Last year’s Outbreak Festival was a true watershed moment. While its history is firmly rooted in hardcore, 2023 saw the festival evolving beyond the bounds of snarling punk and visceral thrash. Suddenly, hip-hop was weaved into the mix, with acts like Denzel Curry and Death Grips topping the bill alongside metallic hardcore icons Converge and punk collective Bane. Outbreak had quite literally broken out of its own shell.
With a whole new world of potential acts to explore, 2024 pushed the boat out even further. Wrestling its way out of the underground and into the light, this year welcomed Outbreak’s first ever outdoor stage. The line-up was also far more diverse: not only was Friday dedicated to hip-hop, but shoegaze and emo played a major role, adding a softer touch to the typically gritty sonic aggression. The result? A glorious display of blood, sweat, and a bucketload of tears.
To mark Outbreak’s biggest year to date, we thought we’d round up some of last weekend’s finest moments. So, without further ado, these were the biggest moments of Outbreak 2024.
Double Dose of Sweet Pill
Cast you eyes over this year’s line-up, and Sunday’s emo takeover is evident. While Philadelphia emos Sweet Pill were set to perform on the closing day, the band decided to ask if they could fill in a gap on the Saturday – and that’s how they ended up gracing the main stage.
Saturday’s set was a hit, with the band pulling off a show well-worthy of the main stage slot and drawing in a respectable crowd. “It’s our first time performing outside of North America, so I went into it with the worst expectations,” frontwoman Zayna Youssef jokes. “Everyone was worried about the rain, but people turned up! And I think that kind of made it more fun, sliding around onstage… ”
Both on Saturday and Sunday, the sets are faultless. Onstage, Zayna is an emo hero in the making, black and red curls of hair restlessly flying to and fro as she howls along to the bands’ introspective anthems like ‘Dog Song’ and ‘Red String’.
The Return of Show Me The Body
It just wouldn’t be Outbreak without the vision of Julian Cashwan Pratt noodling away on his banjo, would it? Show Me The Body’s gristly brand of hardcore punk closes out the second stage on Saturday, and the crowd rejoice in the unfurling whirl of noise. At one point, Julian jokingly kicks a fan in the arse to get him off stage – seconds before becoming possessed, drooling like a crazed dog as a wave of charging drums boom.
“There are few festivals that actually facilitate a great space for bands and fans alike,” Julian tells us. “Kids are allowed to dive. Bands are allowed to sell their own merch. Even the security is excited and in on the plan. [For the bands,] being together at Outbreak feels like we’re at summer camp. It’s all family.”
He notes his favourite moment from the set: “Every time we play ‘Arcanum’ at Outbreak it goes nuts. Kids swarm the stage, security isn’t rough on them. People we never met before grab the mic and know every word. It’s a wonderful moment for us.”
Thursday’s ‘War All The Time’ Vs ‘Full Collapse'
As Geoff Rickly takes to the stage on Sunday evening, he receives a hero’s welcome. And there’s a reason why: the world of screamo and post-hardcore wouldn’t be the same without Thursday. With a set rammed full of the band’s most iconic cuts, it’s a magnificent celebration of just how the group helped define the genres; comprised solely of tracks from ‘War All The Time’ and ‘Full Collapse,’ the performance is all-killer no-filler. From the opening whir of ‘For the Workforce, Drowning,’ fans howl Rickly’s poetry back desperately.
While Touché Amoré performed a pained, visceral set just the day before, Jeremy Bolm has stuck around for some Thursday magic. ‘Paris In Flames’ sees the two wordsmiths performing together in a blaze of glory, and the fans go wild. Yet there’s still more enthusiasm in the tank for closer ‘War All The Time,’ fans invading the stage and lifting Rickly off his feet.
The Sleek Mystique of Mannequin Pussy
Marisa Dabice slinks onstage like a Hollywood seductress. Her silky green dress is tumbling off of either shoulder, the vision of beauty and grace – yet there’s a feral fire burning within her. With a microphone in hand, the Mannequin Pussy frontwoman is a breath away from a riot grrrl, violently protesting about misogyny and the weight of patriarchal norms with a barely contained rage.
