BEAUTIFUL DAYS 2025 LINE-UP INCLUDES SEX PISTOLS FEATURING FRANK CARTER, FRANK TURNER & THE SLEEPING SOULS, LEVELLERS, MERCURY REV, FANTASTIC NEGRITO, KATE RUSBY, SHED SEVEN, KULA SHAKER, JOHN GRANT AND MORE
Headlining the Main Stage on Friday is Frank Turner - one of the UK’s most successful artists. Since his first solo gig in 2004, Frank has played nearly 3,000 shows including Wembley Arena. He released his tenth studio album ‘Undefeated’ in May 2024 which debuted at Number 3 in the Official Album Chart. With over a million albums sold worldwide, he has three gold-certified albums and one silver status. The festival’s Saturday headliner is one of the most influential rock bands of all time Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter. Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock with modern-day punk icon Carter created a sonic onslaught and mayhem reminiscent of 1976 when they came together in Summer last year to perform the Sex Pistols’ iconic 1977 album Never Mind The Bollocks in full. Carter fitted like a glove, perfectly recreating the songs that changed the world including Pretty Vacant and Anarchy in the UK. Festival founders Levellers will headline the Main Stage on the Sunday to close the weekend followed by the festival’s traditional firework finale. The band will also open the event with a Levellers Collective acoustic set in The Big Top.
Also announced for the Main Stage are beloved rock band Shed Seven who celebrated two number one albums within a single year in 2024. Their previous Top 10 albums feature fan-favourites songs including Going For Gold and Chasing Rainbows. Rabble-rousing Irish ballad group The Mary Wallopers, space rockers Spiritualized led by J Spaceman and Kula Shaker, known from the heady days of Britpop and multi-platinum selling album ‘K’. Legendary Northern Irish rockers Therapy? who celebrated the 30th anniversary of career-defining album Troublegum in 2024. Bradford’s Terrorvision who scored their first Top 30 album in over 20 years in 2024.Sleeper who are back on the road performing live after hibernating for twenty years and, now entering their 50thyear, legendary roots reggae band Misty in Roots. Also featuring on the Main Stage bill are Hasting’s punk band Kid Kapichi, back from a hiatus are West London maestros The Bluetones, Cardiff-based punk quartet Panic Shack, quintet The Barstool Preachers and folk rock & bluegrass from Devon’s Mad Dog Mcrea. Completing the Main Stage line-up are Essex punk duo The Meffs, the ferocious and joyous punk band Millie Manders and The Shutup, the raggle-taggle footstompin’ ensemble that are Old Time Sailors, British indie rock brothers Henry and Thomas aka Young Knives, alternative pop band Girlband!, up and coming 4 piece The Kairos, raw rock’n’roll from Heavy Lungs and the unapologetically frantic Grandma’s House.
Friday’s headline act for The Big Top is still to be announced. Topping the bill on Saturday on the festival’s second stage is Mercury Rev. Since forming in 1989 in Buffalo, New York they have made a career of boldly exploring the fringes of artistic perception. The Guardian hailed the group as “a band who have continually evolved their sound, borrowing from jazz, funk, doo-wop, techno, folk and more along the way”. Sunday’s headline artist is 3 x Grammy Award winner Fantastic Negrito who released new album Son of a Broken Man in October 2024. Born Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, Fantastic Negrito's remarkable life story is a testament to resilience and the transformative power of music.
Also in The Big Top is American singer, musician, and songwriter John Grant whose profile has risen over the years through a series of rapturously received and chart-bothering albums. If Grant’s records are beautiful cut jewels, perhaps his star shines even brighter on stage where this endearing character’s deeply personal sagas trigger an immediate response from his loyal following. Often hailed as the ‘First Lady of Folk’ Kate Rusby has earned numerous accolades solidifying her status as a beloved figure in contemporary folk music. Scottish singer and multi-instrumentalist Julie Fowlis (perhaps best known for her work with the Disney Pixar movie Brave) is widely heralded for championing traditional Gaelic. Her music is deeply influenced by the Hebridean islands where she grew up. The Spell Songs is a listening experience that intersects music, literature, language and art with an ensemble featuring the collaborative genius of Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter and Jim Molyneux—all renowned musicians in their own right. John Bramwell has been on a never-ending rolling adventure since his workings away from the cherished, Mercury Prize nominated Mancunian band, I Am Kloot. Performing with his band, Bramwell’s songs are surprisingly uplifting and have been igniting crowds all over the UK. The Big Top also features Penguin Cafe founded in 2009 by Arthur Jeffes after bringing together a group of musicians to perform his late father Simon Jeffes’ legacy of world-renowned Penguin Cafe Orchestra music. Westcountry singer-songwriter Seth Lakeman who releases new album The Granite Way in February 2025. Award-winning indie folk band Elephant Sessions from the Highlands of Scotland also play, as does the multi-talented traditional folk artist Jon Boden with his band The Remnant Kings which features the talents of his Bellowhead band-mate Sam Sweeney and Leveret’s Rob Harbron amongst others. Also announced are Gigspanner Big Band whose high-energy, virtuosic performances appeal equally to traditionalists and to those looking for something more experimental, plus Australian country artist Fanny Lumsden, the UK and Moroccan collaboration Justin Adams & Mohamed Errebbaa and folk singer & guitarist Nick Harper. The Big Top line-up is completed by country-tinged solo artist Rianne Downey who has been touring recently with Paul Heaton, plus folk-inspired songwriter Amelia Coburn, Stockport-born accordionist, clog dancer and composer Heather Ferrier, indie quartet The Autumn Saints, Welsh singer-songwriter Ruby Kelly, the now traditional Sunday Service with The Bar Steward Sons Of Val Doonicans plus special guests and Levellers Collective who open The Big Top on the Friday afternoon playing acoustic reworkings of songs from their back catalogue.
The Little Big Top plays host to acts and DJs including FISH56OCTAGON, Henge, Beans On Toast, Youth, Girls Next Door, A. Skillz, Omega Nebula, Reach Up Disco Wonderland and DJ Chris Tofu OBE plus Silent Disco and family rave with Big Fish Little Fish. First shows announced for the seated Theatre Tent are Cabaret Extreme Present Circus Unleashed, favourites Le Navet Bete and Entertainingly Different plus Charlie Bicknell & Louise Innes present Cabaret With Claws, Professor Slug’s House Of Bugs, poetry from Brian Bilson & Henry Normal, Fiery Jack’s Family Album and brand new Webber! The Musical. The line-up for The Bimble Inn and The Rebel Tent are still to be come. The festival welcomes back The Magic Teapot and folk/roots sessions will return in The Fiddler’s Arms. As well as music, the festival is also well known for their colourful Sunday dressing up themes with the 2025 theme still be announced.
Tickets for the 2025 event are on sale now with well over 50% sold. Bell Tents and campervan passes have nearly SOLD OUT but there are still tipi or yurt options still available or general family camping. For information about Accessibility, go to the festival website.
Buy Tickets: Beautiful Days.Tickets
15 - 17 August 2025 | Escot Park, Devon, EX11 1LU
Festival website: www.beautifuldays.org
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