Friday, day # one proper of Latitude 2025 [the site was open on Thursday for campers to arrive] had decent weather after a dodgy previous day; with heavy rain and flash floods and a bad car smash causing up to six hour gridlocks around the festival site and surrounding area on the A12 and A14.
The food stalls were kept open late for the campers on Thursday after their hellish journeys, and many were still setting up camp well into the wee small hours
But things calmed down for the rest of the festival traffic-wise, other than the to be expected high volume of cars and vehicles coming and going for those on day tickets. The weather was fairly kind for most of the three days and it was a very healthy turn out for the duration.
The team at Latitude working through the night on Thursday to lay down wood chippings and repair turned-up ground ready for the next two days of foot-fall.
Ex-policeman Sting topping the bill on the main stage on Friday in fine style with his current guitar / drums and bass/vocals trio format. All the solo and Police hits and more for a giant sing-a-long from the huge crowd whose collective sentiment may well have been: “Every little thing you do is magic”.
The Suffolk site has a capacity of 45,000 for each of the three days of the celebrated music and arts festival run by Festival Republic. It began in 2006 in Henham Park near Southwold, Suffolk where it has been based ever since – running for 18 years, as 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Latitude is always a very eclectic line-up and offers up a tasty menu of big names, but never forgets the new and upcoming acts too. That old saying, “Something for everyone” is pretty factual in this case.
Many stages spread out to keep happy those needing to get their steps in, and for those of us who have FOMO when it comes to the smaller stages and the bands and artists that are starting to get traction on the radio and in the media we feel might well be the next big thing.
There are the whispers of big names doing so-called secret gigs at any festival, and Latitude is no exception. The small Trailer Park stage a 15 or 20 minute walk from the main stage, was the place to be to catch a bunch of top bands doing word of mouth sets over there. Friday it was Feeder and The Royston Club. [Saturday was the turn of Kingfishr.] Keen to know who will be there on Sunday? Stay tuned….
Friday our team caught sets by: Sting, Sigrid, Basement Jaxx, Scouting For Girls, The Royston Club, Billy Bragg, Maribou State, Feeder, Cliffords, Remember Monday, Lottie Gray, Matilda Mann, comedian Joel Dommett, Midnight Generation, Westside Cowboy, and the most bonkers act of the festival, The Kiffness – if you like songs about cats, this guy is for you!
Early on in the day it was good to explore the smaller stages, and some new names, such as Westside Cowboy in the Sunrise Arena. The young Manchester band who won the chance to play the Woodsies stage at Glastonbury this year, with judges including Michael and Emily Eavis tipping them for big things. In August they release their debut EP “This Better Be Something Great”. Watch out for this band…
Sunrise arena at Latitude is set up in a shaded forest area and that was welcomed as it was exceptionally hot for their set. The grassy area providing much needed shade. Very relaxed vibe – the tent filled out, with people mainly in portable chairs or sat on picnic blankets, but politely listening from their seats. With a small group of the Westside Cowboys’ friends/family/fans standing and watching at the front.
Norwegian star Sigrid pulled in a massive crowd, even though she was on the Second stage at the same time as Sting was headlining the main stage. A much younger audience for her than for Mr Sting. Lots of smoke and bright lights for 25-year-old Sigrid.
Just two top-tier albums into her career, Sigrid has already established herself as an impeachable pop powerhouse. Sold-out tours worldwide, top 10 singles, # 1 albums, awards….Her biggest hit, “Don’t Kill My Vibe” prompted the loudest sing-along of the festival. She is brilliant live.
Alcove stage is in one of the smaller tents. For Lottie Gray it was packed. People trying to get in all the way through her set and a big crowd sat outside. Fairly local artist from near Lowestoft, Norfolk.
Lots of support in the crowd, with a bunch of folk at the front in blue ‘Lottie Gray’ tee-shirts, the same as her band wore. Some decent self-penned songs, such as the brace she kicked off with; “Head Down Hands Up” and “Teeth”.
At the Obelisk arena was Maribou State. Their core is Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, a UK duo giving electronic a shot of soul. Since 2011, they’ve established themselves as major players on the global dance music circuit.
Melding a genre-fluid range of influences into a distinctly organic sound, redefining downtempo electronica for a new generation. They’ve become a hugely acclaimed live act who’ve performed roadblock shows for Glastonbury, as well as back-to-back sold-out UK, EU and North American tours.
Their 2015 debut, “Portraits”, was written and recorded in the shed at the bottom of Liam’s parents’ garden, in leafy Hertfordshire where the duo both grew up. Lead single “Feel Good”, a collaboration with Texan trio Khruangbin, was a runaway success, while the album itself was released to widespread acclaim. Their band has come to its fullest realisation on their new and third album, “Hallucinating Love.”
