Panic Shack – Forest Sessions
Pure feminine energy at its most electric. Sarah Harvey owns the stage, commanding attention over a tight, pulsing backdrop. Her voice, softened by a lilting Welsh accent, cuts through with humour and heart, spinning tales of the female experience with unflinching honesty. They tore through a cover of ‘That’s Not My Name’ as a flashback to when Effy ruled Skins and Kristen Doute was mid-meltdown on Vanderpump Rules, a golden era when crash out feminine rage was loud and proud. This band is channelling something gloriously unfiltered. – CL
Grove Street – The Word Stage
Scheduling one of the UK crossover scene’s favourites, Grove Street today was a perfect call, kicking the weekend off with their signature no-nonsense ferocity and infectious energy that conjures imagery of Brooklyn basement gigs in the 90s. The Southampton lads tore through their set on the Word Stage with punishing momentum, delivering their serrated blend of thrash and NY hardcore, laced with their Biohazard-esque, swaggered groove in both sound and stage presence. This marrying of genres stirred up a sea of hardcore dancers and push-pitters alike, a maelstrom of writhing bodies in an electric-if slightly mismatched-mix of expression. As crowd surfers bounced across the top of the pit on inflatables and pits swirled, the atmosphere from start to finish was charged with frenetic euphoria, and it was satisfying to watch unsuspecting people clearly being converted in real time. – ES
Hot Milk – Forest Sessions
Hot Milk open to a very receptive crowd, with bass and drums ripping through the field like a bullet, reverberating through every tree and every chest. Pulsating rhythms and cut-glass vocals soared into the open air, and nature answered back in echoes. The crowd gathered in waves, drawn in by the raw promise of something big. Smoke machines swirled under a sky that stayed clear, letting red lights wash the scene in chaos and catharsis. In the back, kids danced with glow sticks and their parents, totally electric. – CL