FESTIVAL REVIEW: Outbreak Festival 2025

Saturday

It was my first time at Outbreak Festival in 2025, diving into its unique blend of hardcore, shoegaze, hip-hop and alternative chaos, and what a first impression it made. Hosted at Manchester’s BEC Arena, the journey there was carnage thanks to clashing events like Parklife, with tram carriages packed tighter than a hardcore pit mid-breakdown. Energy drink-fuelled groups buzzed with anticipation, the day already pulsing with adrenaline before even hitting the front gates.  

Once inside and after the obligatory Outbreak waiver signing (a rite of passage at this point), the festival’s signature setup became clear: no barriers, no separation, just a raw, unfiltered connection between artist and audience. The sense of community was instantly felt, from stage dives to circle pits. It’s a shared experience based on respect, energy, and emotion

While hardcore remains a staple at Outbreak, Saturday’s lineup leans more into shoegaze, alternative territory, offering a dreamier contrast to the usual intensity. 

Feeble Little Horse, an indie rock band all the way from Pennsylvania, opened my weekend on a dreamy, layered note at the Indoor Stage. A new discovery for me, their sound struck a perfect balance between soft and harnessed, whimsical yet grounded, think Foster the People meets Beach House with a dash of Wolf Alice. As their last show of the tour, the emotion was tangible. The crowd swayed, danced on stage and rode the wave of slow beats and shimmering guitars. “If you know how to dance, get up here,” vocalist Lydia Slocum invited, and people did. It was intimate and ethereal, a slow burn that erupted with the first stage diver of the day. 

American alternative rock band Militarie Gun stormed the main stage with jagged riffs and gritty emotion. Songs about mental health, with raw lines like “My friends are having a hard time” and “I’ll be just fine”, hit hard, underpinned by punchy drums and snarling guitar work. The chaos peaked during Disposable Plastic Trash, but their set had to be briefly stopped due to crowd intensity. They closed with a stage full of fans and a bold “Fuck Donald Trump” to end on a note of rebellion. 

Continuing at the Main Stage was the American rock band Fleshwater, which offered a shoegaze-hardcore hybrid that felt both grungy and reflective. With dual vocals of clean and screamed from vocalists Marisa Shirar and Anthony DiDio, their sound was melancholic, full of longing and contemplation. Meanwhile, I caught the tail end of dream-pop rock band Gleemer, formed by the duo Charlie O’Neill and Corey Coffman at the Third Stage, whose lush, layered guitar work added more shoegaze serenity to the day. 

Then came one of the standout acts of the day, the experimental rock band Have A Nice Life, who performed on the Indoor stage. Their set began with an intergalactic-feeling voiceover and spiralled into layered synth and guitar melodies that built into something both euphoric and haunting. Vocalist Dan Barrett exuded energy and joined the crowd mid-performance, amplifying the shared experience. Songs drifted between floating interludes and emotional bursts, creating a beautiful, resonant soundscape. The show closed with the crowd storming the stage, voices lifted together, making it a genuinely heartwarming moment that captured the emotional thread of the festival. 

Before heading back to the Main Stage, I decided to take a breather and, soak up the sun and reflect on how the day was going. I then realised how comfortable I felt being there and was genuinely enjoying discovering new bands, and everyone had been so welcoming. 

Next up was the English shoegaze band Slowdive on the Main Stage, who simply were ethereal. Dreamy, angelic and introspective, they pulled us into a trance of contemplative melodies, the kind that makes you feel like you’re sitting alone in your room, lost in thought. If Have A Nice Life was the emotional catharsis, then Slowdive was the exhale afterwards, music that gave space to feel and dance to. 

Then it was time for Missouri’s indie rock band Foxing on the Third Stage. It made for the band I was most excited to see, and they delivered a powerful, emotionally charged performance. What I like about Foxing is that their songs explore the honesty of internal and external pressures, contemplation and mental health. Moving seamlessly from soft introspection to full-blown chaos, complete with stage dives and a screaming crowd. Their live vocals and instrumentals sounded just like their record, if not better, and left us all wishing for more. As their set only lasted for 30 minutes. 

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Sunday

Sunday was shaping up to be another warm day, and compared to Saturday, the lineup featured a stronger focus on hardcore. 

The first performance of the day on the Indoor stage was straight edge American hardcore band XweaponX, made up of Knocked Loose’s Bryan Garris on bass and Isaac Hale on guitar, Bryan’s brother Trey Garris on drums and vocalist Dave Baugher. XweaponX exploded onto the stage with heavy bass, tight drumming and Baugher’s urgent vocals. “This is a dance floor, so where the fuck is the dance?” Baugher shouted, and the crowd obeyed, where it sparked a fierce mosh pit. As fists, feet, and bodies were flying. An adrenaline-fueled riot, full of fast-paced breakdowns. They ended the set with their song, Weapon X Intro.

Hardcore band Pest Control took the stage next, led by vocalist Leah Massey-Hay, who delivered a gripping, guttural performance. Their music was relentless, as it included a wall of chugging riffs and confrontational speed. “Where are the two steppers?” Massey-Hay shouted during the performance and even joined in with the crowd. They closed with the challenge: “Last time to dance with us, Outbreak!” and the floor obliged. Declaring that “2025 is the year of the Pest”, and judging by the pits and crowd surfers, they weren’t wrong. 