It’s a beacon of hopefulness after a turbulent past few years both personally and professionally, where Chris has been coming to terms with a major brain condition. The hotly anticipated release brings together a host of impressive talents, including vocalists Holly Walker and Andreya Triana, and producer Jack Sibley, for a celebration of community, togetherness and triumphing against the odds. Chris or David’s dad [didn’t catch which one] was in the crowd celebrating his 60th birthday.
Midnight Generation on the “Second Stage”. This tent provides a darker space. Midnight Generation has a retro-pop-funk-electronic sound that blends nostalgic influences with modern energy. Known for their distinctive style, they’ve become one of the most captivating and innovative artists in the Mexican music scene. Lots of people dancing in the crowd. Three band members came up to the front and performed a synchronised dance to the delight of the crowd.
Londoner Matilda Mann on the main stage. The sun was out; slight light breeze but starting to really warm up. Crowd a bit sparse initially, but she pulled in a decent sized crowd by the end of her impressive set. Playing stuff from her debut album “Roxwell”, an ode to her formative years, named after the cherished street of her childhood home.
An only child, she grew up in West London, writing songs in her bedroom and performing for her parents. Written across locations from her bedroom to the Peak District, “Roxwell” blends indie folk with “new sounds”. She will do well…
On the Second Stage, Welsh schoolfriends The Royston Club created a party atmosphere with lots of waving hands and sing-alongs from the crowd, many knew the words to many of their songs. They count Hollywood actor and Wrexham FC owner Ryan Reynolds as a fan. This band WILL be the next band to make it from Wales…
Among the newbies and the rising young stars, the established bands and artists and the superstars, nice to see old trooper Billy Bragg getting a slot on the Obelisk Arena stage. A fearless recording artist, tireless live performer and peerless political campaigner for 40 years.
Billy Bragg released a career spanning 14-disc deluxe box set, “The Roaring Forty | 1983-2023” which celebrates the remarkable and enduring musical legacy of a much-loved songwriter, principled activist and for some; a national treasure.
Billy has worked with a wealth of celebrated musicians from different musical backgrounds including Eliza Carthy, Norman Cook, Dick Gaughan, Joe Henry, Kirsty MacColl, Ian McLagan, Johnny Marr, R.E.M., Natalie Merchant, Romeo Stodart, Danny Thompson, Robert Wyatt, Pete Seeger, The Philharmonic Orchestra and US alt-Rock band Wilco, with whom he created two critically acclaimed collections setting previously unheard lyrics by legendary American Folk singer Woody Guthrie to music.
He told the crowd an anecdote about when he was in the US somewhere and a lady in a shop asked him where he was from, and what he was doing over there. He said, I’m a musician, playing some gigs. She asked his name and he told her; Billy Bragg.
She paused and said, “that’s funny, there was a Billy Bragg back in the 80s.” Indeed there was and he is still at it, looking and sounding in good shape and still has things to say in his songs. [He does resemble a younger Jeremy Corbyn!]
Irish band Cliffords are one we tipped a while ago, and covered at Brighton’s The Great Escape Festival this spring. The female-fronted four piece from Cork played tracks from their debut EP “Strawberry Scented”, and delivered a string set at the Sunrise arena.
Feeder have been releasing records for more than 30 years, sold more than seven million records, played all over the world, bringing their anthemic rock music to fans old and new. Tracks like “Just The Way I’m Feeling”, “Buck Rogers”, “Feeling A Moment”, “High”, “Borders”, “Just a Day”, “Torpedo”, “Fear of Flying” and “Lost and Found” are just some of the 26 top 40 chart hits the band have enjoyed over the years, along with a double platinum singles collection in 2006.
In 2010, the band spent a year getting back to their roots and playing new tracks in clubs under the name Renegades. An album of the same name was then released, followed by their eighth studio album, “Generation Freakshow”. After a four-year break to pursue solo projects, 2016 saw Feeder release “All bright Electric” and in 2017, the “Best Of” album; which both marked up more Top 10 albums for the band.
This was followed by “Tallulah” and most recently “Torpedo”, both Top five albums. On the Second stage. they opened with “Buck Rogers”, and pulled in a varied audience in age; from young to not so young. Very energetic trademark high jumps from bassist Taka Hirose.
After ten years away from the main stages of the world, Basement Jaxx have brought back their legendary euphoric energy-filled live experience with a summer series of 2025 headline festival appearances, which saw them grace the Obelisk Arena on Friday.
