With a stellar line-up of activity for the final day of Supersonic Festival 2025, it was with great excitement that we arrived in Birmingham, the land of Black Sabbath (while the spirit of Messrs Osbourne/Iommi/Butler and Ward always shines above Supersonic, this year was obviously even more poignant) and Balti, and headed down to Digbeth to fully immerse ourselves in the day’s festivities from start to finish.
The day started in Zellig, with Witch Club Satan in conversation, where the Norwegian black-metallers reflected on both their extremely well received first UK show at the festival the day before, and their journey so far in a compelling and fascinating manner, before we head to the first port of call for live music at the O2 Institute down the road (festival goers certainly got their steps in heading from venue to venue!) to see Jackie-O Motherfucker bring their experimental brilliance to Supersonic 2025.
The band’s music is brooding and ominous but also, in tandem, utterly beautiful, and they enthral the Supersonic audience throughout with songs like ‘A Mania’ and ‘Hey, Mr Sky!’ going down a storm with the crescendo of uplifting noise, that typifies the music of Jackie-O Motherfucker, acting as the icing on this particular cake.
Jackie-O Motherfucker. Photo: Cat Dineley
After this fantastic start, it is up to XOYO with its warehouse-esque downstairs setting and upstairs, the brilliant rooftop bar, a perfect place to have a chilled drink against the of Digbeth skyline, where we briefly catch a Voice Of The Seven Woods DJ set before seeing Hedgling downstairs. The Irish trio’s ambient/drone soundscapes have the crowd in awe, simply hypnotised by what they are hearing, and being truly immersed in the formidable music of Hedgling.
Ruth Clinton (Poor Creature). Photo: Cat Dineley
After a quick pit-stop at one of the many great food stalls (shoutout to Goth Burger for their amazing Facemelter!) It is time to catch something special. Poor Creature have made one of the albums of the year so far, if not the album of the year, with their debut LP All Smiles Tonight, so the groups Supersonic set at The Institute was simply unmissable. The album is an emotional masterpiece, and in a live setting its songs come to life even more, taking on an even deeper feeling than on record. Poor Creature open their set with ‘Hicks Farewell’ and run through beautiful renditions of All Smiles Tonight songs like ‘Bury Me Not’ and ‘Adieu Lovely Erin’ and a cover of ‘My Cold, Cold Heart Is Melted Now’ by Kitty Wells, and the results are spellbinding. The vocals of Ruth Clinton are sublime throughout, and Cormac MacDiarmada brings the perfect blend of styles to the performance, while the drums of John Dermody really come out in the live situation. Clinton declares, “Supersonic is the best festival” at one point to a huge roar, and it is evident that the festival has just witnessed one of the most memorable sets in its history. Breathtaking, affecting and brilliant.
Maxine Peake. Photo: @snaprockandpop (Joe Singh)
After that emotional experience, it was back to the Rooftop Bar at XOYO to see Maxine Peak dropping horror selections from The Wicker Man and Suspiria into funk bangers in an eclectic and enchanting mix, before stopping to catch a bit of Six Organs Of Admittance on the way out to see Divide & Dissolve.
As with Poor Creature, Divide & Dissolve have made one of the albums of year with Insatiable, and the chance to see the material from this album live was another tantalising prospect. With guitarist/saxophonist Takiaya Reed joined by a brilliant live drummer, Divide & Dissolve shake the foundations of the Institute from start to finish in an awe-inspiring display of power that showcases tracks from Insatiable in an undisputed raw fashion. Reed makes impassioned statements about the horrors of war affecting people in Palestine, Sudan, Congo and Haiti and, before the Insatiable cut of the same name, the ‘Loneliness,’ and the experience is devastating, living up to all expectations.
Divide & Dissolve. Photo: Jim Brindley
Afterwards, still reeling from the Divide And Dissolve set, Cinder Well at XOYO offers comfort with a stripped-back set of Amy’s that takes in last album Cadence – one that is gentle but raw and powerful, and the perfect comedown from what we have just witnessed. Venturing up to the Rooftop, Hussain Brothers are kicking out an uplifting set that takes in jungle, breakbeats and Bhangra, and when they drop the Asteroid Boys’ track ‘Foreigners ‘ with its looping “We know that you don’t like the foreigners” refrain, it is as hard-hitting as it gets, and a defiant “fuck you” to an enemy that is, inexplicably, getting more emboldened in recent times. As an aside, the whole of Supersonic, from the way it’s run, the people who attend (from festival goers to artists to marketplace traders) and its whole ethos, is similarly a glorious “fuck you” as well.