American post-hardcore band Drug Church brought a pop-punk and hardcore hybrid, featuring socially aware lyrics and sarcasm, to the Main Stage. “You can care now, you can care 20 years from now, but everybody move, and everybody dive,” said vocalist Patrick Kindlon, who even joked about being dropped when they performed at Outbreak in London. They drew in a big crowd, and their set was drum-heavy and two-step worthy.  Flags flew (Palestine was represented proudly on stage), and so did bodies. 

Then came the secret set speculation of who will perform next on the Main Stage. Rumours of Turnstile and Turnover filled the air, but when we spotted Feisal El-Khazragi’s wife, Eleanor, the secret was essentially out—Liverpool’s experimental metal band Loathe would take the stage. And what a set it was. Returning to Outbreak, from the second they began, it was clear this was something special. Loathe brought everything: soaring melodies, guttural screams, sensual guitar solos and a special appearance from Static Dress’s Olli Appleyard. Loathe blew expectations out of the water. “To come home and be shown this amount of love is incredible,” France said. Ending their set with the emotional and well-known balled Is It Really You?, the audience came together for this heartfelt moment as the song explores themes of self-reflection, pain and connection. Their energy and stage presence were unmatched, definitely a top set of the festival. 

Australian hardcore heroes Speed brought chaos and community to the Main Stage. Their set was a fast-paced, chaotic explosion of hardcore energy, pure adrenaline from start to finish. With a demand of “I need to see bodies in the air” from vocalist Jem Siow, the atmosphere was feral, with clothes flying and people launching whatever they could find. Between the chaos, there was a raw and heartfelt speech from Siow as he called it a “global convention”, with a shoutout to the UK hardcore scene. The band called for stage divers, and the crowd delivered. Even Higher Power made a guest appearance, adding another layer of intensity to an already electric set. American alternative rock band Superheaven followed suit with a ‘90s-era grungy, melodic set featuring rough vocals, melodic shoegaze textures and tightly woven guitar-driven tones. “Outbreak’s a cool festival,” vocalist Jake Clarke said, and he wasn’t wrong. Their music provided a gritty bridge into the heavier headliners of the evening. 

Deafheaven, an American black-metal band, were another personal favourite of mine during the weekend. They performed on the Indoor Stage, and their blackgaze mix of ethereal beauty and blistering screams felt like being caught in a thunderstorm and a dream simultaneously. Vocalist George Clarke’s performance was captivating, depicting an intense, expressive, and emotionally raw performance. During the set, there were moments where the audience invaded the stage as a collective and joined Clarke in a collision of emotional depth and connection. The set ended with the song Winona, a song that contains harrowing yet poetic lyrics, with Clarke’s hands moving in the air, a moment of catharsis that mirrored the audience’s collective feeling. 

As it was getting later in the evening, we decided to take a breather and try the food at Outbreak, which, I add, had a great selection compared to other music festivals I have been to. As we were waiting in the queue, we heard the start of American rapper Denzel Curry‘s set. In an unexpected turn of events, we were intrigued by what we heard, and it seemed like people around us had the same opinion. So, returning to the main stage before the headliners of the night, Knocked Loose, were set to perform, where Denzel Curry brought a change of pace—hip-hop with a political backbone. His set, more relaxed yet still emotionally potent, offered a breather from the sonic assault and gave the crowd time to reflect, cleanse the auditory palate, and catch their breath before the final act, a brief calm before the final storm. 

The closing act of the weekend was none other than Knocked Loose, and what a way to end it. Although delayed by 20 minutes, an Outbreak member of staff reinforced the policy of stage access by declaring, in a humorous yet serious tone, before the set that people were to “get on, get off, and fuck off”. As Knocked Loose finally entered onto the stage, they emerged with a vengeance. Opening with Blinding Faith, vocalist Bryan Garris commanded, “This is my house, and I want you to move.” The crowd obeyed in the only way they knew how, moshing, diving, and screaming every lyric. Special guests joined throughout the set, first starting with Henry Cox from Boston Manor for the song Belleville, then Jem Siow from Speed for Deadringer. During the song God Knows, vocalist George Clarke from Deafheaven made an appearance. Billy No Mates featured both Kadeem France from Loathe and Olli Appleyard of Static Dress, making the finale a crossover dream. 

The UK scene felt seen, supported, and celebrated. As the performance neared its end, everyone knew what was about to come next with the song Everything Is Quiet Now. This was the moment the crowd had been waiting for, for the band to call a wall of death. The last time this happened was when I saw them back in March at Victoria Warehouse. Where it was stopped due to safety reasons. This time, though, there was no barrier, no pause, and no mercy. To be able to witness one in full force this time around, it was unreal. Knocked Loose, in a full circle moment, ended their set with Weapon X Outro, which is how their side project band XweaponX started their set. It was a symbolic way to bring the successful night to an end.  

Overall, Outbreak 2025 was more than just a music festival. It was an outpouring of shared emotion, sweat and solidarity. From dreamy shoegaze to pulverising hardcore, every act brought something unique. We danced, we screamed, we dove, and we healed. My final thoughts are that Outbreak is a festival that goes beyond the barriers (literally) and creates a space where you can express your true self, let go of societal norms, and experience everything freely. I have great expectations for Outbreak next year, and I can’t wait to see who will be performing. 

Outbreak, you were chaos. You were beautiful. And I’ll be back.  

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Words by Zena Morris

Photos by Nat Wood, Eddy Maynard, Elliot Ingham and Jamie Carmichel