Victorious Festival 2026: Day One with Richard Ashcroft, Scissor Sisters, The Vaccines and more

Glancing at the Bank Holiday weather forecast, Portsmouth is due for a fair bit of rain. So, let’s pack our waterproofs and head to Southsea Common – it’s time for Victorious Festival.

Upon The Upcoming’s arrival, there’s a strong wind and beaming sun (for now), so let’s begin the day with Manchester newcomers Arkayla. With their chiming indie and sprightly pop hooks, there’s a steady trickle of intrigued early festivalgoers; the recent single Vivian and punky final track Run Kid stand out in particular. Definitely a band to keep tabs on.

Heading across the site, we just catch the end of Rudimental’s thunderous afternoon set and witness the sizeable crowd enjoy Feel the Love and These Days, suitably warmed up for the rest of the day. Up next is singer Pixie Lott, decked out all in red and playing multiple songs to trigger an “Oh yeah, I remember that one!” Even if her calls for crowd participation read as slightly overenthusiastic, it’s nice to be thrown back a few years hearing soulful pop tracks like Mama Do and Cry Me Out. A solid Friday afternoon set.

Now, how about some kitschy Eurodance? The Castle Stage arena is rammed for Vengaboys, who open with a bang (quite literally) singing Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! before a cover of Party Rock Anthem, then We’re Going to Ibiza. We’ll admit we’re sad to leave at this point, but so glad for this highly entertaining 20 minutes.

Next up: a band celebrating 15 years of their beloved titular debut album What Did You Expect from the Vaccines? Frontman Justin Young is brimming with cool confidence, effortlessly performing an hour of indie staples like Post Break-Up Sex, If You Wanna and Teenage Icon. With gigantic choruses aplenty, it’s a great festival set from The Vaccines.

Time for Scissor Sisters to deliver some outrageous, fabulous pop, and deliver they do with endless camp theatrics. I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’, Laura, Take Your Mama, Filthy/Gorgeous, all the hits are here to get the Victorious crowd dancing. Throw in some costume changes and an inviting atmosphere – “We are Scissor Sisters, and so are you!” declares Jake Shears – and the penultimate performance of the day is a glittering success.

The rain finally falls, just as headliner Richard Ashcroft takes to the windy Common Stage – “It’s like a Bon Jovi video up here,” he drawls – for 90 minutes of iconic sweeping Britpop anthems. Almost all of them become extended jamming sessions; yes, his band are great, especially Steve Wyreman’s blinding guitar solos, yet it seems many here would prefer to sing rather than watch. Still, with Ashcroft’s slight weathering to his vocals, all these generation-defining songs have an enticing edge, culminating in the glorious and emotional climax of Bittersweet Symphony.

It’s been a fun first day of two halves at Victorious, encompassing both thrilling crowd-pleasing indie and nostalgic pop – we’ll be back tomorrow to battle the expected stormy weather, but at least there’s more great music to look forward to.

Gem Hurley
Photos: Victorious Festival/Carousel PR

For further information and future events, visit Victorious Festival 2026’s website here.

Watch the video for Bitter Sweet Symphony here: