Outbreak festival is always one of the most highly anticipated weekends on the festival calendar and this year is no different. The festival returns to its natural home in Manchester’s Bowlers Exhibition Centre for another stacked year just a day after its debut in London on Friday night. With weekend tickets sold out & a line-up filled with some of the best bands in the scene, it was set up to be another big year. In typical Manchester fashion, the weather was very unpredictable bringing both a torrential downpour and scorching sun through the day but never halted the energy in the slightest, if anything a splash of rain was welcomed.

SATURDAY

Kicking off my day it was straight to the third stage to catch one of the best and most hard-hitting names on the Saturday – representing New York hardcore, Final Resting Place. A very hard set to follow, the energy and intensity in a packed room was exactly what I expected to witness. The show was crammed full of slamming breakdowns, earie industrial style riffs and filthy crushing beatdown riffs, everything you could possibly want to set off a crowd in this environment. With only 2 ep’s under their belt, it’s shows like this that’s showing they are a band on the rise and are certainly ones to watch.

Leading up to the weekend, one of my must see acts was Fleshwater – the Massachusetts band have become Outbreak royalty over the years with multiple killer sets and today was no different. They have always been successful in sonically emulating their iconic 90s shoegaze and 2000s nu metal influences and have quickly acquired a loyal following of people ready to scream every word and a huge main stage crowd was proof of that. Fans used every inch of the front stage for its worth, from two steppers to crowd surfers, it had it all and the energy was intoxicating throughout. Fleshwaters commitment to providing a killer show extends more and more each show and their live experience just gets better and better.

The surprise set of the day for me was coming across the incredible Jane Remover. They burst on to the scene with their debut ep ‘Teen Week’ in 2021 and since then grown a solid fan base. The 21 year old is know for their prolific producing, rapping, song writing skills and being a multi instrumentalist. They controlled the entire room from the minute they walked on stage – one of the biggest crowds I seen on the indoor stage all day and that was a testament to what they produced during the set. With a rapidly expanding discography that flits between genres and merges them into mind-bending hybrids, Jane has earned the right to talk their shit — and they do it convincingly. Jane is certainly someone you need to keep an eye on, going into the set with no idea who they were to leaving itching for more is exactly what you want from a set and it was up there with the day’s highlights.

Closing of my relatively quiet day was the amazing Sunny Day Real Estate – funny enough playing in the baking Manchester sunshine that decided to burn everyone basking in the heat at the main stage. This set was an absolute joy to watch; this band have been pulling off iconic sets for over 30 years and they just seem to age like fine wine. Their music is still as vibrant and relevant now as it was back in the 90’s and a sea of fans here at Outbreak are fully on board the Sunny Day train. Live staples like “In Circles” and “Seven” sound as jagged and crystalline as ever, but the album really shines in its back half. Throwing in some deep cuts that now sound far more muscular and coherent. Rather than chase their glory days, they have decided to reckon with their past, and they rekindle plenty of old passion while adding a whole new layer of nuance. Sunny Day Real Estate’s music can go from beautiful and calm to angular and then to an all out heart-pounding wave of sound and that force seemed to be echoed in the crowd - with a good mix and older and younger fans, everyone was in high spirits watching this set.

SUNDAY

After a well rested nights sleep, it was time for day two and a fully stacked day that would see the steps count hit the high thousands just in a few hours. Over the course of the day I was lucky enough to catch 16 incredible acts across the day - although I would love to highlight every single one who crushed it, I’ll be shouting out those who stood out the most.

First up it’s a band who have been a regular on my on repeat on Spotify for a number of months now - Leeds based Pest Control have certainly gained rapid attention in recent months. From Kerrang! cover stories to supporting the likes of Knocked Loose and Obituary, they are writing their own story in the UK hardcore scene and fast becoming one of the most talked about bands in the country. Singer Leah Massey wastes no time as she gets on stage - screaming to the Outbreak faithful who are ready and waiting, they need little encouragement as the stage divers have started already. 2025 really seems to be the year of the pest, the crowds energy never drops and the same can be said for Leah who covers every inch of the stage and the front section platform as she shoves in the mic is being faces to scream back lyrics. Big hitters like ‘PMC’, ‘Time Bomb’ and ‘Don’t Test The Pest’ just highlight the strength this band has and have full control over this crowd. With big festival appearances yet to come at Hellfest & Sound Fury in the states, they are gathering full momentum to carry on into the rest of the year.

Pain of Truth one of the most explosive sets of the day. Their sets are always energetic and aggressive performances, blending traditional New York hardcore with modern influences and a touch of hip-hop groove. A band that are no strangers to UK stages, they pulled in an expected huge number of people, all of whom were in great voice and filled with adrenaline from the first riff to the last. Rapidly powering through their set, they gave fans little chance to catch a breather but then again in this environment, slowing down is never an option. Mammoth songs like ‘The Enemy’, ‘Shattered Past’ and the self titled ‘Pain of Truth’ got the crowd moving from an almost full pit of two steppers to an onslaught of stage divers. This is a band that know exactly what they are doing and their live experience is certainly something that needs to be witnessed.

