Festival Review: We Out Here 2025
The coming together of a scene in celebration of its legends and new heroes.
Travelling to We Out Here always has the feeling of a pilgrimage, as the exponents of a scene - decades in the making - converge together to pay their respects to its pioneers and those continuing to push the culture forward.
Curated by Gilles Peterson, the scene We Out Here represents is not one that can be narrowly defined, and in fact its magic is found in its inherent diversity and genre-defying approach. Yet, broadly speaking, We Out Here is a celebration of music of black origin and UK club culture in its many guises. Featuring jazz, soul, hip hop, house, afro, latin, electronica and more, this really is a festival where you can choose your own path. Whether that be nerding out on the UK jazz underground, crossing some big names off your “seen live” list, committing to a four-day-long rave, or, perhaps advisedly, attempting all of these simultaneously.
The diversity in music is matched well with diversity in staging and curation - an area that has been continually tweaked and improved as the festival has grown in size and scope. The majority of the live music is split between three stages with each - regardless of size - being able to simultaneously create an atmosphere of intimacy and occasion. Where, even at the main stage, which hosted headline performances from Noname, Loyle Carner and Kokoroko, you never feel too far away from the action.
In particular this was felt at Nala Sinephro’s Friday afternoon set, which was undoubtedly one of the musical pinnacles of the weekend. Sinephro’s unique brand of ambient inspired jazz music is often hard to make work in a festival context - especially on the larger stages. But an attentive crowd combined with a perfectly balanced soundsystem created a genuinely immersive experience.
Predominantly improvising for the hour-long set, but with references to her records ‘Space 1.8’ and ‘Endlessness’, Sinephro masterfully guided her band through moments of serenity and intensity. Gradually building from gentle harp and synth harmonies into ecstatic, almost free jazz segments featuring James Mollison on saxophone and Morgan Simpson on drums. As the set built to its final, dramatic conclusion, the few thousand-strong crowd were left in stunned silence, desperately waiting to show their appreciation for what had unfolded before them.
Less well-known or perhaps more left-field acts were programmed on the much smaller “Lush Life” stage which was nestled in a beautiful tree-lined corner of the festival site, surrounded by some of the lushest grass the festival had to offer. On many occasions we found ourselves splayed out here, eating food and listening to the cocktail of music which was on offer. From Nídia & Valentina with their unique brand of syncopated and raw contemporary dance music, to the cosmic, electronic jazz of super-group Flock, the music here always felt innovative and exciting - making it the perfect spot for new musical discoveries.
The highlight here, though, was veteran Finnish composer and synth wizard Jimi Tenor, whose inimitable fusion of jazz-funk, soul, analogue house and afrobeats was totally thrilling to witness. Performing fully solo - armed with a flute, saxophone, an array of synths and his distinctive voice - Tenor delighted the
crowd with his unassuming charm and old-school approach. Moving from luscious, soundtrack-like compositions, to bonkers spaced-out fusion, to pure drum-machine-led beats, Tenor succeeded in whipping the relatively small crowd into a genuine frenzy.
Amazingly enough, the live music portion of this festival probably only occupied about half of our time, as the rest was spent exploring the incredible line-up of DJs. In fact, it was here where the programming and staging was at its most impressive. Spread across nine stages in total, the options for your late night party or daytime boogie were exhaustive - and occasionally overwhelming. However, with a little bit of
pre-planning and some occasional serendipity, we almost always found a dancefloor vibe that agreed with what we were craving at any given moment.
Across the weekend we made it to seven of the nine stages, with each delivering memorable dance-floor moments. Yet, a few spots certainly stood out for their attention to detail and flawless line-ups.
The first of these to mention is Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy’s “Love Dancin’” tent, which has always been a staple at We Out Here, but this year it felt as though they raised the bar again. Equipped with a proper wooden sprung dance-floor, a loud surround-sound system and a huge disco ball, it shines as an example of what is possible when you simply get the basics spot on. There were no frills here and yet it was arguably the best place to let loose on the dancefloor for hours on end.
This sentiment was most felt during the Friday night “Touching Bass” take-over, where, although we had planned to explore numerous spots that night, we were never quite able to drag ourselves away from the warm embrace of “Love Dancin’”. With stellar sets from Leanne Wright, Erol & Alex Rita, Stefan Ringer & Blvck Spvde, and a mind-blowing live set from broken-beat and house producer D’Monk, the 4am cut-off was upon us in no time, leaving us in disbelief that the night had flown by so quickly.
Another honourable mention has to go to the “Lemon Lounge”, which, although being the smallest DJ stage at the festival, certainly packed a punch with its killer bass-heavy, surround system. Every time we popped our heads into this tiny, circular, lemon-laden oasis we were drawn into whatever was unfolding inside. Whether that be the dancehall and reggae tunes dished out by selectors such as Donna Leake and Vandorta, or the bouncy UKG, bassline and house blasted by DJs like Tasha and Chunky. The undeniable pinnacle here, however, was Roska’s closing set on the Sunday night, where the UK Funky legend had the entire tent jumping in pure unbridled ecstasy, as the crowd threw the last of their energy into every rewind and every drop.
Perhaps the only fair critique that can be made of the programming at this year’s We Out Here, is at the lack of space given to DJs and selectors not playing four-to-the-floor or electronic dance music styles. Although the likes of Coco Maria, Cami Layé Okún and Poly Ritmo brought some excellent lower-tempo, late-night, latin and jazz flare, it was a shame to see them relegated to the “Roller Rink” stage which in comparison to the other stages felt like somewhat of an afterthought. The yearly success of reggae soundsystem Channel One’s “Bowl Stage” takeover shows that the audience for these slowed-down grooves is certainly there, so it feels essential that these more eclectic, selector-based sets get properly platformed.
This aside, however, We Out Here is a truly special festival which feels like a genuine collaboration between all those who make this scene what it is. By bringing together new talent with established legends, Peterson and his team are certainly securing its future for years to come. As such, this is not a festival where you come away feeling nostalgic, but instead one in which you come away inspired and excited by what is yet to come.