Yungblud’s inaugural Milton Keynes based festival, Bludfest, has set a new benchmark in the music festival landscape by championing accessibility and affordability.

The irrepressible Yungblud—known for his boundary-pushing artistry and unapologetically raw persona—has created an event that aims to redefine the festival experience by focusing inclusivity and ensuring everyone has a positive experience. 

As I joined the queue, the vibrant individuality of the crowd was impossible to ignore. Grunge-inspired outfits, daring hairstyles, and rebellious fashion statements dominated the scene, each look with the raw, fearless energy that Yungblud has come to personify.

Yungbluds ‘make a friend’ tent stood out to me as a way of bringing people together and establishing a community amongst thousands of likeminded fans. It was his way of including everyone, which was hugely appreciated.  

Nessa Barrett 

Nessa Barrett, the 22-year-old American singer-songwriter first rose to fame through social media, sharing her mental health struggles and relationships which built-up a community of followers. As a follower myself, I was excited to see her perform for the first time. And she did not disappoint!

Barrett walked on stage rocking the coolest outfit. She combined the two newest trends, micro shorts and leopard print, with pink high heels and a white cami.  

She debuted her unreleased song, ‘dirty little secret’, in which she renditioned on the guitar, in an acoustic style for the excitable crowd. This created a deeper focus on her lyricism, rather than a huge performance. The song itself was a highlight of her performance for me, as the crowd admired her talent and artistry.  

Nessa touches on the topics of death and grief in her song ‘I hope I die first’, which was released in 2022. It is now dedicated to her late best friend Cooper Noriega, who unexpectedly passed away a few months after its release. I noticed at Bludfest that Nessa changed the original lyrics, ‘I hope I die first’ to ‘I wish I died first’, continuing to honour Cooper.  

Lil Yachty 

The American rapper and singer, Lil Yachty flew from Portugal to perform to thousands of fans in Milton Keynes. His set was a highlight of my day, getting the crowd exhilarated with his infectious high energy. He made sure that the crowd were dancing and engaged the whole way through. This ensured the audience was fully immersed in the experience and left his set with an unforgettable feeling and memories to last a lifetime.  

His hit song, ‘ISpy’, was one of my favourites performed on the day, as it is nostalgic to me, instantly taking me back to the summer of 2017 with my friends. His music has a feel-good factor to it, which is a necessity for a festival.  

Yungblud 

After an exciting day of exploring a range of musicians, it was finally time for the headliner and festival founder, Yungblud to perform. The crowds were filling, and the cheers were growing. They intensified when an inspirational video was broadcasted on two huge screens with Yungblud expressing his intention for organising this whole thing.  

Throughout his performance he vocalised that every single person in the crowd needs to be unequivocally themselves and to embrace their uniqueness, despite societies norms. It was overtly clear how much Yungblud means to his fans, from their commitment to learning all his lyrics, to constantly cheering along, and even becoming hysterical once he walks on stage. I understand the appreciation for the singer-songwriter as he has helped his fans through his music.  

A standout moment from his performance was when he brought out 2 previous fans from his tour and a new fan from the crowd to perform alongside him on the guitar to his song. This was something I have not experienced before at a festival, so its uniqueness was exciting, and they were all extremely talented.

Yungblud brought out his friend and fellow artist, Lil Yachty back out on stage to perform their hit song, ‘Tell me when we die, can we still get high’. I particularly loved this part of the performance as their voices harmonised beautifully and their connection was sensational.  

I didn’t know what exactly to expect with Yungblud’s performance, as I have never seen him perform before. But I can confidently say that he exceeded my expectations with his incredible stage presence and energy that got the crowd beaming, and dancing. I forgot about any worries or stresses that I had prior to entering the festival, and I was completely present. It was incredible.

And to conclude the headlining performance, a bunch of fireworks went off above the stage whilst Yungblud was still singing. The moment felt magical, and I will not forget it! 

From my perspective, the festival was a huge success, and Yungblud has already hinted to more Bludfests in the future, which fans can stay tuned for.

For more info visit www.bludfest.com

Words by Issy Dimauro