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Here are some pics from the 2025 event!
Music stage lineup:
Devin Valentine is a musician, activist and luthier. Former bassist with queer punk outfit Hunting Hearts, he’s now stepping out solo with raw DIY energy and sharp, unflinching songs about the state of the world and transgender rights.
Jack & Bas bring a homespun alchemy of folk, blues, and jazz to the stage – the kind of music that feels lived-in, earnest, and quietly electrifying. Jack Dale’s lyrical guitar revelations rise from deep folk and blues roots, while Bastien “Bas” Terraz’s double bass adds weight, nuance, and unspoken conversation.
Hedgehogs are a Southampton-based acoustic duo whose rich female/male vocal blend and soulful guitar work turn every stage into an intimate experience. Moving effortlessly from heartfelt originals to crowd-pleasing covers, Hedgehogs bring warmth, energy, and harmonies that linger long after the last chord.
The Guillotine Union Boys crash into your ears as Southampton’s most riotous rebel-folk duo, fusing country, gospel, rockabilly and Americana into one gloriously unhinged hullabaloo. Think foot‑stomping mandolin and banjo runs, tossed over spiritual anthems and folk classics with a modern bluegrass edge—all served with a generous dose of union‑style agitation “stir it up, join a union, work together to make things better”.
Lost Post are a railroad Americana band, formed in a Southampton pub in 2022 by Arkansas-forged singer and guitarist, Brandon Otto; Romani bassist, Niki Balazs; Southampton-born lap steel, banjo, and harmonica player, A.M. Davis; and joined soon after by lyricist and percussionist Alice Stinetorf; and producer, guitarist and vocalist, Lou Sawdy. The band draw on the rich storytelling elements of both old-time American and traditional English music, woven into a unique blend of foot-stomping country, swampy blues and delicate folk music.
Zen Juddhism is the shape-shifting designer rock creation of Southampton guitarist and songwriter Jude Ωne Eight (Jimmy B & The Death Rattles, Le Lizard Royale, HYBRID 6.0). Blending the swagger of Led Zeppelin, the bite of Garbage, the hooks of Metric, and flashes of folk, metal, soul and pop, Zen Juddhism delivers genre-bending songs that hit hard on record and even harder live.
Mary Jane have been weaving their spell since 1993, springing up from a collection of Southampton University students to become a dreamlike psychedelic folk-rock force. Their roots lie in a distinctly British sound—unpretentious, ethereal, and driven by folk traditions colliding with psych‑rock textures.Live, they’re sunny, bouncy, uplifting—high‑energy folk‑rock with rock rhythms that feel both rooted and adventurous. The promise to round our second Bunkerfest off with a raucous mix of fiddle, flute and flagolet sure to get your feet moving.
SpeakEasy stage lineup
Great Aunt Tranni is the alter ego of poet Nicola Anne Beck. Like the eccentric in the family who swears through Sunday lunch, Nicola Beck’s show is packed with amused disdain, sharp wit, and a few choice expletives. Woker than Gen Alpha, Great Aunt Tranni is very disappointed indeed, and keen to tell you why.
Jayne Ede is a Civil Servant living in Southampton, civilly. They write poems about their observations of the world; natural, social and emotional. Expect an energetic, rhythmic style and a good mix of sincerity and nonsense.
Andy White has lived in Southampton all his life and discovered a love of performing poetry through Artful Scribe. Since then he’s become a regular at open mics in Southampton and Winchester. His poetry looks at climate change and the natural world as well as queer experience, and is often themed round folktales and myth.
Harley Truslove is a local poet, performer, and general nuisance. They’re the assistant facilitator for ArtfulScribe’s 15-18 group on Tuesday evenings (come along!) and can generally be found around open mics sharing their work. They are currently semi-touring their first ever solo show, ‘thirty’, a comedy/poetry set about getting older.
Martin Ward – Poetry has long been a space for Martin to process his experiences and emotions – the highs, the lows, and everything in between. His work focuses on mental health, human connection, and community, exploring what they mean to him through an honest and deeply personal lens.
Jeu Jeu la Foille trained as a mime artist (LISPA) and then became a poet. Her writings are beautiful melodies telling you terrible things. Visual theatre and poetry, heavily under the influence of Tom Waits and with a smattering of weird science. Original beat poetry, tormented lullabies and woozy mythology are punctuated with scientific accounts of transorbital lobotomy, and feature a toy shop orchestra of musical reprobates.
Rich Lansley is a writer and performer based in Hampshire. Described as “poetry of kindness”. His work is a mixture and balance of whimsical comedy and heartfelt reflection. He travels and performs all over the country and self published his first poetry collection last year. Rich continues to push the boundaries of what poetry and comedy can be and leaves audiences with a lasting impact long after the applause has left.
Stalls, art installations & chillout room
The Stationary Cupboard hosts practices in failures and other experiments for its two assistants Kristianne Drake and Faye Phillips. They will be bringing some of this in the form of zines, prints and maybe even other ‘stuff’ to Bunkerfest for your perusal and purchasing delights.
Biotronics : by Orange and HMP
Computer generated images and natural sculpture.
An interaction between technology, nature and humans, biotronics looks to explore the themes of how we as humans affect the natural world around us, and how we can influence and shape that world. Our interaction with nature can be either harmonious or disruptive. Biotronics shows us, using clear visuals, how we as humans can influence this natural world. This is reflected in how short bursts of interaction with the natural material, creates ripples and turbulence within the structure, whereas careful and deliberate interaction creates and encourages growth.
VJ: Kino Kult
HMP and Orange
Visual art produced in response to music, the Kino Kult are a collective of artists who aspire to amaze, entertain and enthrall the space and people around them; in their own words “burn their eyes out”. Kino Kult was set up with Lissitch and has performed as part of We Shine Portsmouth, and the regular Aspex Lates.
Here are some pics of BunkerFest 2024
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