The elfin Elin Hall makes for the perfect entrance music, America swirling like the threat of rain overhead, as Bludfest kicks off for this year. Curated by headlining megastar Yungblud, it’s the second celebration of all the vocalists’ favourite things, from skating, tattoos and hip hop all the way through to guitars and friendship. Safety in excitement, and community through fun permeate this celebration of outsiders, and the glib central star of the show dominates the event like a mercurial urban demi-god, ever pictured and only existing in rumour. For one day, Milton Keynes Bowl is his own personal playground and we’re all invited to let loose.
Bludfest 2025 @ Milton Keynes Bowl
Nxdia’s Dopamine is pure indie dance joy with a pick me up groove as the main stage lights up the afternoon, and Boy Clothes lays on the bass as the vocalist skips, powering into screamed gender solidarity and solid, innovative pop gold. Mental health positivity, solidarity and riotous self expression abound in Feel Anything as she sparks a teenage scream across the filling field. Suddenly, a stampede. Yungblud himself has tried to into the guest area to see some of the set, and is instantly mobbed by fans, disappearing from sight under a sea of raised phones. “It really was him!” screams a girl in a tutu. A glimpse of a black fringe is enough proof that he truly does walk among us.
Luvcat emerges sultry and timeless, her Lipstick a Bond soundtrack in waiting. It’s her first appearance on any main stage, and Alien feels like a swirling retro future road trip, her voice evoking Stevie Nicks with its otherworldly tone before Matador clicks with mystery. The Liverpudlian songstress is making dreamy, stunning tunes which tap into an imagined past of grand romances.
Over on the second stage, tucked between the skate ramp and the Yungblud photo exhibition -and the Yungblud themed fairground games, and the Yungblud vinyl popup- Master Peace is dropping tracks inflated with energy and fun, the brash end of their sound akin to Soft Play or Snayx but with their in-your-face energy channelled into good times. Frontman Peace Okezie bounces through Arctic Monkeys samples, and before he bounds into ‘proper indie slameroo’ Stir You Up. Urgency like a coiled spring abounds in a set that sounds like the anticipation you feel when getting ready for the big night out of the summer. ‘Stupid Kid’, Okezie’s reclamation of his past is a thundering anthem moment with echoes of Oasis in a new incarnation.
Denzel Curry strides across the catwalk to the adoration of the hip-hop fans in the crowd. “Imma tell you exactly what’s gonna happen,” he demands, starting a pit. He’s an asserting and compelling performer, backed with bass that must be felt miles away, switching between serious and frivolous, all tied together with electric charisma and constantly spat bars.
No one could accuse Yungblud of not having an expansive taste in music. While Curry is rousing the crowd at the main stage, Nieve Ella is singing her heart out to evocative gentle chords like a rising tide. She channels the summer sun into her sound, and Favourite Band, her song featured in Heartstopper, drifts between choppy riffs and emphatic chords. Her newer songs promise a strong next direction through a motoring whirlwind as she flicks her blonde mane as emphasis. Her easy going, beach ready tunes are just the refreshment we’re craving.
Somehow Blackbear can broadcast out his irreverent, soulful vocals, all edge and energy, in a full coat while we dive for the tiniest patch of shade. Genre-melting pop energy permeates his set, with squeaking rock guitars, trap beats and a whole lot of attitude as fans cram into the front to revel in his first show for three years. Me & ur ghost moves from pulses into heartbreak beats, autotune smoothness bouncing into RnB fuelled rock moments for Dirty Laundry. His innovation keeps the arena filled with impressed fans.
While Peaches PRC drops danceable, ethereal pop with bonus pole dancers, we’re gearing up for Chase Atlantic. From the very drop, they’re delivering next level dreamy synth beats, sending hands up all the way to the furthest heights of the Bowl. Hitting the right note between chilled out, good vibes, and keeping us roused, they know what the people want with their boyband update energy. They build atmosphere on a grand scale, coaxing the fans to the front. “You came here for a good time, you feel me?” Asks vocalist Mitchel Cave before they drop Into It, the song that sends the screams to fever pitch and FaceDown chimes out into the evening
Meanwhile on second stage, Rachel Chinouriri’s dropping some genuine class in the form of her catchy, sarcastic takes on modern romance. It Is What It Is springs through unlucky dates with her stunningly original voice sprinkled with verve and 2342, with its trilling, relatable Y2K sensibility, lands so well before the slinky Dumb Bitch Juice rolls into view. She’s bursting with soul and can command the inappropriately small crowd to silence when she needs to, a definite highlight of the day.
As the sun goes down, the first cheer rises and Yungblud bursts into view, backed by confetti and red smoke. Hello Heaven, Hello, a song of triumph that makes the days tribulations worth every second of the heat. He rips off his shirt, owning every inch of the catwalk, and beneath all the gimmicks and the endless branding, he’s an impressively modern rock star. Lovesick Lullaby, with full everyman preacher vocals feels like a modern britpop reinvention as fire punctuates each line. In the distance a fairy-lit free spirit dances to her own beat. The vocalist’s punkish energy pushes to the forefront for The Funeral, an echoing chant irresistibly filling the arena. “Holy shit, have I missed you? My clan, my fuckin family…” he screams, as strawberry lipstick grabs you by the shoulders for a good shaking. Ripping into fleabag solo, he channels Sid Vicious and Liam Gallagher in a twenty first century wrapping, his charisma compelling.
“We dropped an album the night before last night,” Yungblud says, suddenly more human and his relief evident, as he debuts The Greatest Parade, ripe with the spirit of seizing the day. “This is a song about parents always being right”, he grins, and teenagers dance to the groove on every spare inch of grass before he marches, spring loaded into parents), his reggae influenced tracks blooming into full voiced singalong on California, sending any darkness into the night sky backed by a brass band and a fireball big enough to create a black cloud. Lowlife gets a sleazy Madness treatment from the brass section, and the firefly glow of phone lights gently illuminates the violet stage.
Of course, with a day all about his friends, guests dominate Yungblud’s set too. Billy Idol appears to cover White Wedding, a magnificently anachronistic moment as we feel Idol’s legacy at the same time we’re blown away by his presence, and the two vocalist together seems like the perfect metaphor for the day. Old and new, each act representing a different part of Yungblud’s life and passions. Maybe, in the end, this very human musician is whoever we want him to be: rebel prince of modern punk, a face on ever billboard crossing the venue, or just a guy who wanted to throw an epic party.
Bludfest 2025 @ Milton Keynes Bowl
Review of Bludfest at the National Bowl, Milton Keynes on 21st June 2025 by Kate Allvey. Photos by Tom Pallant, Alanna Georgette and Ruby Boland.
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