Our first festival of the season at Catton Hall continued with another two days of great live music at Bearded Theory.
Saturday
Day three started off with a bang as Alt Blk Era kicked off proceedings on the Main Stage. The Nottingham-based sister duo recently won the 2025 MOBO award for Best Alternative Music Act, and hit No. 1 in the Rock & Metal chart with their debut album Rave Immortal and it’s not difficult to see why Nyrobi and Chaya have got so many people chomping at the bit to come and watch them perform. Their setlist incorporated aspects of trap, metal, rap and electronic music with punchy vocals from Nyrobi complemented by some floaty melodic lines from Chaya. Their music celebrates outsiders and “weirdos” that paint outside the lines, much as they do, and no song evidences that better that I’m Normally Like This – an anthemic, raucous track that got the crowd chanting along with enthusiasm. While their set did encounter some technical issues for the girls to deal with, these kinks will soon be smoothed out as the duo matures, but hopefully their youthful punk energy stays right where it is. The Alt Blk Era is here and it’s definitely one to get on board with. 8/10
Alt Blk Era weren’t the only ones exercising talent beyond their years; Man/Woman/Chainsaw put on an impressive display of DIY post-punk after battling with traffic to reach the festival. While the day hadn’t started off the way they’d planned, their set was impressively slick, especially when you consider how complicated their songs are rhythmically, dynamically and tonally. Tracks like Adam & Steve and The Boss provided some beautiful chaos with some angular and twisty violin riffs from Clio Harwood combined with some clever, sarcastic and theatrical lyricism. 8/10
Indie pop met slacker rock next with Lime Garden who assembled a set list packed with some extremely catchy tunes. Their debut album One More Thing has become revered by fans, who also had the chance to meet the band at the Rough Trade tent at the festival later that day if they fancied it and get the album signed, so it was no surprise that the Meadow tent clearly filled out for their afternoon performance. Their steady metronome synth percussion on tracks like Love Song are sway-inducing, cultivating an easy breezy summer atmosphere. The four-piece are easy-listening but engaging, putting a fresh take on clear 90s brit-pop influences. 8/10
Mannequin Pussy took things up a notch on the Pallet stage with a clear and simple message that resonated strongly with the Bearded Theory crowd; f*** transphobes, f*** racists and free Palestine. While the latter stance in particular was echoed by artists across the line-up, Marisa Dabice took time to heavily emphasise the band’s opposition to United States policies in regards to the Israel/Palestine conflict in a rousing speech which was met with roaring support. On the music front, the band offered ferociously dirty guitars, rebellious punk percussion and cathartic rage. Dabice dominated the stage with an arresting personality and rockstar swagger which set the mosh pit alight. 8/10
Later on that day, the heavy, pit-conducting baton was passed over to a noise-pop duo that continued to blow expectations out of the park with every release. Nova Twins electrified the Pallet stage with a boisterous blast of electronic punk to fry some faces off. Amy Love and Georgia South have created a dynamic live performance packed with distortion and maximalist layers to really raise some hell. Old favourites like Antagonist and Cleopatra started riotous movement in the crowd, while newer tracks like Monster felt like instant alt classics. Nova Twins know what they’re doing, and are killing it with their out-of-this-world energy. 9/10
Perhaps the most anticipated set of the weekend was that of the grandfather of Punk – Iggy Pop, who attracted by far the biggest crowd of the weekend. The pioneer is now seventy eight years old, but remains a powerhouse on stage, gripping the microphone with the utmost intensity and vigour. With decades upon decades to choose from, his set-list spanned his whole career, both with and without The Stooges. It’s easy to forget just how many punk classics the man has under his belt, from Raw Power to I Got a Right to The Passenger all of which had the crowd singing along. Iggy Pop’s rockstar attitude certainly hasn’t faltered, discarding the can of water he spilled across the stage in a play-on diva moment between songs. While scoliosis and hip replacements have tried to pin him down, Pop is defiantly sprightly and still has a Lust for Life. 9/10
Sunday
Home Counties opened the Woodlands stage with chirpy, irresistible earworms that tackle relatable every day qualms with chirpy, dance-pop percussion and psychedelic funk. The sound that the band has settled on these days suits them to a tee, and allows the band’s colourful personality to shine through in the form of addictive synths and energetic rhythms. They capture the feeling of having a party in your bedroom or in your earphones on the bus home, as is the case with Bethnal Green – one of their most memorable tracks. Home Counties are pure fun, and were a great way to start the final day of a fantastic festival weekend.