Next up, hot footing down to the Institute to see Richard Dawson, who, fresh from his latest album End Of The Middle delivers an utterly rousing display of life-affirming music. Tracks from that new record like ‘Bolt’, ‘Boxing Day Sales’ and ‘Gondola’ sit alongside older cuts like ‘Black Dog In The Sky’ and ‘Jogging’, and the whole vibe is one of celebration with Dawson looking like he is having the time of his life, up there.
Richard Dawson. Photo: Cat Dineley
A heartfelt cover of ‘Wildgeeses’, dedicated to its writer Michael Hurley, is an emotional moment before the set ends in triumphant style with ‘Black Triangle’, and concludes in a frenzy of lights and feedback – with Dawson pushing his guitar to its limits – and a massive crescendo of drumming from his co-musician. Fantastic stuff all round.
With the festival heading towards its end, it’s back and forth between venues to see parts of an affecting performance from Abdullah Miniawy and a riot-starting DJ set from Aya and Hesska, before the final Institute performance of Supersonic 2025 by Funeral Folk. Their set is cathartic and captivating in similar measures, and blows the minds of all in attendance. The whole set is nothing but a purification ritual, especially the conclusion of their performance, which had to be seen to be believed, and Funeral Folk look genuinely touched as they bask in the well earned applause at the end.
Funeral Folk. Photo: Cat Dineley
After a short delay being let into XOYO (with the queue snaking down the road), it is time for another hugely anticipated set with long-time Supersonic ally The Bug teaming up with London Zoo alumni Warrior Queen to truly bring the bass-weight. Having seen The Bug live alongside many performers, from Flowdan and Daddy Freddy to Miss Red, Manga and Killa P over the years, the one that I had never seen was Warrior Queen, so O was especially looking forward to seeing the pair reunited onstage and bringing the dub war; and let’s just say they didn’t disappoint one iota, and it was definitely worth the seventeen year wait since ‘Poison Dart’ first blew my mind.
With smoke and strobes setting the scene, and a hyped-up crowd ready to give Supersonic the goodbye it deserved, Kevin Martin approached his equipment and started a detonation that saw people losing their minds, and limbs being shaken in a furious style (the sheer physicality from seeing The Bug live is always special) from the very first beat until the last bit of feedback faded out. With mainly London Zoo rhythms like ‘Skeng’ blasting out, The Bug is on fine form, and the energy levels were extremely high, especially this late on at the festival.
Kevin Martin (The Bug). Photo: @snaprockandpop (Joe Singh)
Those energy levels were taken even higher with the arrival onstage of Warrior Queen who gave a lesson in sheet stagecraft and controlling the mic; declaring herself a “Jamaican in Birmingham”, Warrior Queen was in salacious form throughout as she gave an infectious performance atop of The Bugs explosive soundscapes. This was jaw dropping stuff, and even as Martin pushed the speaker system to its limits, to the point where it felt like they might actually cut out, Warrior Queen kept the audience enthralled with some X-rated chat and antics, much to their delight. As the music started again, the energy levels didn’t dip, and witnessing Warrior Queen performing ‘Insane’ from London Zoo was amazing; but closing it with an extended version of the immortal ‘Poison Dart’ topped even that, especially when the iconic beat kicked in. Truly phenomenal, from the performance to the energy from the crowd, this was a dream way to finish off the festival.
Warrior Queen. Photo: @snaprockandpop (Joe Singh)
At the Supersonic after party at Dead Wax, there is a surprise set from Kurdish Syrian musician Mohammad Syfkhan,and an excuse to keep the party going Syfkhan, who is now based in Ireland and has immersed himself in the folk scene there, delivers one final awe-inspiring performance as he plays his sitar with so much passion, much to the delight of the heaving crowd in the small room who seeing Supersonic 2025 off in the finest style; and with that, and with a day of paying tribute to Ozzy and Sabbath at various landmarks across Birmingham and an unmissable trip to Sparkbrook and the finest Balti at Shababs ahead, I bowed out and bid farewell to Supersonic, though the party carried on all the way until 5am!
Supersonic is the most forward-thinking and open minded-festival in the UK by far, and long may this continue. With only good vibes, and an eclectic gathering of artists and musicians from all across the globe converging on Birmingham, there is something for everyone and just a phenomenal atmosphere all round. See you next year!
Photo: Rob Barrett
