Yungblud Talks BLUDFEST 2025 and New Album Plans
Yungblud spoke with NME about the second edition of BLUDFEST in 2025 and ambitious plans for his upcoming double album “fucking crazy”. Watch our full interview below.
Returning to The National Bowl in Milton Keynes on Saturday 21 June, the genre-defying festival, curated and headlined by Yungblud (real name Dominic Harrison), announced its line-up last week, featuring the likes of Chase Atlantic, Denzel Curry, Blackbear, along with recent NME Cover stars Rachel Chinuriri and Peach China.
It comes after a hugely successful debut festival, BLUDFEST, which took place this summer (August 11), where the Doncaster punk star was joined by the likes of Lil Yachty, Soft Play, and Nessa Barrett. Punk legends The Damned performed at the Icon Slot, which Yungblud said will be announced “very soon” in 2025.
Festival Highlights and The Community Vibe
As well as the two stages, this year's BLUDFEST featured a pop-up version of iconic Camden pub The Hawley Arms, free photo booths, and a 'Make Friends' tent, fulfilling Yungblud's ambition for it to be an annual celebration of community, diversity, and lifestyle that seeks to “break free from traditional boundaries in music.”
“That day had a huge impact on my life as a person and where I want to go next creatively,” Harrison said to NME, showing that he was still reeling from the seriousness of the festival. “The fact that everyone came together for the sole reason of believing in something in common – and it became so much bigger than us – amazed me.”
“The best thing about Yungblud is the community itself,” he continued. “BLUDFEST is a movement. I think this is the first generation movement in a long time. It started out as a young, angry, damn beautiful act of rebellion and has grown into a place of acceptance, love and unity. Rebellion itself works in the name of love, especially in the world right now.”
He added: “My mouth is stuck smiling and meeting people and greeting people. As soon as I walked out and saw this view, I just thought, “What has this become?” Holy crap. Honestly, I really had to stop myself from crying and getting emotional. If I was good at drawing, I would paint a picture (the view from the stage) because it has so much color, life and damn unity. I'm very lucky because not many people get to see this shit.”
Harrison said the spectacle of performing in front of 30,000 people at an iconic venue – just as David Bowie, Green Day, and Queen had done before him – was not lost on him, but it was not just about popularity.
“I can sit here and be a fucking rock star about it, but we're doing it for the right reasons – I think it was the best triumph of the day,” he told us. “We had this idea of putting a flagpole in the ground and saying, 'I think the festival market is oversaturated, out of touch and outdated' – and we damn well did it.
“The coolest thing about Yungblud is that this fucking community follows me – and each other – into the completely unknown, with the spirit of making a difference. This will be the festival for the next 100 years. It’s a point of view and it’s a moment.”
Check out our full interview below, where Harrison talks to us about the Icon Slot announcement, plans for a new event venue in London, when we can expect BLUDFEST to go international, and progress on his new album.
NME: Hello, Dom. Once again, the BLUDFEST lineup brings together such diverse and daring artists. How did you decide to become its curator?
Yungblud: “I got all my friends involved and it’s going to be fucking biblical. Chase Atlantic and I once rode on a tour bus together during Warped Tour (2018). I just watched their rise as they watched mine. We played for 150 kids a day, traveling on a tour bus when it was wet. Should we go and play together in the damn stadium? Let's do it! I think the Chases are so damn cool, they're individual and weird and crazy and bad.
“(Black Bear), I knew it all along. I have a song with Denzel Curry. Rachel (Chinuriri) is one hell of a badass, man. Lola Young filled this spot for us last year and now she's just exploding. There are so many incredible, exciting female artists. The meeting between Peach (PRC) and Rachel will be amazing.
“I think we have a crazy line-up, inclusive, genre-defying – again – but it has the same damn feeling. He has the same energy. When I look at the poster it makes sense. He feels like a new generation, he feels young and interesting.”
What a great opportunity to introduce Blackbear and perform your 2019 song (with Marshmello) “Tongue Tied” together…
“We have never performed together. Bear and I thought, “We should probably fucking do this, shouldn’t we?”
“Bring me the horizon” once said NME it was a “nightmare” when they tried to organize a multi-genre lineup at All Points East in 2019. How did you manage to do this – have music lovers become more open today?
“I think Bring Me The Horizon is the best metal band in the world under 40. When they push a genre, they push it forward, they experiment in their field. Oli (Sykes, frontman) is one of my best friends and a mentor to me, and he's inspired by the way he's pushing his damn genre to different places.
“With Yungblud, I was genreless from the very beginning. I did pop, rap, metal, rock, whatever the hell I wanted to do under that umbrella. I dress the way I do, put on my makeup and fucking love rock and roll music. Rock music is my passion, my ambition, but David Bowie was very important to me, and he was completely genreless. He was always a cultivator and was really interested in art and culture just like me.
