Bludfest 2025: YUNGBLUD leads music's next generation at Milton Keynes Bowl

For years, YUNGBLUD has been punk rock's answer to Bart Simpson, delivering bratty songs of rebellion with youthful angst. Live, the gigs have been about causing as much smirking chaos as possible. As he struts out onstage at Milton Keynes Bowl to close out the second instalment of his own festival though, something is clearly different.

The set starts with giant video screens flashing up the word "hello" in every language imaginable as dreamy pop music swells around it. It's all a bit Coldplay, and that vibe continues as a flurry of white confetti erupts halfway through the opening 'Hello Heaven, Hello', a huge, bombastic track that's basically a stadium show in nine minutes. As reintroductions go, it's a brilliantly bold one.

YUNGBLUD's classic rock-inspired album 'Idols' was only released yesterday, but it makes up a big chunk of tonight's 100-minute show. "It's the biggest change I've made," he explains, adding that he was terrified about how the faithful would react. It's an exciting evolution, and we're clearly not the only ones who think so. The words to the urgent 'Lovesick Lullaby' are screamed back at him, while the searing 'The Greatest Parade' and the slow-burning 'Change' add new depths to YUNGBLUD's electric rock'n'roll. A brass section elevates the scrappy 'Parents', his expanded band make classics like 'Funeral' hit even harder while live strings amplify the beautiful fury of 'Monday Murder'.

Moments before, YUNGBLUD stops everything to share an advert for War Child and encourages the crowd to donate, if they can. "The world at the minute is in fucking turmoil," he adds. "Children are dying in Gaza, the Ukraine and Sudan. We have to talk to the fucking old men who are holding the world back with their greed. We have to speak up, and we have to protect the future."

The whole gig is a smart expansion rather than a complete reinvention, though. 'Loner', 'Strawberry Lipstick' and 'I Think I'm Okay' are as rowdy as ever, and YUNGBLUD can't talk about this community without getting emotional. There's also a surprise appearance from the iconic Billy Idol to perform the timeless 'White Wedding'. It feels like a real passing of the punk rock torch.

There are plenty of those forward-facing moments elsewhere at Bludfest, which is as much a celebration of the next generation as it is the start of YUNGBLUD's second chapter.

Denzel Curry is well-versed in hyping up an unsure festival audience, but his blistering 45-minute set is still fuelled by excitement, while Chase Atlantic's hazy trip-hop feels just as expansive in the afternoon sun as it did back at their own sold-out O2 headline gig earlier this year.

Today is apparently Lucvat's first ever time playing a festival main stage, but it's the perfect setting for the soulful pop of 'Lipstick' and viral hit 'Matador' while 'Alien' ("A song for all the misfits and for anyone who's ever felt like an outsider") manages to make the massive venue feel intimate. There's absolutely no way she won't be doing this a lot more in the future.

Over on the second stage, Nieve Ella continues to bloom as a swaggering rockstar, delivering big-hearted guitar anthems with loads of self-belief despite the sun roasting her and her band's instruments. Master Peace's party-starting indie is just as fiery, with 'Los Narcos' and 'Start You Up' easily as catchy as his brief cover of Arctic Monkey's 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' while Peach PRC turns the place into a pop disco with sugary bangers about freedom and self-empowerment. Add in backing dancers, costume changes and even a stray butterfly flying about the stage; it's a spectacular 45 minutes.

Closing out the second stage is Rachel Chinouriri, who brings joyful catharsis to the day. 'Cold Call' is a snarling guitar-fuelled purge, 'Dumb Bitch Juice' is playful and upbeat and 'So My Darling' is a moment of calm reflection, with Rachel taking a second to share a message of love and gratitude. Outsider anthem 'The Hills' twists acceptance around grinning funk rock while the heart-on-the-sleeve bounce of 'Can We Talk About Isaac' is a fearlessly good time. It's a sprawling, emotionally charged set delivered with enthusiasm and personality. It's also her first time headlining a festival stage, and she absolutely nails it. More please.

Later, as YUNGBLUD rounds out the second instalment of Bludfest with the tender epic of 'Zombie' and bucketloads of fireworks, it's impossible not to feel excited about the future. Same again next year?