Wide Awake Festival 2025 line-up: Kneecap to headline alongside CMAT, English Teacher, Daniel Avery and more
The event returns to London's Brockwell Park next May
by Tom Skinner · NMEWide Awake Festival has announced the line-up for its 2025 edition – you can check it out below.
The one-day event is due to take place at Brockwell Park near Brixton in South London on Friday May 23.
Today (November 5), organisers have shared the first wave of acts – with Kneecap scheduled to headline off the back of the Irish rap trio’s acclaimed debut album, ‘Fine Art’ (2024).
Other confirmed acts include CMAT, English Teacher (this year’s Mercury Prize-winners), Daniel Avery, Mannequin Pussy, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Puzzle (UK debut) and Sprints.
Further down the bill are Erol Alkan BTB Optimo (Espacio), Frankie & The Witch Fingers, Gaye Su Akyol, Getdown Services, Hello Mary, HiTech, Jasmine.4.t, Martin Rev, Mermaid Chunky, Patriarchy, Ugly, W.I.T.C.H and Wine Lips.
“This is only just the beginning,” organisers wrote alongside the initial line-up poster, “we have tons more cutting-edge artists still to be announced.” See the full list of names so far here:
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Tickets for next year’s Wide Awake are on general sale now – you can buy yours here.
The 2025 instalment promises seven live music stages, more than 70 performing artists, an exclusive VIP area, the best London street food, a craft beer fair, workshops, talks and more still to be announced.
Wide Awake recently announced a date change for 2025 following the news that Field Day would be returning to Brockwell Park next May, after a stint at Victoria Park in east London.
The 2024 edition of Wide Awake was headlined by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, and also featured performances from the likes of Slowdive, Young Fathers, Alice Glass, Dry Cleaning, Squid, Fat Dog and Lynks.
Reviewing Wide Awake 2023, NME said the festival “succeeds in pulling together a completely unique bill that stands out in a very crowded field”.
In other news, Wide Awake 2025 headliners Kneecap have announced their “biggest ever live show” at Dublin’s Fairview Park for next summer. Elsewhere, footage emerged of the trio introducing Ed Sheeran to Buckfast and Beamish at their recent gig in the Irish capital.
Their debut album ‘Fine Art’ was given a glowing five-star review from NME, and earned a place on NME‘s 10 best debut albums of 2024 so far list.
This summer also saw the group release a groundbreaking self-titled biopic, starring Michael Fassbender.
Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, the feature-length film was previewed at Glastonbury Festival’s cinema tent in June, and won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
Kneecap was given a full five stars by NME too, and described as “one of the best music biopics ever made”. As well as being hailed by NME, the movie has been submitted by Ireland for next year’s Oscars.