Next up all attention turned to this years secret set - weather or not it was a well kept secret, the crowd turned up in their numbers to be greeted by the incredible Loathe. The Liverpool band come in having just released the first single from their next chapter ‘Gifted Every Strength’ and are back with a bang. Their sets are always explosive and full of non stop energy and today was certainly that - the band are known for producing intense and immersive live performances that perfectly complement their unique mix of metal, shoegaze, and metalcore. Time and time again they prove that they are one of the best bands in the scene and its testament to the passion and commitment all members put into what they’re doing. The crowd ate up every inch of this show giving their everything from the pits to the platform making it a standout set of the weekend. Adding to the surprise set, they are joined on stage by Static Dress singer Olli Appleyard who rips the place up in his usual chaotic fashion.

Throughout the day I was lucky enough to catch little parts of sets while running from stage to stage including the likes of Cruelty, God’s Hate and the incredible Sunami who produced probably one of the most intense sets I’ve been able to see at Outbreak - despite of catching small parts, they were a big standout of the day. Who can forget the amazing Denzel Curry on the main stage - catching the last few songs of his set, the energy was on top form with the front section filled to capacity with fans giving their all and of course he rounded off his chaotic set with 'Bulls on Parade’, something for me personally was a bucket list moment getting to hear that song live.

A band that are quickly becoming not only Outbreak royalty, but royalty within the hardcore scene in general - Aussie king Speed always bring the energy anytime they play on a stage and being given such a high slot at this years festival, you just knew it was going to go off. Regardless of location, its a live show I will always look forward to purely for the sheer passion that is injected into what they do. A set jam packed full of Speed classics including the iconic flute moment in ‘The First Test’ that’s always such a pleasure to witness live - I mean come on, its a flute at a hardcore function. The crowd participation for this one was probably the busiest of the weekend with the front platform littered with stage divers and two steps as well as regular visits from the band themselves as singer Jem Siow came down to join fans and shove the mic in their faces to scream the lyrics back at him. This Sydney band continue to grow into one of the most exciting powerhouse bands in the hardcore scene and the next time they set foot in the UK, I’m 100% sure they’’ have grown even more.

To the third stage now to watch a band that always draw in a crowd and produce countless high every shows - North Yorkshire mosh merchants Impunity continue to rip up venues across the UK with their ferocious in your face sound and their return back to the Outbreak grounds is exactly why they were a must see band this weekend. With a short set, it gave them the chance to fire through as many songs as humanly possible getting the ball rolling with ‘Atmoshphere’ before powering through the likes of ‘Innersense’ and ‘Blujam’ all taken from their hard hitting 2023 self titled ep. The thing I love most about the 3rd stage is the intimacy of the front section, allowing even more up close and personal chaos and this set had that in spades. They’re a band that know exactly how to work a room and the crowd was the busiest I’d seen at this stage all day which really says all you need to know about this band.

Now for tonight’s headliners, the last time Knocked Loose took to the stage at Outbreak, they only had the indoor stage to play with - this year the they have the full main stage & outdoor area to do exactly what they do best. Following the slight delay to the start of the set due to fixing the front platform, it was time to kick things off with ‘Blinding Faith’ setting the crowd alight and sparking the first few dozen stage divers of the night. You know exactly what you’re going to get from a Knocked Loose show and it’s why they are are must see band at any given moment. It was a welcome return to see ‘Belleville’ back on the setlist again being such a strong standout off ‘A Different Shade of Blue’.

At Outbreak, you are always certain to get guest appearances for sets weather its bands already on the bill or people who just pop along to jump on stage with friends - during this set we were in for the treat of Knocked Loose being joined by multiple names likes of Henry Cox of Boston Manor, George Clarke of Deafheaven for ‘God Knows’ and for the second time today, Static Dress’s Olli Appleyard joined them for ‘Billy No Mates’ along side Kadeem France of Loathe.

I’ve been lucky enough to see Knocked Loose live a few times before but this one just seems to stand above the rest, I don’t know if it’s the no barrier vibe or the setlist but it has a very special feel about it. The obvious big hitters like ‘Suffocate’ and ‘Mistakes Like Fractures’ are always incredible to hear live however more songs off their recent record like ‘Piece by Piece’ and ‘Sit & Mourn’ went very hard and proving why it was one of the albums of 2024. Rounding off their set with a powerhouse of anthems - the ‘arf arf’ anthem that is ‘Countin Worms’ before firing straight into ‘Deep In The Willow’ and the huge ‘Everything Is Quiet Now’ where one of the biggest wall of deaths took place in the front section causing absolute mayhem - the videos can be found on all the trusty Outbreak socials. Concluding the set with the added bonus of XweaponX cover ‘WeaponX Outro’

Another year done at the incredible Outbreak and yet again showing why they are one of the best festivals in the country. From organisation, to staff and everything in between, the team at this festival get it right every single time and it its a testament to the hard work that goes in all year to make this happen. Now we wait for the next one.

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