Live Review + Gallery | Outer Town 2025

Outer Town Festival, Bristol

Multiple Venues, Old Market

12th April 2025

Photography by Anna Hatfield (@anna.h_photos)

George Ward

Freelance journalist and online editor for CLUNK. Can be found out and about in Bristol, finding cheap records or having a pint on King Street.

Anna Hatfield

Freelance photographer, videographer, and journalist. Specialising in all things music and will most likely be found in a photo pit somewhere muttering about lighting conditions

Bristol’s Old Market becomes home to the country’s most exciting new music for Outer Town 2025

When you’re checking out the lineup for a festival, it’s easy to get overexcited, planning each band you want to see to the minute, little time to grab any food. It is, however, quite easy to forget that going places takes time, and you quickly realise walking half a mile to the next stage is not doable in the two minutes between sets.

Outer Town Festival: it’s all on one street. The day festival of your timetabling dreams.

Our first stop was plantoid on the Trinity main stage. A wild start to the day, the three-piece showed off their unique blend of prog, punk and all things in between, shamelessly noodling their way from huge riff to huge riff with the confidence of a headliner and the raw energy of a basement gig. Once again, it is this outdoor main stage which puts Outer Town a step above the rest of the day festivals, complete with a lovely selection of local crafts and food too.

Synth duo Mass House packed out the tiny backroom of To The Moon for their first of two sets of the day. Despite Dylan picking up a nasty illness on tour, the duo killed it, with both fans and newcomers dancing to bangers like ‘Reasons To Be Dancing‘ and ‘Martin’. The highlight came from ‘TIHWKYWLTYT,’ where every member of the crowd yelled along: “This is how we know you were lying through your teeth.” Granted, the song only has one line, but it’s a good one.

Another hidden gem in this room were the wonderful Looney Bergonzi, with their charming folk songs. Complete with violin, jangly guitars, shakers and a mix of English and Welsh, the energy in the room was so warm and inviting.

But don’t worry, there were plenty of less inviting moments too. Ideal Living’s set scratched our experimental rock itch nicely, with their frenetic, dark and complex tracks filling the room. With 7 members and just enough uniqueness to stand out from the crowded scene, Ideal Living are one of Brighton’s most exciting new acts.

Over at Wiper + True, we caught London newcomers Y, whose set absolutely lived up to the hype, with huge riffs, blasting sax and satisfying explosions of sound. Elsewhere, Shelf Lives also blew away expectations. The capacity for only two people to create so much chaos and noise is unbelievable, and they led one of the funnest crowds of the day. Huge drops, synchronised crowd screams, fat synths: what more could you ask for?

Man/Woman/Chainsaw were a welcome addition and true highlight of the day. The perfectly arranged 6-piece band, complete with a violin, multiple vocalists, and a firm grasp of multi-genre composition, enveloped every single person in The Exchange in a blanket of rapture and awe as the music poured from the band as if from one body. This band is the definition of tight and are an absolute delight to witness.

For those of us keen to listen to something to scratch that itch of raw punk, look no further than Mould. Fast paced and unrelentingly fun punk is the best way to describe this 3-piece band. Although small in size, this band understands their target audience perfectly, catering to the punks and indie fans alike with their catchy riffs and high energy vocals.

We’ve seen Ugly every time we’ve got the chance ever since we found them a few years ago. With their gorgeous full band harmonies, beautiful folk instrumentation and tight chemistry, they really are at the top of their game. As they played fan favourite ‘The Wheel,’ with its many phases and acapella intro, everyone in the crowd knew that they were watching something extremely special.

There’s a lot of buzz around Enola Gay at the moment, and for good reason. The political noise-punk band from Belfast packed out The Exchange main room with avid listeners right back to the door and successfully created one of the sweatiest mosh pits I’ve ever been a part of. They’re making a name for themselves and don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Headliners FEET were, of course, a crowd-pleaser. Effortlessly making their way through their set, full of indie bangers, the band looked right at home at the top of the bill. If you want to see for yourself, they will be headlining our upcoming day festival Foot Fest on 24th May. Tickets here.

With the after party organised by Bristol queer collective Crotch, the night ended in typically chaotic fashion, rounding off at 4am with the remainder of us outside The Exchange, not wanting the night to end. Until next year, Outer Town, you never disappoint.

Check out the full gallery below