“I learned it from him and then implemented it myself. It works because it's all about my community. Everyone is positive, everyone wants to find something new, everyone wants to be shocked. I've said it from the beginning: I don't give a damn, I'll try my best and do the shit that I think is cool at the moment.”
When will the artist playing in the “Icon Slot” for BLUDFEST Year 2 be announced?
“Don’t worry, this is the artist we are keeping. We wanted to go out of the gate with the children. I have already reserved the “Icon Slot” for 2026 as well, because we were not able to implement it this year. But this year I'm talking to three people who are ready to do it, we're literally in the final stages.”
A few days after this year's BLUDFEST, you performed with The Offspring in Switzerland, and since then they told us that they “would like Yungblud to be at every show.” Have you used them for a potential “icon slot”?
“I told them about it – they are definitely not happy, they want to do it (in the future). They're not at BLUDFEST this year, but there is a name – just as damn important (as they are) – who is there.”
This year there were problems with very long queues and some other logistical problems – have you agreed with the organizers for 2025?
“100 percent. We took things into our own hands a lot more often because I was backstage yelling at people. One size does not fit all for artists, which is why I put this festival first. My fans show up early. The people who organized the event were not prepared for this, they were used to people filtering in throughout the day.
“I rang Milton Keynes police and said, 'You need to fucking open more gates!' The biggest show of my life and I'm giving it like a bird from EastEnders in a pub – shouting at people! This year I have complete control over this festival – a lot more. Because we did it once, all the bastards up there (now) believe we can actually do it.”
Are there any additions to the festival site this year?
“We have added one more stage, so this year there will be three stages. “Rachel will be leading this event – she's a fucking legend.”
When can we expect BLUDFEST to take place outside the UK?
“2026. It's happening. Confirmed. BLUDFEST International is coming in 2026.”
You also launched your new clothing company. BROTHER (BEAUTIFULLY ROMANTIC, ACCIDENTALLY TRAUMATED) this year – are there any plans to include this in the festival program?
“We have grandiose plans for the company for the next year. I bought a place in London that I'm going to turn into a music venue. We're going to open a coffee shop, sell BludBeer, and have a concert venue downstairs. Don't worry, BRAT Clothing is just getting started… it will literally be a physical location year round.
“After BLUDFEST (2024), I needed to finish the next album, spend some time figuring out what I wanted to do. But next year a new album will be released. There's going to be a bloody building in London for people to hang out in, and then BLUDFEST '26 – it's going to be the biggest two years we've ever had. We are just now pulling back this damn slingshot.
Charlie XCX stole your success with the whole ‘Brat’ thing…
“I fucking love it, man. We registered (the company) in 2019! It's such a sick word, it's in the mainstream and I'm fucking Charlie XCX. I'm fucking with this new album. Damn great minds…”
Did the “light” you saw with your own eyes at BLUDFEST 2024 inspire the trajectory of the new album, which you told us was “positive” and “flipped the narrative” away from darkness?
“The new album is centered around the idea of self-love and self-healing, allowing people to feel seen and radiate that light. You can be seen for who you truly are, no matter where you are from or what you believe. He has been at the center of this culture since its inception. No matter who you are, you're welcome here, as long as you fucking love it. That's what I needed to write the album about.
“A lot of people have different opinions about me, and I would be lying to you when I said I don’t care. But for the first time in my life, I think I'm starting to really like myself. I always wrote from a period of self-hatred. I made one hell of a rock opera double album that has no limits to the imagination.”
Wait—a double album?
– Yes, you fucking understand this. Looks like it's going to be a double album.”
When news of Oasis' reunion tour with Richard Ashcroft broke, the album's Britpop influence must have reached a new level…
“This is a full-fledged rock album. I experimented, I went to different places and I loved it… (but) what did I want to do when I was nine years old? Make an album like this. It's a tribute to British rock 'n' roll.
“Oasis, their songs have light. There's that hum in your chest when these records are played, and that's what I wanted to bring to this new album. You can fucking jump, throw beer in the air, but look at your best friend and say, “I fucking love you, man.”
Was the nine-minute opening track written with BLUDFEST's second year in mind?
“Can I tell you one thing? Nobody's fucking prepared for what's going to happen. This is the master plan. There will be new music at BLUDFEST. It will be a new world, a new adventure. This will be the first time we play something new in the UK. The album is fucking crazy.”
BLUDFEST Year 2 takes place on Saturday 21st June at The National Bowl, Milton Keynes. Tickets are on sale from 10:00 am on Wednesday 18 December. will be available here.
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