Southsea Common was once again buzzing as 150,000 festival goers headed to the south coast for three days of live music, big performances and plenty of festival fun at Victorious Festival 2026.
With the sea just a stone’s throw away and multiple stages spread across the Common, there was a real sense that the city had come alive for the weekend.
Of course, no British festival would be complete without a bit of unpredictable weather. After an unbelievable summer of hot weather and sunshine, things ended in typically British style, with strong winds sweeping across the site and plenty of showers along the way.
But, the crowds were not about to let that get in the way of a fun-filled weekend, as this Victorious Festival 2026 was one of the best line ups to date!
Three days, multiple stages and some seriously impressive performances, with plenty of standout moments along the way. Here’s who made the biggest impression at Victorious Festival 2026!
Friday at Victorious Festival
The first day of Victorious Festival 2026 set the bar seriously high, with a standout line up featuring several of my own personal favourites, including The Coral, Cast and Hard-Fi.
Every song from The Coral’s set was absolutely magnificent and included ‘Bill McCai’, ‘Pass It On’, a beautiful rendition of ‘Jacqueline’ and an exuberant ‘In The Morning’.
There is something wonderfully uplifting about watching The Coral play live. They make it look effortless, blending their unmistakable psychedelic sound with jangling guitars, infectious melodies and a relaxed confidence that had the crowd hooked.
My only complaint was that I wish it could have been longer, but luckily I will be catching the guys on tour in a couple of months and also had the pleasure of seeing them play at the Southampton Sessions earlier this summer.
Despite the worsening winds (and a lot of dry grass swirling around!) the Victorious Festival crowd were unperturbed and after a sensational set from The Coral, they were treated to a career-spanning set from indie legends – Cast.
John Power and Cast were in phenomenal form, and it was great to hear tracks from their latest album, ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’, including ‘Free Love’ and ‘Calling Out Your Name’.
Upbeat and melodic, Cast served up a beautiful rendition of ‘Walk Away’ from their iconic Britpop album ‘All Change’, which sat effortlessly alongside ‘Live The Dream’. They also served up a high-octane version of ‘Alright’, with the Common Stage crowd singing along with every word.
Next on stage was The Vaccines with Justin telling the crowd that this year marks 15 years since the release of the band’s debut album, ‘What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?’.
It was fitting, then, that their set drew heavily from the album, giving fans plenty of opportunities to revisit some of the tracks that first put The Vaccines firmly on the map. From ‘Post Break-Up Sex’ to the jaunty ‘Headphones Baby’, The Vaccines delivered a fantastic set which reminded everyone what a brilliant live act they really are.
Another of my favourites performed on the Castle Stage – Hard-Fi who have recently released their first album in 15 years ‘Sweating Someone Else’s Fever’ .
Having not heard all of the new tracks live before, it was great to see them perform them live which included ‘Don’t Go Making Plans’ and ‘Digo Nada’ which fitted in seamlessly with tracks from their punchy debut ‘Stars of CCTV’ .
Their set included a blistering ‘Hard to Beat’ and the impossibly catchy ‘Living For The Weekend’ which performed on the first night of a long festival weekend, has never felt so apt!
Hard-Fi are electrifying live and remain as vibrant and vital as ever, with a phenomenal set full of timeless classics.
One of the most colourful and effervescent acts to hit the Common Stage across the whole Victorious Festival 2026 weekend was the Scissor Sisters who served up a sassy and spectacular set which included all the disco diva classics such as ‘Take your Mama’, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’ and a surprise cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ which was an intriguing but welcome choice.
There was a hard choice to make when it came to watching the Friday night headliner. Faithless who released the rousing ‘Champion Sound’ last year and are always a thrilling live act to catch on the festival circuit.
Of course, it had to be the one and only Richard Ashcroft who is always such a mesmerising performer. Despite only performing 11 tracks from both his impressive solo career and from The Verve, the set felt longer as he performed expanded versions of tracks like the emotive ‘Music Is Power’ and ‘Break The Night With Colour’ where he delivered the most exquisite, visceral outro which was utterly hypnotic.
Hearing Richard Ashcroft perform ‘Lucky Man’ and ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ was one of those festival moments that stopped you in your tracks, with both songs sounding as powerful and timeless as ever.
Saturday at Victorious Festival
If Friday set the bar seriously high, Saturday had plenty to live up to – but it absolutely did! With The Lottery Winners, Happy Mondays, Jessie J, Doves, Nile Rodgers & CHIC and The Black Keys all on my must-see list, there was no shortage of music to get excited about!
The day got off to a brilliant start with The Lottery Winners, who packed plenty into their short set with ‘Burning House’, ‘Worry’, ‘Start Again’, ‘Steady We Go’, ‘Much Better’ and ‘Turn Around’.
If the crowd weren’t in a party mood on Saturday afternoon before (and to be fair, the driving rain was not a vibe!), they certainly were after the Happy Mondays performed.
