Chris Horton’s Big Three for Victorious Festival 2023

With only a few days to go, the stage times are being scoured for clashes, the outfits are being finalised and the weather app is on speed dial. This year’s Victorious promises to be the biggest yet with three full days of music, comedy, great food and everything else in between. In terms of the music, here are my top three ‘ones to watch’ this weekend…

Billy Nomates

First up is my pick for Friday and a performer who will kick start your weekend for you. Described by The Guardian as ‘a punk with a keyboard and tunes to burn’, Billy Nomates (aka Bristol-based artist Tor Maries) is an exciting choice for Victorious and the type of artist I’d love to see playing more as the festival continues to grow in stature and importance within the UK festival scene. Critically lauded, bags of creativity and an artist who could easily be a weekend highlight for many, Nomates certainly has things to say. Her caustic lyrics dissect the intricacies of modern life and although not musically similar there are some shared lyrical themes of artists such as Self Esteem and Sleaford Mods. Billy Nomates plays the Common Stage on Friday afternoon.

Alt-J

Alt-J headline the Castle Stage on Saturday night marking a major coup for the festival, bringing to Southsea Common one of the most innovative and creative bands to emerge from the UK in the last decade. Alt-J’s journey began with their Mercury Prize-winning debut album ‘An Awesome Wave’ which showcased their intricate and uniquely skewed pop melodies. The record full of songs which seemed to simultaneously be written for mass sing-a-longs yet also reveal layer upon layer during repeated listens. The singles ‘Breezeblocks’ and ‘Matilda’ in particular highlighting a band keen to follow their own path yet with a knowing nod to music’s commercial leanings. Since then, this fantastically idiosyncratic approach has led them to continued critical acclaim and commercial triumph on both sides of the Atlantic, releasing a further three albums whilst headlining venues such as the O2 Arena, London and Madison Square Garden, New York, as well as numerous festivals across the globe. Saturday night at Victorious’ best stage is going to be epic.

The Go! Team

My Sunday pick goes to a band that sounds like nobody else yet is familiar all at the same time. Brighton’s The Go! Team have been playing together for nearly 20 years yet their sound still feels as fresh as they did with the release of their debut album ‘Thunder, Lighting, Strike’. A mashup of indie rock, old skool funk, hip-hop and casio keyboards they certainly make a delightfully effervescent racket on record and their live shows are even more energetic! If you haven’t heard of them before then I would point you in the direction of the song ‘Ladyflash’ which for me is the ultimate Go! Team tune – it’s all crashing drums, electronic samples, hip-hop beats, guitar licks and sing-a-long shouty choruses. If you are at all lagging by Sunday afternoon then these guys will get you not just back on your feet but right down the front for a dance off! The Go! Team play the Common Stage on Sunday afternoon.