TODAY: We caught sets from Basement Jaxx, Wet Leg, Jalen Ngonda, Hinds, Clara Mann, Dug, Olive Jones, Gentleman’s Dub Club, DJ Greg Wilson and The Bootleg Beatles. Plus we met up with Cornish chef Ben Quinn.
THURSDAY: We caught these artists: Soaked, Juju, Sleeping Together, Gok Wan’s DJ set, Mary in the Junkyard, Night Tapes, DJ Algy, DJ Jade Blakemore, Common Goldfish and Mista Trick Collective.
FRIDAY: Orbital, Air, Bear’s Den, Georgia, DJ Yoda, Berlioz, and chef /author and TV presenter Pru Leith.
SATURDAY: Supergrass, Aurora, Hot Dub Time Machine, Baby Said, Antony Szmierek, Lapsley, NOFUN!, Showhawk Duo, The Audi parade with Discolicious / Denise Van Outen and Jemma Bolt, top chef Anna Hough, and a live “Great Company” podcast from Jamie Laing and Jemima.
It is the final day of this four day festival that’s about far more than just the music side, and our first year of covering it in the 14 years of its existence and in the [nearly] nine years since this magazine was launched.
A pretty magical and classy affair held on this vast picturesque and tranquil site on the deer park of the Cornbury Park estate at Charlsbury, nestled in the Cotswolds countryside in Oxfordshire.
Wilderness [presented by Audi] 2025 is in its 14th season and attracted many thousands of people [capacity is 30,000] from across the UK and from overseas. Spread across many acres, but still has the vibe of a far more intimate, boutique festival.
The headliners Basement Jaxx made the most of their return to the stage after as 10 year absence with a visually spectacular performance and had everyone on their feet from the get go. Can see why they are this festival’s most requested artist.
Their tour celebrates 25 years of the seminal album “Remedy.” Basement Jaxx have always taken a maximalist approach to their live performances, uniting an eclectic array of talented singers, musicians, MCs and whole carnivals of dancers onto one stage.
A visual and audible delight at Wilderness. Fabulous for photographers, as you can see from our snapper Manja’s super shots here. Bit of an unusual set up on stage, with just the heads of Felix and Simon visible for much of the set, peering out of a circular “hole” – which reminded me of ‘whack-a-mole!’
From their underground roots on their own Atlantic Jaxx label, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe’s upfront and sometimes rowdy fusion of house, garage, global influences and punk attitude thrived on a sense of organised chaos.
Debut album “Remedy” in 1999 was an instant classic. Ragga, disco, r&b, yielding singles “Red Alert”, “Jump and Shout” and “Bingo Bango.” 2001’s follow up “Rooty” – named after their intimate Brixton club night – featured “Romeo”, “Get Me Off” and crossover smash hit, “Where’s Your Head At.”
The mix of big names to rising stars and much-talked about acts, has a large pinch of brand new bands and artists thrown into the mix, with many getting their first taste of “the big time” when this festival’s bookers make a discovery early on and believe they have found future stars. Today is no exception…
The ones to watch that we caught in the act today include Hinds, Olive Jones and Clara Mann.
Wet Leg came to impress and boy oh boy, did they? Wet Leg were aggressive, exciting and bloody excellent.
They are the Isle-of-Wight’s multi-award-winning indie rock duo who exploded in 2022, winning Brit Awards for Best British Group and Best New Artists in 2023 – as well as Grammys the same year for Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Alternative Music Album.
Another cracking performance at Wilderness 2025, riding on the crest of the wave of their current # 1 album. I sew them in 2022 and thought they were really good., Today, they were frigging awesome. They tour towards the end of the year. See you there.
Opening the main stage at 4pm on Sunday it was time for a dip into he Fab Four’s glorious songbook via The Bootleg Beatles. They look and dress like them and they sound just like them. And only the very youngest in the big crowd they pulled would not know the words to 99% of the set. A mass sing-along and the perfect setting and time slot for this.
