We Out Here - Festival Review

Dorset’s We Out Here Festival was back again this year for its 6^th edition, a 4-day outing celebrating soul, jazz, hip-hop, house and UK club culture, all founded by Radio 6’s very own Gilles Peterson. I was lucky enough to attend each day, soak up the weather and enjoy the culture the festival brought us this year. 

With last year’s lineup featuring the likes of Sampha, André 3000 and Floating Points, I made it a mission not to miss this year. Going into it, I made sure to check out as many bands as possible and once again, a well curated lineup by Gilles Peterson kept me interested and engaged every day. 

I started off the first day catching Leeds Conservatoire’s up and coming band, Fight The Giant. A jazz fusion sextet playing the second slot on the lush life stage. Almost like a blend between Moses Yoofee Trio and Ezra Collective, their blend of heavy bass riffs and melodies were sure to get me ready for the rest of the bands that day. Soon after, I went off to see Hermeto Pascoal on the main stage in a dreamy ambient set. It was then a stop for some of the festival food and getting ready for a good spot for that evening’s headliner, Noname. 

She opened her high-energy set with her full band and a performance of the fan favourite ‘Self’. The show followed a similar setlist to her show from the night before at the Jazz Café in London, which I had no complaints about at all, and soon after, my personal favourite, the drum-driven ‘namesake’ was played.

Friday’s lineup was slightly more chill for me, featuring the R&B artist Lynda Dawn and after classics from the Acid Jazz artist James Mason. I made sure to take some rests in between to explore the rest of the festival site, and for its relatively small festival size of around 18,000, every area was covered in activities for all ages to get involved with. Talks and book signings at the book tent, a swimming area at the other side of the festival site, eco-friendly clothing stores, a mini football pitch, and fairground rides. Everything was covered and with the perfect weekend weather of 24-28 degrees, the vibes were perfect.

Saturday came along so quickly and I was straight into the third day of the festival! Marla Kether (previous bassist for artists like Little Simz and Loyle Carner) played a brilliant DJ set at the Lemon Lounge stage, which I wish I could’ve caught more of, but I soon had to rush to the Lush Life stage to catch Exeter’s Rosie Lowe. An R&B electronic artist with a soulful set that flew by, incredible vocoded soundscapes and vocals washed over the 50 minutes and is now going to be someone whose music I delve into further! Then to the amazing Jalen Ngonda, who did not disappoint. After watching his Glastonbury set on iPlayer, I knew it wasn’t one to miss and covering a range of his discography, there was something there for everyone. But most importantly, his vocals were impeccable and supported again by his amazing band, the set was great. My day finished off with Bashy as I headed off to edit the photos from that day’s music and to create my plan of action for the Sunday.

In between all the live music, We Out Here had a curated line of DJs performing throughout the festival to the early hours of the morning each day. My personal favourites of these stages was The Bowl, at an ‘almost’ secret area of the festival that I completely missed on the first day. They’d play a mix of chill, jazzy music throughout each day closing off with more house style music towards the end of the nights ensuring there was something there for everyone, from families to music enthusiasts and anyone there to just have a good time!

Sunday came along, and the anticipation of seeing Loyle Carner’s festival closing slot was real. A late change from the great Michael Kiwanuka, who unfortunately had to cancel, but an incredible choice of replacement by the festival. His set covered music from every album of his, from his hits like ‘Damselfly’ and ‘Ottolenghi’ to songs from his new album ‘Hopefully’, like the guitar and vocal-led song ‘lyin’. I wish the music had never stopped, but all great things must end, and with a festival highlight closing this year, my We Out Here 2025 experience had finished. I cannot wait to revisit next year, find a new favourite artist and explore the festival sights once more. We Out Here is an inclusive and friendly festival that I would recommend to everybody.

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PHOTOS & PHOTOS LEWIS WOLSTENHOLME 

FULL FESTIVAL GALLERY AVAILABLE HERE