Happy Mondays brought their unmistakable Madchester sound to the Common Stage, with ‘Kinky Afro’, ‘Loose Fit’, ‘24 Hour Party People’ and, of course, ‘Step On’ all making an appearance. The songs perennially have that ability to get a festival crowd moving, and they are always a fun act to watch at Victorious.
Doves offered something very different on the Castle Stage, delivering a beautifully atmospheric set that included ‘Words’, ‘Snowden’, ‘Pounding’, ‘The Cedar Room’, ‘There Goes the Fear’ and ‘Black and White Town’. Their dreamy, expansive sound worked beautifully in a festival setting and their set was emotive, but anthemic.
Jessie J was an absolute powerhouse on the Common Stage, bringing huge vocals and bags of personality to a set packed with hits including ‘Do It Like a Dude’, ‘Nobody’s Perfect’, ‘Domino’ and the inevitable crowd-pleaser ‘Price Tag’, while a stunning rendition of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ gave her the perfect opportunity to unleash those incredible vocals and prove exactly why she remains such a brilliant live performer.
Nile Rodgers & CHIC were one of the acts I had been most looking forward to, and they did not disappoint, turning the Common Stage into a sea of dancing festival goers with a set packed with disco classics and huge pop hits. ‘Le Freak’, ‘Everybody Dance’, ‘I Want Your Love’ and ‘I’m Coming Out’ all sounded fantastic live, while ‘Upside Down’, ‘We Are Family’ and ‘Get Lucky’ kept the party going right to the end.
Nile is an absolute joy to watch, effortlessly cool on stage and clearly having the time of his life. It was pretty much everything you could want from a festival set, packed with crowd pleasers and delivered brilliantly by a band at the top of their game.
And then it was time for Saturday’s headliners, The Black Keys, who wasted no time in cranking up the volume with ‘I Got Mine’, before tearing through ‘Gold on the Ceiling’, ‘Fever’, ‘Wild Child’ and ‘Howlin’ for You’.
With Dan Auerbach’s gritty guitar and Patrick Carney’s pounding drums driving the whole thing along, there was a rawness to the performance that worked brilliantly on the Common Stage, while ‘Little Black Submarines’ and ‘Lonely Boy’ brought the night to a suitably explosive finish at Victorious Festival.
Sunday at Victorious Festival
With two days of music already under our belts, Sunday was all about making the most of the final few hours of Victorious Festival 2026, and there was certainly no shortage of reasons to keep heading back to the stages, with Brooke Combe, Reef, Sleeper and Kasabian all on the agenda.
The first person on my list to see on Sunday was, without a doubt, Brooke Combe, who I had previously seen supporting Miles Kane a couple of years ago.
Brooke Combe was every bit as good as I remembered, bringing her soulful sound and powerful vocals to the Common Stage. There is a real confidence to her live performance, and she made the most of the opportunity to showcase her voice, with ‘This Town’ and ‘Tears Won’t Lie’ among the highlights.
The talented Scottish singer-songwriter combines great songs with effortless charisma and a natural confidence on stage, giving her performance a swagger that feels completely her own.
Reef brought some serious rock ’n’ roll energy to the Common Stage, with Gary Stringer’s unmistakable vocals cutting through a set packed with big guitars, pounding drums and plenty of swagger, with the whole performance demonstrating why Reef are such a great live band.
Another ’90s favourite, Sleeper, brought out the big guns for Victorious Festival, with Louise Wener on brilliant form as the band rattled through a set packed with the songs that made them such a memorable part of the Britpop era.
Kelis brought a completely different vibe to Victorious, delivering a slick, soulful set packed with attitude and plenty of familiar hits. ‘Milkshake’ was always going to be a big moment, but it was her effortless cool and commanding stage presence that really made the set stand out.
Sadly, it was time for Victorious Festival to come to an end, but not before Kasabian took to the Common Stage.After opening with ‘Club Foot’, Serge Pizzorno barely stood still, bouncing across the stage and working the crowd as the band tore through a mix of old favourites and tracks from ACT III, which is just days away from release.
‘Shoot the Runner’, ‘Empire’, ‘L.S.F.’ and ‘Fire’ all hit hard, while new tracks including ‘Hippie Sunshine’, ‘SUPERPOWERS’ and ‘NOTHING BETTER THAN THIS’ showed that Kasabian are far from resting on their past successes. Their set was riotous, relentless and exactly the kind of full-throttle performance you want from the band closing a festival, sending Victorious Festival 2026 out on a seriously high note.
The weather may have thrown everything it had at us, but it never took away from what was a brilliant three days of live music, with some seriously memorable performances along the way. Victorious Festival 2026, you really were something special!
Photo Credits: Russ Leggatt, Tom Langford, Elliott Mcrae and Toby Pryce via Victorious Festival