The hottest act of the day for me was the wonderous American soul man and his band, Jalen Ngonda. What a voice. Superb songs. Superb band and backing singers. But that voice…a throwback to the days of the originators of r&b, when it was real r&b and not the stuff called r&b today; with all the screeching and OTT vocal acrobatics.
I am talking the sophisticated soulful stuff from the iconic record labels such as Stax, Atlantic, Hi Records, Motown and Tamla Motown, Muscle Shoals Sound and FAME, Philadelphia International Label, T-Neck, Major Minor Records, Chess and more.
Jalen is on Daptone based in New York, the home of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, ‘The screaming eagle of soul’ Charles Bradley, Lee Fields and many more revered names. After the sad deaths of Sharon and Charles, Jalen must surely be their biggest find at this time and destined to become a big global success.
His falsetto is spine tingling and his vocals are so flipping innate and, er, from the soul.
An early evening 6.30pm spot on the main stage [The Wilderness stage] at Wilderness on Sunday in the sunshine, just before Wet Leg, and as bloody good as he and the band were, I longed to see him after dark and in a more intimate, indoor setting.
But those who had not heard Jalen before were literally stopped in their tracks as they walked across the site enroute to another area. Those who knew his music were at the main stage way before he came on, to nab a spot towards the front.
Most definitely my favourite music performance of the four days. Jalen was born in Maryland, US and is based today in….Liverpool. His early exposure to Motown music lit the flame for his passion for soul music and for singing and writing.
Jalen left America when he was 17 years old, to study at LIPA – Liverpool’s Institute of Performing Arts – signed with Daptone and attracted admirers such as Snoop Dog, Jill Scott and Elton John.
His debut album “Come Around and Love Me”, dropped in 2023; drawing inspiration from 20th-century music, but also taps into contemporary r&b.
As Sam and Dave once famously sang: “I’m, a soul man…” Jalen surely is that writ large. Sensational Wilderness performance which many will never forget as the first time they heard him live. Me too. It will not be the last.
In October Jalen has seven UK shows: Newcastle, Nottingham, Manchester, Cambridge, London [Eventim Apollo] and Bristol. My very best advice I can give: No matter what; grab a ticket before they sell out, and they surely will, and let this guy’s sublime voice wash over you like a warm bath. Then thank me later!
Spanish four-piece all-female indie band Hinds formed 14 years ago in Madrid, and they have released four albums so far; in 2016, 2018, 2020 and the latest, “Viva Hinds” in 2024. A really smart set in the Atrium at 5.15pm Sunday.
Olive Jones and Clara Mann were both on the Dive stage on Sunday afternoon; London-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Olive blends blues and alt-folk with a pinch of soul and is very easy on the ear, as too is Ms Mann.
Also London-based, raised in a French village and moved to Somerset, she was playing songs from her march 2025 debut album “Rift”, she struck me as in a similar vibe to Laura Marling. I need to check out more music from Olive and Clara.
New York, New Jersey duo, Dug, who are now Dublin-based, were lively and good fun; second act on at The Dive on Sunday after opener Pretend Friends and before Clara Mann.
DJ Greg Wilson put in a good shift. UK DJ and producer, associated with both the early 1980s electro scene in Manchester and the current disco/re-edit movement. He is also a writer/commentator on dance music and popular culture. His career is varied and he is a pioneer in several areas. Very impressive. Check him out.
Gentleman’s Dub Club were enjoyable; main stage before after the Bootleg Beatles and before Jalen Ngonda, a UK dub band formed in Leeds almost two decades ago who have toured the globe playing at Glastonbury and in Goa and most big festivals, with six studio albums to their credit.
My/our first year at Wilderness. But most deffo not the last. Please….See you next year Wilderness, and thanks for the magical 2025 memories…..
-
Dates for your diary: Wilderness next year is 30th July – 2nd August 2026
-
Check out our coverage of Thursday, Friday & Saturday…
Photos by Manja Williams
Words by Emma Ledwell
