Brighton Psych Fest 2025

Run by the team behind Manchester Psych Fest, the festival brought over 35 bands to 7 venues spread across the city centre, bringing the very best guitar music the scene has to offer to Brighton. Featuring bands old and new and venues packed to the brim, one of three major multi-venue festivals held within the city in 2025 ended the summer festival season with a bang.

Opening the festival at Komedia, classic psychedelic rock band Gong played an hour of dreamy music. Formed in 1969 and with over a dozen albums under their belts, each member of the band seemed a time capsule of the 70s psych rock scene, sporting flamboyant clothing adorned with pendants to complete the look. Greeting the crowd “with love from the planet Gong”, the 5-piece group took an awe-struck audience on an adventure through space and time. Saxophone and bass led the way, closely followed by hypnotic and repetitive guitar riffs and drum beats with intricate time signatures. The tempo was as fluid as the movements of the crowd, but it worked. Singer and guitarist Kavus Torabi was charismatic, energetic and full of smiles as he jumped around and strutted about the stage, performing at the very front to the point at which it seemed he might almost fall into the crowd. The band performed slow-building tracks that culminated in powerful, groovy breakdowns involving long guitar solos over slow and mesmerising drum rhythms. Ian East’s saxophone and clarinet were clear over long, distorted notes and washes of cymbals. Like floating through space, the crowd was moved into a dreamlike trance for an hour or so. The last song was ridiculously fast-paced, and culminated in a small pit of crazed and wild dancing. Gong’s penultimate show before a break to work on a new record was well received and a spectacle to behold.

After listening to Yin Yin’s West Coast psychedelic surf rock-cum-traditional South East Asian music, you’d be surprised to hear the group is Dutch. With an electric guitar tuned to sound like a pipa or guzheng, an array of synths and a drumkit featuring rototoms and bongos, the band created a lo-fi soundscape with glittering sound effects and groovy rhythms. Opening with ‘The Year Of The Rabbit’, the audience immediately began moving and swaying. The small club feel of Komedia was transformed into a Los Angeles beach party. Funky bass underpinned the guitar, and drum solos were interspersed with laid back yet complex rhythms. The four band members’ faces were constantly full of joy, especially during the incredible guitar solo at the end of ‘Ping Pong’. Each song sounded somewhat similar but were unique enough for it not to get boring, with each track blended into the next in a mystical summery daze. ‘Sano’ felt like a chase scene from a Point Break-esque movie, and ‘Ocho’ was an absolute powerhouse of a song, with very heavy drums and bass alongside distorted guitar which kept the crowd alive. Infectious dancing was rife for the duration of Yin Yin’s set.

A 25-minute walk from Komedia, Concorde 2 was the biggest venue of this year’s Psych Fest. Getdown Services walked onstage to cheers, but this did not satisfy the Minehead duo. Before a single note had been played, the crowd (and in fact Brighton crowds in general) were called out for being generally poor in a very expletive manner. This was all in jest however. The audience were encouraged to heckle the pair back, as they did. It clearly wasn’t all about the music here. There was as much comedy, banter and joking around as there were tunes, which there were of course plenty of. A small group at the front of the audience knew every song word-for-word, and the centre of the crowd was a sweaty circle of people dancing, not moshing. However, during ‘Cream Of The Crop’ a small pit opened, which grew throughout the song. Ben Sadler performed a ridiculous dance to the end of the song before whipping his shirt off to raucous applause. At this point, Josh Law took back his previous statement about the crowd. They had been proven wrong (though the back of the audience still caught some flak). For the rest of the show a constant mosh ensued, with a hot, sticky and rowdy crowd jumping up and down. The duo are incredibly silly, and impromptu jokes and wordplay on “psych” combined with hilarious and witty lyrical content made for the most energetic set of the festival.

Back over at Komedia, Californian shoegaze icons LSD and the Search for God performed in the country for the first time since 2016. With only two EPs released including 2007’s self-titled release which features regularly on “Best Of” shoegaze lists, the band has collected a cult following over the years despite a lack of new material. Having sold out London’s Islington Academy within seconds, it was a real treat to catch such an elusive band live. Walking onstage in darkness, and slowly tuning instruments, a wall of sound was built up until it washed away, leading into ‘I Don’t Care’. The setup was pedalboards galore, with singer and guitarist Andy Liszt sporting around 20 pedals himself, which seemed to give him great difficulty at times. In a distorted and echoey manner sonically very similar to bands like Slowdive, male and female vocals beautifully harmonising caused the crowd to sway in a dreamlike fashion. Melancholy and sorrowful, the performance of ‘Backwards’ followed by ‘Without You’ was a truly magical moment. The majority of the audience were spaced out and laid back, though a fair few banged their heads passionately. The band ended on ‘Starshine’, but not before they had played their biggest track to date ‘Starting Over’. The whole crowd moved and silently mouthed lyrics as the room filled with emotion. Other than their lyrics, the band were almost completely silent for the entirety of the show. A “thank you” before the last track was all we were given, and when the band walked offstage the audience were left still and transfixed.

I lost all my energy sprinting from Komedia to Patterns, but I arrived just in time to see Nottingham-based band Do Nothing perform ‘Nerve’. Having followed the group for several years, this was something I could not miss. Though a clash was annoying, especially as the venues were spread further apart than on a traditional festival site, I still managed to catch a third of their set. They were as good as they’ve ever been live, with all four members playing their part perfectly. Do Nothing features Kasper Sandstrom on guitar, who is also the drummer in Divorce. Unreleased track ‘Be Natural’ featured a bouncy rhythm with loud guitars and outgoing vocals. The crowd truly came to life when faced with recognisable songs, though. Singer Chris Bailey led a cluster of fans to the centre of the barrier as he reached out to shake their hands during ‘Handshakes’. These fans belted out lyrics in an attack of raw emotion. Finishing on another unreleased song ‘The Nail’, the crowd at Patterns went their separate ways merry and satisfied.

Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys headlined Concorde 2. Watching the end of Do Nothing made me slightly late for Gruff’s set, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice. Besides, I managed to get away with only missing the first two songs of the Welsh legend’s performance. With a new Welsh language album coming out on 12th September, Rhys performed songs in both English and Welsh. The band wore matching white boiler suits with the singer’s initials on their breast pocket. The man himself was funny and charismatic as he spoke between songs, and the music was slow, relaxing and peaceful. With blue lighting and calming melodies, the gently swaying crowd were captivated and mellowed. A mix of acoustic and electric guitars combined with the wash of a ride cymbal made for a blissful way to end the day.

The festival’s scheduling worked very well, and despite a couple of clashes I was able to enjoy a full day of amazing music. Not a single band I saw was late onstage. Each venue was incredibly easy to find and access, and contained toilet and bar facilities. Wristband pickup at the start of the day was similarly swift and easy, which I was impressed by. The whole event seemed to run smoothly and professionally, and members of security at each venue were similarly helpful.

Any fan of psychedelic rock and indie should consider heading to Brighton for Psych Fest. The lineup is superbly curated, with hundreds of talented musicians taking to the city. The range of music showcased is incredible and thus brought a large range of demographics together to tap their feet and dance. Tickets for Brighton Psych Fest 2026 are already on sale.