A Bloody Good Kneecappin’ - Wide Awake Festival 2025 in Review
Written by F. Tuck
For a while there it didn’t feel like South London’s annual Wide Awake festival was going to happen at all. As the column inches continued to stack up, so did the uncertainty around the event, and by the point the gates finally do open, even your nan has probably got an opinion on the event.
First came a rather public war of words between Irish headliners Kneecap and the UK government over the former’s views on Israel and Palestine. The result? Cancelled performances; mass media outrage; an investigation by counter-terror police; and finally, just days before their biggest headline performance to date, terror charges being brought against rapper Mo Chara. Then local residents got in on the action, winning a High Court ruling against festival organisers Brockwell Live over fair use of Brockwell Park, and suddenly it wasn’t just the headline act that was in jeopardy, it was the entire festival. But if you know anything about Kneecap, you should know they’re not ones to back down from a fight, and evidently just like their top booking, neither are Brockwell Live, so here we are on a glorious sunny May Friday, raring to go with 20,000 music fans, six stages of underground and lesser known music, and one giant middle finger to the establishment.
After getting our bearings, we swing by the main stage for the final couple of songs by Ugly, whose close harmonies and gentle prog-folk meanderings give their music a languid Polyphonic Spree kind of quality. As far removed as one could possibly imagine from the headliners, their dulcet tones float across the arena like smoke, easing punters into the day nicely. Next up is The Weeknd’s favourite Australian lounge jazz crooner, Donny Benét, over on the Bad Vibes stage, delivering anything but. Smooth, funky bass-led odes to forbidden love and second dinner transport the sun-soaked crowd back to 1980s Miami, helped along by the first of the day’s many saxophones. Although some of his more humorous asides get lost in the open-air setting, it’s cool, calm, camp fun, and all that’s missing is a pool and a coconut with an umbrella in it.
Gurriers
There’s a sizeable Irish contingent on site today supporting their countrymen, and it feels like every last one of them has crammed into the tiny Shacklewell Arms stage for Gurriers. The Dubliners’ propulsive, beat-heavy post-punk weaves in elements of noise rock, creating a sound akin to Idles playing The Jesus Lizard, and the crowd go suitably nuts. A loud rip above the heads of the mosh pit suggests at least one crowd surfer has walked away in need of some new trousers. Meanwhile, Zambian jam rock band W.I.T.C.H. (aka We Intend To Cause Havoc) are reliving their 70s heydays over in the Moth Club tent, where big hats, big basslines and big energy are the order of the day. It’s an absolute treat to experience their blend of counterculture rock and traditional African rhythms in such an intimate venue, and an honourable mention must go to the sound engineer who does an incredible job of creating a crystal clear mix. The less said about the giant neon Smirnoff sign that comes alive above the stage mid-way through however, the better.
W.I.T.C.H.
Without question, Bristol duo Getdown Services should be on a bigger stage, as the swelling crowd comes dangerously close to blocking a major thoroughfare. Whilst their recorded output can be quite mellow and understated, here the songs bristle with labrador energy, erupting from the speakers like a burst dam and turning whimsical indie jangles about modern life into care-free disco bangers extolling the sheer joy of existence. On a day so rooted in serious discussion, and shortly after an impassioned speech by Jeremy Corbyn on the main stage, this pair of intensely likeable people’s poets are a much needed burst of colour, a neon bright meeting of The Streets, Flight of the Conchords and Bob Log III. Their orchestration of a marriage proposal shortly before the final song is just the cherry on the top of what has been a life-affirming set, and if they can harness this energy on record, we should expect some very big things from Getdown Services in the future.
Getdown Services
Back on the Bad Vibes stage are festival favourites Fat Dog, who offer a similar take on rabble-rousing electro-punk, but with a bigger God-complex and considerably inflated bombast. Although the set starts muted, King Of The Slugs lights the touchpaper like a techno version of Madness’ Nightboat To Cairo, and we’re away. From here on in, looking equal parts cowboy and cult leader, frontman Joe Love has the crowd in the palm of its hand, and it’s clear why the organisers were so keen to get them back higher up the bill.
What comes next however, is one for the ages. Like their most popular tunes, the rise of Kneecap from hip hop hobbyists to festival headliners has been fast and aggressive, and their arrival is met with a roar that can probably be heard back in Belfast. It’s clear from the get-go that this is a crowd very much on the side of the band, or as they note throughout their set, the right side of history, and chants of “Free Palestine” are volleyed back and forth throughout the set with gusto. When Mo Chara invites the 20,000 strong crowd to join him in court on 18 Jun “with a big bag of ket”, you’d be an idiot to bet against a strong contingent taking him up on that offer.
Kneecap
As with recent shows in the U.S., the setlist falls loosely into two halves, the first pairing earlier cuts such as It’s Been Ages and Thart agus Thart with calmer moments from last year’s acclaimed Fine Art, before the second ramps things up with more high energy, beat-heavy numbers like I bhFiacha Lin and Guilty Conscience. Somewhat inevitably, this means the show initially lacks some of the danger one has come to expect from such an incendiary group, but the flipside is that the second half is pure bedlam. A guest appearance from Jelani Blackman on a full throttle rendition of Harrow Road and a particularly bouncy version of I’m Flush mark the tipping point, but it’s new song The Recap, a bootleg version of which was released via WhatsApp just eight hours earlier, that really sets things off. Made in collaboration with drum ‘n bass DJ Mozey on a beat Chase & Status fans will be salivating over, the song sends bodies flying across the park, and if this is a sign of things to come then it won’t be long before we’re speaking about Kneecap in the same sentence as The Prodigy.
Recent reports have listed Kneecap as an underground act, but that hasn’t felt the case for a while now, and surely won’t ever again following the past month, but if you thought they were an irritation now, just wait and see what they’ve got planned next.
