LIDO FESTIVAL PRESENTS... JAMIE XX // VICTORIA PARK, LONDON
Exceptional music, relentless rain
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)
JAMIE XX HEADLINING LIDO FESTIVAL 2025 AT LONDON’S VICTORIA PARK
PHOTOCREDIT: BUFOLA
Saturday at Lido festival delivered a real rollercoaster to the thousands of attendees who filled a sodden Victoria Park to see Jamie XX.
While the lineup for the day promised a tour through some of the best acts in electronic music, the weather had other ideas, quickly transforming the festival grounds into a muddy bog. However, while the weather did its best to test the attendees' spirits, the lineup’s quality ensured that their positive energy remained right until the end.
Great acts were present throughout the day, with one of the first highlights coming from a last-minute addition to the lineup in the form of an early afternoon set of Skrillex back-to-back with Jamie XX himself. However, a baffling decision to put the pair in the tent facing the main stage curtailed the potentially great moment, as the lack of visibility left many confused.
Shortly after this, the weather turned against the festival. With a heavy downpour turning many away for the stellar set of John Glacier toward the covered canopy of the second stage where Tim Reaper played to a capacity crowd alongside Shy FX. Thankfully the energy remained high as the Jungle and DnB tracks allowed the audience to escape the dreary weather.
Sadly the weather showed little respite for the next few hours and the main stage remained lightly attended until, finally, the storm broke and fans streamed out to see the sunny neo-soul vibes of Sampha. His music was perfectly suited to revitalise the downbeat crowd, and his set presented a real highlight of the day.
Following this came the delightfully eclectic stylings of Arca. Immediately grabbing the audience's attention with superstar stage presence, impressive vocals and barbed backing tracks. Sadly shortly into the set came a duo of gatecrashers from the returning rain, and a set time clash with Jamie XX alumni Romy.
With the second stage, once again, at capacity, Romy played an exceptional set to the assembled thousands as they stood literally shoulder to shoulder due to the cramped conditions. Again the quality of the performance turned a potentially sombre moment into a fun celebration of the electronic indie pop.
Thankfully another break in the rain arrived during this set and allowed fans to easily make their way to the main stage for the headline slot of Jamie XX. His set proved to transcend the troubles of the day, immediately energising those in attendance to trade out their wellies for their dancing shoes. 2025 celebrates the 10th anniversary of the seminal album In Colour, and as such the set made reference to it by featuring tracks and motifs. Mind-bending visuals wrapped around the stage, displaying filtered visuals of the crowd and close-ups of audience members. These accompanied intricate sound systems which delivered thumping bass and soaring synths which drove the exhausted crowd onwards. With the days' damp conditions forgotten, the crowd revelled in the carefully curated beats until the very last notes.
JAMIE XX HEADLINING LIDO FESTIVAL 2025 AT LONDON’S VICTORIA PARK
PHOTOCREDIT: ISHASHAN PHOTOGRAPHY