Well, I’ll be honest, Victorious Festival has well and truly ruined me although in the best possible way.

The Saturday was marvellous! Jerry Williams was the first act I saw and she didn’t disappoint! She transformed a very dull and rainy Saturday afternoon, into something quite joyful! She played her latest track ‘Velcro’ and old favourite ‘A Hairdresser Called Sids’. I found myself having a good old singalong. I also liked that Jerry and I matched. It seemed that bright canary yellow was the festival colour this year.

As Jerry finished her set Laura Mvula took to the Common Stage and produced possibly the finest vocal performance of the weekend. The woman was incredible and had the crowd captivated with every word she sang, with the highlight being the beautiful track ‘Sing To The Moon’. The only way to follow a performance like that was to enjoy some of the excellent food available on site. I eventually settled for some Mac & Cheese which it wasn’t until I got up close to the stall I realised it being run by the lovely guys and girls from The Tenth Hole.

After sinking back a few more drinks and bumping into the lovely Bored of Southsea crew, I headed into the Silent Disco to get away from the rain! It’s hilarious to hear people warbling along to either of the two music channels available. Then there is always that mad scramble to get over to the other channel to see what all the cheering and excitement is about by the other half of the crowd. I bumped into all of my ‘lad’ friends and two of them decided to ‘seduce’ each other via the use of interpretive dance, in a huge circle of people. My night was made.

If I didn’t have my trusty yellow waterproof jacket, I probably wouldn’t have survived to the end of the evening! Tinie Tempah was unbelievable and played all of the hits, such as ‘Frisky’ and ‘Pass out’ and his energy stayed throughout the whole set. Which certainly made the rain more bearable! Sadly I didn’t get to see the Flaming Lips and what makes it worse is looking at the photos I missed a treat. Word on the street is that they put on a brilliant set and the crowd erupted with delight at the huge balloon that lead singer Wayne Coyne brought on stage.

After stumbling home and falling into bed, on the Saturday, I woke with a very sore head on the Sunday morning. I just had to get work out of the way and then continue the madness. Luckily the rain stayed away and it was a really warm day! I was truly gutted that I missed the Veludo Planes due to being at work in the morning, but I’ve heard from those lucky enough to see them that they were superb, as per usual!

After waiting for what seemed forever in the portaloo queue, I ventured over to see Kassassin Street for the first time. I now see what all the fuss is about as they put on a brilliant show. It was really good to seeing everyone enjoying their set. I even got a cheeky hug from the leader singer Rowan Bastable.

Special mention to The Southsea Alternative Choir who did an amazing job raising money for Samuels Fund and performed six times on various stages over the weekend. They must have been exhausted come Monday! I wonder if anyone managed to see all six shows?

Of course I went back to my second home aka the Silent Disco tent. Big respect to Jade, Tiffany and the rest of their team who made sure it ran really smoothly! There were long queues but everyone was patient and found out that once inside it was well worth the wait.

The layout of this years festival was spot on, as you were able to view all of the local shop stands whilst walking to each stage. Me being me, I had to check out all of the vintage clothing stalls! Also a bar was always in sight with minimal queues, which is a plus in itself! This year they had definitely improved on the band scheduling also. Although bands that I really like overlapped, you were able to catch around half an hour of one band and walk over to the other and still catch them from the beginning. Which is exactly what I did with The Darkness and Ella Eyre, who both did spectacular jobs on the Sunday! Lead singer of The Darkness Justin Hawkins would probably win the award for most entertaining frontman of any band over the weekend. He went from a fetching disco outfit into some lovely short shorts as well doing hand stands on stage, playing the guitar behind his back and being carried into the crowd.

Basement Jaxx were the perfect choice to close the festival. Their energetic set and the crowd participation during their biggest hits was brilliant! The various singers and dancers in their bonkers outfits kept you engaged throughout. I think at one point there was even a Gorilla and a Ballerina on stage? The night obviously had to come to an end and it seemed the weather wasn’t too happy about this either. The sad walk home was only made bearable due to my friend Amelia! Big thanks to her!

My one regret was that I didn’t get involved in the roller disco inside Southsea Skatepark, although knowing my luck I probably would’ve broken something. Next year maybe?

Thank you to everyone involved who made this a special event and bring on Victorious Festival 2016!

Website: victoriousfestival.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/VictoriousFestival
Twitter: twitter.com/VictoriousFest
Instagram: instagram.com/victoriousfest

Written by Liv Woodward
Photography by Strong Island Media