This weekend, over 150,000 people descended onto Southsea Common for three days of unforgettable performances and family fun at ‘Victorious Festival’(28th – 30th August). This included our team, who were in attendance in order to review as many music acts as possible. These accounts will be published in due course! In the meantime, here’s a taster of what went down…..
Headlining Friday night was the formidable Richard Ashcroft who arrived in Southsea off the back of a triumphant UK arena tour, the former Verve frontman delivered an incredible set spanning more than three decades of anthems including the anthemic ‘Bittersweet Symphony’. Grammy award-winning American rock duo The Black Keys headlined Saturday night, captivating crowds with an electrifying performance including powerhouse anthems such as ‘Lonely Boy’ whilst UK rock giants Kasabian closed the festival with an explosive live set which included ‘Fire’, ‘You’re In Love With A Psycho’ and ‘Club Foot’.
Another huge crowd pleaser was Jessie J who delivered a vocal masterclass during her set which included an incredible cover of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ whilst Nile Rodgers & CHIC delivered a set full of huge disco and funk classics spanning Nile’s glittering career. Scissor Sisters were as entertaining as ever bringing a huge amount of fun and pop favourites to the Common stage on Friday night. The Streets performed their groundbreaking number one album ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free’ in full to a captivated crowd who were entertained as Mike Skinner descended into the crowd for the final three songs.
The unpredictable weather didn’t dampen spirits across the weekend as festival goers also enjoyed sets from Basement Jaxx, Faithless, Bastille, Primal Scream, The Vaccines, James Arthur, Kelis, Pixie Lott, Hard-Fi and Happy Mondays. Filling this year’s highly coveted afternoon slots were Rudimental (Friday), Dizzee Rascal (Saturday) and Sigrid (Sunday).
This year’s ‘Road to Victorious 2026’ competition winner Matt Hennessey finished his festival season with a triumphant Saturday performance on the Castle Stage, following a string of major festival appearances awarded as part of the competition’s prizes which are designed to springboard local artists’ careers and nurture the headliners of the future.
New for 2026 was Little Johnny Russell’s, an on-site reimagination of the legendary Portsmouth pub where Victorious began. Packed throughout the weekend with live performances and raucous entertainment, Little Johnny Russell’s brought the Pompey spirit to the masses!
Aside from the music, little ones enjoyed the biggest Kids Area of any UK festival where they enjoyed appearances from Fireman Sam (Friday), Bluey (Saturday) and Supertato (Sunday), plus fun and games at the target-tag Blaster Battle Zone and professional wrestling from fan favourites British Empire Wrestling. Held in the stunning seaside location of Southsea overlooking the Solent, Victorious Festival is the ultimate family-friendly festival experience.
James Ralls, Festival Director said: “It’s been another incredible year for the festival with new venues, huge performers and thousands of friends and family coming together on the stunning Southsea seafront for an unforgettable August Bank Holiday celebration. From Kasabian and The Black Keys on the Common Stage to parkour and wrestling in the Kids Arena – Victorious Festival 2026 was the ultimate family festival holiday and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back next year.”
Tickets for Victorious Festival 2027 (27th – 29th August 27) are on sale now with weekend tickets from just £179 (fees apply).