While many of their electronic contemporaries have looked to technology to make their gigs a compelling experience, Basement Jaxx have always embraced a maximalist approach, combining an ever-growing array of singers, MCs, musicians and eventually whole troupes of dancers to turn any stage into a carnival of music.
Starting in 1994 with a series of underground EPs on their own Atlantic Jaxx label and now famous parties held in venues across a pre-gentrified South London, Felix and Simon Ratcliffe’s distinctive combination of house and garage with punk attitude, global influences and unforgettable tunes, quickly developed a cult following.
That led to their 1999 first album “Remedy”; with its breakthrough hits “Red Alert”, “Rendez Vu” and “Jump & Shout.” 2001’s follow-up “Rooty” was even bigger and louder: “Where’s Your Head At” provided an evergreen anthem that still crosses all generations and genres.
At Latitude, as the sun went down, they pulled biggest crowd of the day. Their set delivered all their classic hits. The show as visual too with gymnasts, crazy costumes and back flips. The fans lapped it up.
Roy Stride and his band Scouting For Girls are always big fun and big value – a perfect fit for a big festival stage. They came on stage to the James Bond theme tune. Pulled a huge crowd, as they always do and the and they were well up for it; young and old jumping and dancing from the outset.
Opening with their hits, “James Bond”, “Heartbeat” and “Famus”, the closed with the infectious sing-a-long hit, “She’s So Lovely”. Roy told the crowd the last time they were at Latitude he called it the wrong festival throughout the whole set.
One of the festival security team made the band aware that their school science teacher was in the crowd celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. Roy told the crowd, the guy was a “cool” science teacher, but….”He gave me my first detention!”
This band have been at it for 20 years and have had more than one billion streams, eight top 40 singles, sold more than four million records in the UK alone, and nominated for four Brit awards and one Ivor Novello. If you have not seen this band at a concert or festival, go see them.
Remember Monday are the UK’s viral sensation pop-country trio. Having met in college at 17, they’ve spent years honing their signature harmonies. Throughout the pandemic, they spent their time performing acapella covers in car parks, which very quickly went viral on TikTok.
The group appeared on The Voice UK in 2019 and chose Jennifer Hudson as their mentor.
They represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025 with the song “What the Hell Just Happened?”.
2023 was an exciting year for Remember Monday, with their debut EP “Hysterical Women” hitting the top of the iTunes country chart, selling out two headline gigs at London’s Omeara and Lafayette venues, and opening for artists such as Billy Joel, Natasha Bedingfield and Eric Paisley.
It was during a writing trip in Nashville that they got the call asking them to appear on the Jennifer Hudson Show, which they flew to LA to perform and wowed the US audience. In March they played the BBC Radio 2 stage at C2C Festival in London’s O2 Arena, as well as hosting the main stage and performing a live session backstage with country music radio legend Bob Harris.
They more recently played the iconic CMA Fest in Nashville, where they also put the finishing touches to their EP, “Crazy Anyway” which was released in October followed by a sold out UK headline tour!
They rammed out the second stage tent at Latitude with a predominantly young crowd. Third song in was a lovely cover of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club”. These talented girls are likely to break through to the mainstream this year or into 2026.
The most unusual act of the entire festival was The Kiffness. By far! Before the 2020 pandemic, The Kiffness was a well-established touring artist and music producer in South Africa, with multiple singles playlisted across stations and five SAMA [S.A. Grammy] nominations.
In 2020 he rose to internet fame with his Coronavirus parody videos and “Internet collabs” with various animals and people, most notably his remix of “Ievan Polkka” and his collaboration with “Alugalug Cat”, and “It’s a Beautiful Day”. His recent remix of a US presidential debate catapulted the artist even further into the mainstream media.
With close to a billion views on his YouTube channel and an appearance on the US Billboard charts, he has become one of South Africa’s leading online creators with international reach. When The Kiffness took his unique show on tour around the world, the debuts shows sold out across Europe and USA. On the Second stage at Latiude, the place was rammed and lots of kids loving it and adults too. Bonkers….
- Our intrepid photographer Liam Battersby’s favourite performance of the day on Friday? Scouting For Girls.
- Sting was writer Kerry Louise’s choice; for the memories many of his songs brought back of family events.
- Steve Best’s choice? Sigrid and her superb song writing skills. The sheer delight on her face to perform for her fans, and hear them sing every word back to her. “Don’t Kill My Vibe” really is perfect pop, and a timeless track from the Norwegian; her debut release in 2017.
**** Check out our coverage of Saturday and Sunday in the “Live Zone”…
Fatboy Slim and Kaiser Chiefs the two main headliners for Saturday. Snow Patrol and Elbow closing the last day.