As previously mentioned, despite the punk rock heaviness felt across much of the line-up, Bearded Theory places a heavy emphasis on being a child-friendly, family festival, offering alternative activities and entertainment to raise some future rebels. A booking to cater for this crowd was canine metal band Slay Duggee who bounded onto the stage in plush dog costumes and immediately demanded to change the aspect ratio of their logo projected behind them because “brand identity is very important.” The band have a very noble mission – to help educate the moshers of tomorrow. Think Punk Rock Factory, but even gnarlier and far more concentrated on CBeebies and CBeebies adjacent intellectual property, as their name would suggest. Their skull melting cover of I am a Shape from Mister Maker was particularly spectacular, as the band used the opportunity to teach the youngest members of the crowd what a mosh pit should look like, and encouraged the little rockers to get stuck in. Who wouldn’t want massive cartoon dogs as teachers? 9/10
Nottingham’s Divorce offered some delicious harmonies and emotive storytelling under some beautiful sunshine over at the Pallet stage. The way Tiger Cohen-Towell and Felix Mackenzie-Barrow’s vocals swirl together is breath-taking and entirely captivating, supported by alternative country instrumentation from drummer Kasper Sandstrom and lead guitarist Adam Peter-Smith. Their brand of theatrical folk music is becoming more and more refined with every set of performances. Their rich soundscape was calculated carefully with moments of sonic warmth and darkness to really emphasise the humanity at the core of their craft. They’re a slick and vulnerable unit, and ones to catch on the festival circuit if you can. 8/10
The best way to describe best mates Ben Sadler and Josh Law of Getdown Services is as rascals. Watching the Bristol duo on the Woodlands stage was like watching two troublemaking teenagers on a sugar high in the best possible way. Not having fun was not an option for this set – the pair preached silliness throughout their set with songs like Get Back Jamie – a sassy swipe at TV Chef Jamie Oliver – and the sharp-witted Dog Dribble. Fans threw ready salted packets on stage for the aptly named Crisps, and the band egging the audience on, asking them to put their hands up, before quickly demanding they’re put down again which kept tickling the crowd’s funny bone. Their lovable humour entertained just as much as their psych-funk grooves – these guys are ones to watch! 10/10
Public Service Broadcasting returned to the line-up again for 2025 after a blockbuster performance in 2023 on the Meadow stage, closing out the festival with a brilliant cinematic production of archive audio footage and rich instrumentals submerged in the darkness of the night. This year, PSB performed just as the sun started thinking about setting on the Bearded Theory festival, offering the same theatrics in quite literally a completely different light. The dream pop soundscape created and the warm glow of the sun created a euphoric experience, furthered still by the community force of the crowd chanting Go! during the band’s iconic hit. These alternative legends are true artists, with a live show that never disappoints even on repeat viewings because it’s just so masterfully constructed. As well as the iconic transatlantic audio quotes embedded in the music, the band projected historic footage behind them collaged within a series of frames resembling an aeroplane cockpit, as well as livestreamed footage of the band performing on stage – a nice addition considering that the Pallet stage does not have any screens either side of the stage to enhance your view of the performers. Their brass section burst onto the scene for a handful of tracks on the set-list to emphatic applause, especially during the triumphant Gagarin. Just when you thought the stage couldn’t get any more packed, two dancing inflatable spacemen wandered on stage to round off the set. Public Service Broadcasting are a joy to behold. 10/10
And to finally round off an unbelievably strong weekend of live music were Welsh rock icons Manic Street Preachers. These guys can’t go a summer without sitting atop of a festival line-up, providing a broad appeal that will confidently allow organisers to ensure tickets are bought. For that reason, there is an argument that for a festival that’s all about celebrating life off the beaten path, Manics are not the best choice. While the rock outfit offered what was always guaranteed to be a solid live performance given their quality-assured reputation, there was no sense of surprise or, really, excitement. With the Manics, you will always get a good show – there is no risk of that. This year, the off-kilter magic stood firmly on the undercard, as even Paul Heaton was similarly a safe booking with wide appeal rather than a mind-blowing, stimulating live act. Anthems like Motorcycle Emptiness and Your Love Alone is Not Enough provided a great opportunity for a bit of indie karaoke, but it did all feel a little bit safe. The fireworks show that accompanied closer If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next was absolutely stunning though – a jubilant close to the Derbyshire spectacular. 6/10
Check out our review of Thursday and Friday here.
Written By: Izzy Morris
