Victorious Festival 2019 / Second wave announced

Now in its eighth year Portsmouth's Victorious Festival has easily established itself as a family-friendly affair, offering a smörgåsbord of performers in an easily accessible environment. As is the case with such shindigs the line-up is a typically idiosyncratic affair, and the organisers have their net wide over the years to bring such diverse acts as Maximo Park, Olly Murs, Dizzee Rascal, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Flaming Lips, Basement Jaxx and Charlotte Church to the city.

An initial line-up of artists playing this year's event was announced back in December, an amuse-bouche of big names which included Ska legends The Specials, Swedish monochromatic fuzz warriors The Hives and dance-cello-pop crossover outfit Clean Bandit. Today's "second wave" announcement from the organisers fills out the line-up although, typically, leaves us still guessing at to the identity of the Sunday night headliner.

Northern Ireland's Two Door Cinema Club, currently teasing the release of album number four later this year, will co-headline the Friday night session with The Specials. Joining them for the opening night are Mancunian legends Doves and two bands who are each touring seminal albums from their back catalogue; The Zutons, who have reunited to celebrate their debut release, and indie journeymen Dodgy, whose Homegrown LP is 25 this year.

The bill of fare for the first full day of the festival blends indie nostalgia with a sprinkle of dance, rap and pop. Ocean Colour Scene, Badly Drawn Boy, The Twang and Tim Burgess all feature, as do two bands I've seen grace the stage at The Pyramids, Republica and Fun Lovin' Criminals. Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi, rapper/documentarian Professor Green and Bloc Party (performing a Silent Alarm set) also play Saturday, with London's Rudimental topping the bill.

Some of the acts announced for Sunday's session appear to have been plucked straight from the Nineties & Noughties section of my vinyl vault; indie-rockers Ash, Mackem musos The Futureheads and mellow indie-balladeers Starsailor all have a place on the shelf (although Razorlight, who bizarrely appear higher on the bill than these acts, do not). Alt-rockers The Sherlocks, rock/blues duo The Pearl Harts, Reggae scion Ziggy Marley and Tom Grennan's husky vocals add to the entertainment, with DJ Yoda and Basement Jaxx both making appearances behind the decks.

This second wave of acts weighs a bit too heavily on the nostalgic side for me, heavyset as it is with bands I've seen live several times before (though I'm likely to be in the minority there), and also suffers from a noticeable dearth of female performers. That said, this is just the second wave and there's likely to be several more announcements before August Bank Holiday hoves into view; Victorious has always supported local talent so I'm expecting a large number of Portsmouth/Southampton/IOW acts to be added along with a few more bigger names. Tickets for the festival are on sale now, available online via its website or in person from the Meat & Barrel in Southsea. 

Now, did I ever tell you about the time I saw Dodgy play the Heineken Festival on Southsea Common? No? Well...