By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum (press ticket)

Sister Bliss is a DJ and we are told we are all Scissor Sisters.

• Read on for reasons including Rudimental, Vengaboys, She’s Got Brass, The Coral and Faithless

Kicking off the festivities this year are Rudimental, a drum and bass band with notable hits like Feel the Love featuring John Newman in 2012. The sun was shining but the wind was blowing wildly, but what can you expect from a coastal festival? Having blown out my blow dry that morning biking down (waste of money!), we started off with a watermelon splash vodka cocktail, as we couldn’t find our normal cocktail van for a Hugo Spritz (not that we are creatures of habit).

Rudimental (pictured below) tell us they can’t hear us and get us shouting louder despite the wind. It’s a rude awakening though we respond well as a crowd. Lots of songs we don’t know, but everyone else sings them, but a great, bouncy start to the day and indeed to the weekend.

Also the first Thatchers in their tent is a thing (not that we are creatures of habit); no Thatchers Haze, what am I going to do? Luckily their focus is on Juicy Apple this year and thankfully it beats Haze hands down.

Next up was The Coral. Feisty Festy Girl went to see Crystal Tides, our very own homegrown Victorious favs, and perhaps we should’ve followed suit. The Coral, who we’ve seen many times, always play well, we love all their songs, but I think I could’ve done with a mood uplifter instead.

The first of daily Massaoke beckoned on the Castle Stage. Last year, this was an amazing find for Beats and Swing on the Seaside Stage, so we were delighted they were returning. Sadly only on for half an hour this year; it’s not enough time to get into it. They need to be on for an hour! They have a female singer this year and we hear they are honouring Dolly this year.

Mr H went to see She’s Got Brass, who we saw and were amazed by last year. A London-based all-female brass band, we loved them last year but I forewent it for newbs-to-us Vengaboys (who knew it was one word?). Mr H’s highlights were own composition Cargo Pants, with great covers of Satisfaction and Milk Shake (nod to Sunday’s Kelis) and Hollaback Girl. From sousaphone to trumpet, percussion and drums, he said this 10 piece really partied.

When we saw the line up last year, it was clear that Vengaboys were one of the few acts we hadn’t seen before. Whilst not our bag normally, sometimes these acts are exactly what we need and boy, that was the case! A packed-to-the-back Castle Stage welcomed Vengaboys, who Mr H and I both independently likened to a new-age Boney M! Vengaboys have the crowd going immediately with teasing tidbits of their biggest hits. They take us through 90s dance classics such as the Ketchup Song and the Macarena, and reach such rocky depths as The Final Countdown, I Love Rock’n’Roll, We Will Rock You and Livin’ on a Prayer (a Massaoke fav too). Hits We’re Going to Ibiza, Boom Boom, Boom, Boom! and We Like To Party (commonly known as The Vengabus) had us all dancing and enjoying the sun (and the wind). They were great.

Massaoke mentioned Dolly earlier; next up is Scissor Sisters. There is a link. Singer Jake Shears pays tribute to his Dolly and our own homegrown Tim Curry; in particular how important Tim and Rocky Horror Picture Show was to him growing up. To all of us, Jake, to all of us. Sadly not renditioning Sweet Transvestite, which would’ve been a hoot, Scissor Sisters set the Common Stage alight with their high-energy show. I’d been lucky to see them support Duran Duran in Hyde Park earlier in the year and knew how good they were.

Admittedly, not a massive fan previously, but now – after seeing them live – wow! I urge everyone to go! Singers Amber Martin and Bridget Barkan more than fill Ana Matronic’s footsteps. There’s a touch of B-52s about them. Three costume changes for Jake and a couple for the girls. What a show! I think Victorious Festival were slightly worried the black nipple tape was going to slip due to the dancing and the wind! We all love them. We all had a kiki, were introduced to new songs and are reminded not to forget: They are Scissor Sisters, and So Are We!

Back to the Castle Stage for Faithless. An interesting choice for us, not clash-wise at all, but in terms of line-up. Maxi Jazz’s death in 2022 has not thankfully inhibited them. He appears with them on screen. Sister Bliss still runs the show from the top of the stage; new singer Amelia Fox adds a Beloved/operatic style of vocals and previous collaborator Nathan Bell completes the vocals.

Sister Bliss and Rollo with their new bandmates are Faithless 2026: Bliss thanks the crowd in Pompey for supporting them from their beginnings, in venues such as Harry Limes and The Pyramids. Favourites include Insomnia and God is a DJ; Felix’s Don’t You Want Me is covered mid-set. A great light show helps, with minimal rain thankfully. A spiritual moment for all; this was our church, where we healed our hurts. Sister Bliss was and IS a DJ. And our feet were aching so much from dancing, we nearly didn’t get any sleep!

Ready for Day 2. Will we be ‘Bonkers’ enough to go down for Dizzee Rascal’s 1pm opening slot? You bet. We are mere ‘Bassline junkies’, and it will be ‘What We Need’!

• Pictures via Facebook courtesy and A Humdrum Mum. Tickets
• Read more from Carron at her blog A Humdrum Mum
• Have you seen any of these shows? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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