Poole Harbour Festival 2025

Jul25

Poole Harbour Festival 2025

on July 25th, 2025 at 17:56

Harbourside Park, Poole

25th-27th July 2025

Being a chap born and bred in Poole I am very precious about what happens here, particularly with our grassroots music scene. The Poole Harbour Festival at Harbourside Park on an area the locals call Baiter Park or Whitecliff, is an event that has grown from strength to strength. Thankfully Ben Dyas and his team seem to be open to feedback and look to improve the event every year. After a few initial teething issues, the event is something the town can be proud of. With the recent acquirement of a sister festival Jurassic Fields Music Festival this organiser’s bargaining power with top acts just went up a significant notch.

This years event in Poole has seen many improvements, which includes the Smugglers Inn music stage and bar, along with a Secret Stage that is accessed through a shipping container over on the fairground side of the event. Many festivals always say there is something for everyone, well this event really lives up to that statement. With a host of Top Tributes, Dance acts, Children’s entertainers, Circus Skills and top headline bands; along with plenty of local acts from around this parish, the addition of offsite camping with shuttle buses, along with the most amazingly picturesque location and a great weather forecast… what’s not to love?!

From the opening bars of Feeder‘s Buck Rogers on Saturday night, I couldn’t stop smiling. I was in my home town at a festival that all us locals could really be proud of. Feeder are a band I’ve seem countless times, however this particular performance saw them with fire in their eyes and putting on a set full of the best numbers. They genuinely seem to be pleased to be here and were very happy with the reaction of the excited crowd.

Feeder 1

Over the weekend there were many stand out moments such as a storming performance on Saturday from festival regulars SOS, who glowed in the sunshine with a great mix of originals and some crowd pleasing choice covers from Limp Bizkit and The Backstreet Boys!! Hampshire’s intriguing, long-lasting band Lady Winwoods Maggot debuted their new bassist Mark Wheeler and got the Smugglers Inn up and dancing with a fine set.

SOS 1–2

On Sunday Kitty Stewart showed her mentor Paul Tucker from the Mother Ukers just what an inspiration he had been to her. Ukulelist Kitty, along with sidekick Rohan Black on bass enchanted us with a host of great locally inspired originals, along with some wonderfully put together medleys. The Mother Ukers followed and packed out the Smugglers Inn with their ukeular-fused versions of infectious Pop covers.

Kitty Stewart Duo

Mother Ukers 1

The Dub Pistols are a band that know how to entertain a festival crowd, despite an earlier start than this Saturday night type of band are used to. They were bowled over by the reaction of this crowd. Vocalists Barry Ashworth and Seanie Tee whipped up the crowd with their Reggae, Ska and Dub creations. Tommy Mossop on trombone was particularly animated while belting out opener “Never Never”, a great cover of The Specials’ “Gangsters” and the band’s jewel in their crown “Mucky Weekend”. The super tight, all killer no thriller performance validities the recent Happy Mondays admission that they are “the best live band they’d seen in years”

Dub Pistols 1–2

Local rocker Chris Payn was declared a hero after leaving his hospital bed after a serious bout of pleurisy to perform a fantastic set in the Big Top; while Dorset collective Mischa And His Merry Men drew a line under their name that they have had since forming, with a change that moves with the times Mischa and his Merry Many, one band – infinite members bringing community into music promoting good ethics and positivity.

Mischa And His Merry Men 1–2

Sunday afternoon’s first headliner Happy Mondays were quite surreal, seeing now TV reality stars Shaun and Baz back up on stage was a joy to watch with young and old together enjoying the set. “Kinky Afro”, “Loose Fit” and of course the legendary “Step on” are the highlights. The band have become a parody of themselves and how is it that the two least talented members of the band are the most popular? They were ground-breaking in the late eighties and early nineties. Missing key members of the original band like Rowetta and Shaun’s brother Paul they are a shadow of their former selves, but they do have their moments…

Happy Mondays 1–2

It was quite difficult to be fully 100% focused on main headliners UB40‘s set as the Lionesses were playing their Euro Final in Switzerland against Spain, hoping to win the trophy for the second time. Currently there are two UB40’s touring the world and this afternoon we have Robin Campbell’s version featuring a young Ali Campbell ‘look/sound alike’ Matt Doyle. The band also features founder members on bass Earl Falconer and Norman Lamont Hassan on percussion/vocals. The band were never out of the charts and created music predominantly across the late 70’s, 80’s and 1990’s. This afternoon the 10-piece kick off with ‘Here I Am’ and their sound is great with each instrument and vocal clearly heard, despite the slight winds off the sea. The set was a virtual jukebox with hit after hit delivered and the crowd singing the words back to the band. “Cherry Oh Baby”, “Many Rivers to Cross”, “Homely Girl” along with Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine”. It was a little disappointing that they missed out on playing “Rat in Mi Kitchen”, but hey you can’t always have it all. Apart from the little lull when the Lionesses were taking their penalty shoot out on the way to victory, the crowds momentum was high which pushed up a notch as the winning penalty went in.

UB40 1–2

What a great weekend, just a few miles from home and one that I hope will continue to attend. Thank you to Ben Dyas and his team for such an amazing event and I’m sure we will all be looking forward to what they have in store for us next year.

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