First acts for Boomtown 2025 revealed
- Text by Ben Smoke
- Photography by Bekky Calver
For the first time in five years, Boomtown festival have delighted fans and festival goers by releasing the first wave of acts for the 16th iteration of the event early. Known for selling out in advance with details of the line up only being released weeks before the event, this morning’s video announcement took many by surprise. You can watch it for yourself below.
Those due to perform at the award winning and trailblazing site next year include The Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Maribou State, Sean Paul, Nia Archives, and Azealia Banks. Also scheduled to appear is The Blessed Madonna, Rudim3ntal, Honey Djion, Boney M and west country legends The Wurzels.
The acts will join over 600 artists still to be announced in what the festival is calling a “vibrant tapestry of sound”, featuring everything from hip-hop and post-punk to reggae, world music, folk, and beyond. With genres spanning drum and bass, techno, house, rock, jungle, disco, and psytrance the event promises to be another transcendental weekend.
Organisers also announced today that Boomtown 2025 will see the introduction of a breathtaking new stage named ‘Hydro’ which will showcase the full spectrum of 4x4 music: house, techno, and disco. Elsewhere the monumental Origin stage regenerated as an ancient temple, newly named ‘The Lions Gate’. Next summer will see Boomtown grow back outside the Downtown bowl area once again, expanding into the surrounding hills, valleys and woodland, creating more space, more nature to walk through, more intrigue and more discovery.
‘Chapter 4: Power Of Now’ will take place in Winchester’s Matterley Bowl between 6th-10th August 2025 featuring a sweeping blend of genres and eras. The full list of acts released so far can be found below.
Latest on Huck
Ideas were everything to David Lynch
Dreamweaver — On Thursday, January 16, one of the world’s greatest filmmakers passed away at the age of 78. To commemorate his legacy, we are publishing a feature exploring his singular creative vision and collaborative style online for the first time.
Written by: Daniel Dylan Wray
“The world always shuns”: Moonchild Sanelly on her new album, underground scenes and abortion rights
Huck’s January interview — Ahead of ‘Full Moon’, her most vulnerable project yet, we caught up with the South African pop star to hear about opening up in her music, confronting her past and her fears for women’s rights in 2025.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Krept & Konan are opening an “inclusive” supermarket
Saveways — With 15,000 sq. ft of space and produce from across the world, the store will cater to Black, Asian and ethnic communities in Croydon.
Written by: Isaac Muk
This erotic zine dismantles LGBTQ+ respectability politics
Zine Scene — Created by Megan Wallace and Jack Rowe, PULP is a new print publication that embraces the diverse and messy, yet pleasurable multitudes that sex and desire can take.
Written by: Isaac Muk
As Tbilisi’s famed nightclubs reawaken, a murky future awaits
Spaces Between the Beats — Since Georgia’s ruling party suspended plans for EU accession, protests have continued in the capital, with nightclubs shutting in solidarity. Victor Swezey reported on their New Year’s Eve reopening, finding a mix of anxiety, catharsis and defiance.
Written by: Victor Swezey
Los Angeles is burning: Rick Castro on fleeing his home once again
Braver New World — In 2020, the photographer fled the Bobcat Fire in San Bernardino to his East Hollywood home, sparking the inspiration for an unsettling photo series. Now, while preparing for its exhibition, he has had to leave once again, returning to the mountains.
Written by: Miss Rosen