BludFest returns for round 2
Yungblud follows up his 2024 success with an expanded capacity and higher production evolution whilst maintaining its values and its message as a ‘festival for the people’.
Photo: Ruby Boland
Yungblud continued to capture his finger on the pulse brand for music lovers by bringing them music and artist connection without breaking the bank. The festival was once again held at the historic National Bowl in Milton Keynes, a perfect example of the movement Yungblud is pushing, as this year’s capacity had an increase of 30% allowing a maximum limit capacity of 39,000.
The festival was a demonstration of being a beacon of acceptance, inclusiveness and abundance of creativity. Anything you can think of being in a festival was here; from your typical Ferris wheel, which seems to be a staple of any music event, to a tattoo parlour, even to Yungblud’s own take on iconic Camden pub, The Hawley Arms, famed for being Amy Winehouse’s favourite and the shooting location of Netflix’s Baby Reindeer. There were exhibitions of Yungblud’s clothing brand B.R.A.T and even Tamworth’s own Spudman being one of the many food stalls at the venue.
The amalgamation of creativity and innovation is something a lot of festivals can learn from, as this festival feels very much like the new generation and promotes something that not just fans of Yungblud will appreciate, but what fans of music will acknowledge of what we should strive to achieve to bring the music back to the people for the people.
Yungblud pushed heavily to inform those in attendance that they were his family. Let’s dive into those new members following their performances.
The first act we saw on the day was a great introduction to the day to come. Luvcat being on early in the day had to deal with some weather complications in the form of rain — which, looking at later in the day, wish we had more of — to deliver a sublime vocal performance, captivating the audience with her strong storytelling especially in songs like Matador, where they tell a story of a mysterious man who would appear in their local park, that later inspired the lyrics to this engaging romantic ballad. The gothic romance music came across as timeless and smooth. For an act that highlighted on stage that this was their first main stage performance, they showed great stage presence and at times had the audience in the palm of their hands.
Undoubtedly one of my favourite acts of the festival, Master Peace brought so much energy, which was well received by the audience. The performance of Home perfectly encapsulates his passion, whilst having great crowd engagement. It was unfortunate I was unable to see the entire set, most likely missing a favourite song of mine Start You Up, but from what I did see, it was a masterclass in creating a super fun set with the crowd bouncing and engaging with the music.
A very anticipated set — not just by me, but by everyone — was Denzel Curry on the Main Stage. It is still weird to me that Denzel Curry was in Milton Keynes and is something I still need to pinch myself over. Denzel brought the hard-hitting East Coast rap to the festival, which had the crowd in a frenzy during this entire set, and rightly so. The high energy mixed with hard-hitting beats and fast-paced ferocity in delivery created a manic atmosphere.
Denzel noted during his performance that it seemed like we don’t “really like to mosh” and that the audience was very tame and not very wild — most likely a stark contrast from his set at Outbreak Festival just the week before — which is usually not the case when performing Hit the Floor. This may have been a result of two reasons, one being the average age of those in attendance: it was quite noticeable that the festival hosted a much younger age of punters, which may have prevented the energy in the crowd. Or another reason may be that many of those attending this predominantly alternative festival weren’t overly familiar with Denzel Curry’s music. Either way, Denzel took the stage by storm and closed the set with Hot One; overall, a very impressive performance.
Back on the second stage, we were given an emotionally raw and powerful set from Nieve Ella. The set overcame some technical difficulties to deliver a delightful indie-pop rock balance, often engaging with the audience throughout. A very talented musician who is undoubtedly touted as one to watch. Nieve has a great ability to create a sense of community and togetherness in her set, a very impressive feat when on a second stage at a festival. Her style came through in Sweet Nothings, a particular favourite of mine, but also sprinkled in a cover of the iconic Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls.
blackbear on the main stage may have been the only blip for me during what was a very well-crafted festival. This was the emo hip-hop artist’s first live show in nearly three years, and you could tell there were signs of rust still on the surface. blackbear pulled a large crowd for his set in anticipation of his emotionally complex set sprinkled with his massive mainstream hits and features.
blackbear laid down his captivating idfc and hot girl bummer, which the crowd unsurprisingly soaked up, as well as an assortment of his features with artists like mgk, All Time Low and Avril Lavigne. This was very much a play-the-song-and-go-into-the-next-song set with very tentative attempts at crowd engagement. Despite this, there is more to come from blackbear as he hopes to have a new album dropping by Valentine’s Day. Overall, a show with great musical highlights but lacked the heart and engagement other acts have put forward.
Headlining the second stage was breakout star Rachel Chinouriri. An outstanding performance and one that showed why Rachel got a headline spot at BludFest. Her excitement and energy were infectious, and you couldn’t help but smile along to some of the most down-to-earth tones you can hear in music. Expressing the frustration from relationships with songs early in her set, like All I Ever Asked and 23:42, to a very poignant So My Darling expressing grief and loss, before once again raising the energy back with a ballad about finding the one in Can We Talk About Isaac?, and crescendoing with an upbeat moving-on song Never Need Me, which has none other than Florence Pugh in the music video. A very bubbly set and a prototypical example in love song writing with catchy funk undertones.
And finally, we get to the headline act. The creator, the one with the name of the festival. Did he deliver? Oh, yes he did. Starting the set with an awe-inspiring nine-minute odyssey Hello Heaven, Hello, coming off the new album release of Idols, which had dropped the day before. With this, it allowed Yungblud to play around with the setlist and throw in a few surprises, including the live debut of The Greatest Parade.
Photo: Alanna Georgette
A huge highlight of the set for me was the surprise appearance by rock legend Billy Idol to perform a cover of White Wedding, which is definitely one of those moments you take away and say ‘I was there’.
There was plenty of time for the classic Yungblud setlist staples of parents, Lowlife and California, with the crowd naturally fully engaged and screaming along. There was also important time dedicated in the set for the work done by charity War Child, whose work looks to aid children affected by conflict. Yungblud emotionally urged people to donate and even asked people to take a photo of the number for others not at the show.
Yungblud took full advantage of every square inch of the stage he had to strut around and create presence for the entire set. It can be said that the showmanship and bravado may be taken as egotistical due to its at times unhinged nature but you can see the passion and the pride he has — you can tell he is very proud of what he has managed to achieve with BludFest, and rightly so.
Yungblud closed the show with the notorious I think I’m OKAY and very poignant and moving new track Zombie, with a music video also starring Florence Pugh. It was a fitting end to a very touching performance, which displayed a lot of heart and passion, culminating in the Milton Keynes starry sky being illuminated by an array of fireworks and pyro.
There’s no doubt that naming a festival after yourself comes with a lot of pressure. Making sure everything goes perfectly and making sure your message resonates with your brand, and that the audience connects with what you are trying to achieve. Overall, I think this was achieved in flying colours, if those colours in particular were pink and black. It’s another year and another well done for Bludfest, and we await what this festival can achieve in its future.