Throughout, the songstress keeps you on your toes. While her airy, angel-like voice may deceive you, in an instant she can transform into a blown out, screeching vixen. The disorienting ‘Loud Bark’ and ‘OK? OK! OK? OK!’ have the crowd in a punktastic spin, while finale ‘Pigs Is Pigs’ sees guitarist Colins Regisford stepping out and taking the mic. It’s the climactic end, leaving on a blisteringly powerful note.
The Might of Patrick Flynn
Patrick Flynn knocked out not one but two killer sets last weekend. While he stepped onstage to fronting his post-hardcore supergroup Fiddlehead, fans were also treated to the revival of Have Heart.
Though the man’s day-job is teaching history, off the clock he’s an unstoppable punk frontman. Have Heart’s reunion set is a riot from the get-go, fans onstage as soon as the first tune is ringing out. Flynn is fearless, throwing himself into the line of fire as bodies race past, jump onto him, grapple for his microphone.
“THIS STAGE IS YOUR STAGE,” he howls. And he means it. Fans have seemingly agreed that the plan is to dog pile on Flynn at the climax of every track, and he remains undeterred. If he’s tackled, he just gets back up like nothing has happened.
Amidst the sweat and the fury, Flynn also delivers a gut-wrenching speech. Reflecting on nearly losing his child, he muses over the thousands of children who have lost their lives in Palestine. He speaks with eloquence, the crowd deafeningly silent. It’s a reminder of what punk and hardcore is for – it’s not just about moshing. It’s about standing up for something.
The Hotelier Celebrating ‘Home, Like No Place Is There’
Sunday welcomed in a wave of emo birthdays, with The Hotelier celebrating the 10th anniversary of the classic ‘Home, Like No Place Is There.’ From the triumphant howl of opener ‘An Introduction To Album,’ to the sombrely anthemic bounce of ‘Your Deep Rest,’ every second has the crowd howling along.
The record’s bruising intimacy is somehow even more poignant live. Bodies crowdsurf with little sense of urgency, just eager to float in the record’s world. As the set draws to an end, frontman Christian Holden almost seems reluctant to go – he lets out a gentle hum of the opening track, a knowing smile on his face. It’s a subtle nod to those in the crowd who have endlessly looped the record for the last decade, etching the word into their souls. And it’s guaranteed that fans will continue to find a home in the record for decades to come.
Scottish Hardcore Invasion
While the weekend features the rip-roaring might of hardcore acts like Mindforce, Harm’s Way and the glorious Incendiary, Sunday has a particularly Scottish flavour on offer. Sunday’s third stage line up is almost exclusively ruled by the Scots, with every band bar Dundee’s Hellbound hailing from Glasgow.
From the tiny but mighty ferality of K U T E, to the growling goblin-like vocals of Impunity, the stage embodies the chaotic, mosh-hungry spirit of Outbreak. Somehow, closing act Demonstration of Power up the ante.
With four guitar-wielding members rammed onto the stage, things quickly get crowded. Yet Demonstration of Power’s riffage remains exemplary, members simply moshing along with the fans, dodging windmilling arms and unruly spin-kicks. The set is utterly vicious and brutal – yet the band close things out by popping some party poppers, brutal growls a hilarious contrast to the colourful confetti fluttering overhead.
American Football Take Us Back To 1999
American Football round the weekend off with the 25th anniversary of their classic ‘LP1’. While midwest emos are certainly the softest offering of the line-up, their set rounds off the weekend perfectly. The soporific world of their debut record is mesmerising, melting away the aggressive mosh-hungry mantra of the weekend. As the night evening wears on, trumpets soar, and a video displaying the record’s iconic house slowly becomes cloaked in darkness too.
At one point, fans crowd on-stage – not to mosh, but just to get closer to the glow of the lights, the mystique of the post-rockers twanging away. Mike Kinsella sees it as the perfect opportunity to climb atop fans’ heads and drift along to the music for a second. It’s a move that feels out of character for the humble, quiet frontman – but truly adds to the magic of the evening.
The charms of American Football even got other acts on the bill to brave the crowd. Hot Mulligan guitarist Chris Freeman names the set as one of his highlights; “I haven’t seen them live before… That was cathartic for me. I don’t get out in the crowd much anymore but I really had to experience that set in the thick of it with everyone else. It was awesome. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.”
