Jamie xx brings ‘good times' to Victoria Park for first ever LIDO festival

Yahoo

08-06-2025

If you have ever watched old videos of 90s raves taken on VHS and felt a pang of nostalgia for a time you weren't even alive, Jamie xx is the musical equivalent.
The DJ and member of indie trio The xx had curated the music lineup for the second day of LIDO festival in Victoria Park on June 7, and saw off the event as headliner.
His music will always be nostalgic for me. Not because it is associated with any particular time, nor did it play a pivotal moment in my life.
The lightshow brought the crowd on stage with Jamie xx with huge screens (Image: Miles Rebeiro)
But something about the echoing sounds coming through the beats, like a party heard next door, makes you sentimental about old times.
A sunny day turned soggy with rain in typical festival style. Fortunately, the two smaller stages were sheltered from the elements.
As Romy appeared on stage, the sky seemed to lower the lights, and a downpour created a claustrophobic crush under the tent.
Romy drew a huge crowd for her retro-infused synth (Image: Miles Rebeiro)
Like Jamie xx, her retro synths also blurred the lines between looking back and living in the now.
Walking over to the main stage, some drops still fell but a faint sunset cracked through the gloom.
The main stage was a feat of engineering, with a huge movable ceiling that lowered itself just above the DJ.
LIDO has three stages and a capacity of 32,000 people (Image: Miles Rebeiro)
All over and behind, drone shots of the crowd and close-ups of people looking like they are having the best time of their lives are projected, flickering and fading in and out, adding to the sense of being in a good memory in the present.
Jamie does not just play his album live, but plays a set of solid, original dance music that would be more suited to a club than a concert venue.
The past had not escaped him as he was joined on stage by xx bandmates Romy and Oliver Sim.
The festival avoided becoming a mudslide in the rain (Image: Miles Rebeiro)
But for someone with so many collaborations on his albums, he was mainly alone, apart from the huge images of the crowd dancing all around him.
There were the recognisable hits - Girl, Loud Places - woven in enough to grab a friend and sing the lyrics you know.
But seeing him play was not just a play-through of his music but a very different experience from listening to his album.
This is music to dance to and to create those good times his songs sing about. Even as you watch him, you are always aware that this is going to be a good memory.
Jamie xx may evoke a time you are not sure you were a part of, but this was a party everyone could join.