their rare collaborations. Brendan Yates led the crowd championing for a “Free Palestine”, something that he’s done on the Spanish leg of the tour as well – and seeing the band twice in the same week was very much a religious experience. Turnstile’s Never Enough is a belter of an album – I Care on the more emotional side but with enough frantic punk energy and fiery flute solos to keep the tempo high –it’s hard not to miss.
Photo Credit: @isahshahphotography
What an excellent year, Outbreak London – smaller than your Manchester counterpart but no less fiery; clashes heartbreaking as ever but it leads to a day with no bad options, five different people will have five different days and each have the time of their life. It’s an appointment in the festival circuit for any hardcore fan – and there’s plenty for the shoegaze lovers to devour.
Words by Miles Milton-Jefferies
