First Light Festival

First Light Festival are celebrating their 5th full festival and 2025 looks set to be their best yet! The UK’s ONLY FREE beachfront festival returns to Lowestoft’s South Beach across Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd June 2025 – here’s the full lowdown of why it’s one not to miss…. First Light Festival has made its name as the ultimate showcase for creative talent, accessible to all. Since it’s inception in 2019, First Light has seen over 1890 acts perform across their festivals, 145k people have attended and the festival has impacted and supported creative talent year on year with over 70 new and emerging artists featured throughout the festivals, many of which have gone on to perform at Latitude and Glastonbury festivals, among others. First Light Festival’s weekend programme is free, un-ticketed and for all, now with 5 satellite venues added as part of our late-night line-up anniversary celebrations. MUSIC: • SUNLIGHT STAGE: o Nubiyan Twist: A blend of virtuosic players, skilled producers and inspired composers join forces to create a unique, infectious sound drawing on jazz, hip-hop, afrobeat, Latin, soul, reggae and dance music - expect ultra-tight musicianship and a powerful 9-piece, big band sound. Alongside their own headline tours, they've performed at Glastonbury, Wilderness, Green Man, We Out Here, WOMAD, Shambala, Love Supreme, Boomtown and many more. Nubiyan Twist will be taking the headliner slot at First Light’s Sunlight Stage on Saturday 21st June to close the beachfront programme whilst the sun goes down… o Horse Meat Disco: Taking inspiration from a diverse, counter-cultural history of clubs and DJs; rooted in hedonism, rhythm, freedom and emotion, a Horse Meat Disco set reinforces everything invigorating about disco. A typical HMD set blends classics, Italo disco, house, oddities and punk funk. They have played at every notable club scene in the world, as well as all major festivals. With brand new original music on the skyline as well as a brand-new compilation coming out this year, this will be a beachfront set you won’t want to miss! o Girls Of The Internet: The electronic music artist and producer whose style blends elements of 90s rave, house, electro, and experimental electronic music. They have garnered much attention for their distinctive production style and nostalgic yet forward-thinking sound. Girls Of The Internet are part of a wave of forward-thinking, genre-blending producers reshaping the boundaries of dance and electronic music. o Molotov Jukebox: “One thing you can expect from a Molotov Jukebox gig is a party from start to finish, it’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on!” The world-renowned party purveyors of contemporary world music Molotov Jukebox, have traversed the globe with their headline performances while racking up hundreds of festival appearances including Glastonbury, Eurosonic and Womad. Molotov Jukebox are a band of true universal appeal. o World Music Big Band: who will be celebrating & saluting World Music Day on 21st June with an incredible performance. o Merry Hell: Multi award winning Merry Hell offer joyful, uplifting folk, rock, with a message for troubled times. Their energy and passion are complemented by their love of what they do and desire to share hope and togetherness with as many people as possible. With chart hit album releases, major festival appearances and a host of sell out gigs, everything points to a band not to be missed! o Tom McGuire and the Brassholes – The funk soul powerhouse from Glasgow will be combining rich arrangements with meticulous songcraft for an incredible live performance. 2025 will also see the continuation of First Light’s partnership with Latitude festival, whereby one chosen act from those selected to perform on the New Dawn stage at First Light, will be given the opportunity to also perform at Latitude festival. • NEW DAWN: As always, this is First Light’s unique platform to shine a light on incredible talents from the east of England. 2025 sees the launch of a new Sunday, New Dawn Acoustic stage, providing further exposure for these future musical stars. • PLAYBREAK SHOWCASE: This year’s headliner will be Jazmine Banks & The Wild Hearts, our first female headliner for Playbreak; also hailing from Lowestoft they are brand new yet heart-warmingly familiar.. 2025 Country at its finest. Through their ongoing partnership, Jazmine will also receive the opportunity to perform at Latitude Festival 2025 enabling further exposure for her burgeoning career. Also performing as part of Playbreak will be: DSL, Micah, Alex Asher, Miss Lisa-Jane. • DJ IN THE DUNES: Bringing the beach alive with an incredible roster of talented young DJ’s including Sopp, Only Child, Alina, Lily Ann, Hemingways, Lils, Hotline Howard, Levi Fruits and Pussyfoot. • WELCOME THE LIGHT: The opening musical strand on the Sunlight Stage sees a brand-new Sea Shanty commission with by The Rogue Shanty Buoys, who will collaborate with local schools and choirs to create a unique performance of a new Shanty for Lowestoft.