We Out Here Festival 2025: Rotary Connection 222, Loyle Carner & Noname [Festival Review]

The award winning We Out Here Festival returns for its sixth installment. Four days jazz, soul, hip-hop, reggae, electronic and everything in between, all curated by Gilles Peterson.
Tucked away in the beautiful wilderness of Wimborne St Giles, Dorset.

WOH repeatedly pushes the boundaries for festivals across the globe. The latest addition to the festival is the WOH Radio stage, giving independent stations from all over the UK a chance to showcase their favourite residents. Highlights include Emanuel Pavlova from Shoreditch’s Cafe 1001 Radio, spotlighting some rare 70s & 80s Cuban grooves from his extensive collection. Fairhurst, representing Liverpool’s Svara Radio, gave us an introspective look into the history of Welsh music, while Brixton Radio’s Caitlin shed light on the women keeping house music alive.

WOH disregards the concept of a ‘warm-up day’ with Massive Attack’s Horace Andy, Noname, Brighter Days and Theo Parrish all performing on the opening night. Horace Andy & The Dub Asante Band treated us to some mellow dubby rhythms with a cameo from the legendary Don Letts. While Parrish carried out his signature 8-hour set, weaving notes of house, Detroit techno and soul.

We Out Here Festival 2025, photo by @elliekoepke

The 2023 edition of WOH took place on August 10th, a day prior to the release of Noname’s latest project, Sundial. Which inevitably soundtracked my downtime at the festival, making her performance a perfect full-circle moment. With only three projects under her belt, Noname has managed to cement herself as Chicago’s Poet Laureate. Her set traversed all three eras, performing fan favourites “Yesterday” and “Diddy Bop” from her Debut album “Telephone”, and one of my favourites “Blaxploitation” which features vocal samples from the film Dolemite and a ridiculous bassline provided by her incredible bassist on stage. Sundial is an era-defining piece, navigating political and personal struggles pertinent in both Noname and her audience’s lives. The themes of the project are epitomised in the cover art, a digital art piece by Frank Dorrey, which depicts noname in a garish manner with high contrast and distortion, signaling uncertainty and crisis.

Kicking off the Friday was Marysia Osu at the Brawnswood stage. A classically trained harpist, unafraid to experiment with contemporary electronic musical practices. Before even touching the harp Marysia lodged a stick of incense between the table and her Akai MPK mini to detox any bad energy in the room. Her latest project, which I thoroughly recommend, is titled Harp, Beats and Dreams which I think perfectly summarises this performance.

Aba Shanti-i, photo by @siennalorrainegray

A short walk to The Bowl, a perfect natural divot in the earth which forms an arena-like dancefloor. Perfect for acts like Channel One, a collective deeply rooted in soundsystem culture, proudly celebrating their 45 year anniversary. I can confidently say I’ve never had a bad experience at a Channel One set, a factor that is key to their longevity.

Over at the Lush Life stage, Astrid Sonne, an act not too dissimilar to Marysia Osu. This Danish classically trained Violist and vocalist implements contemporary electronic elements to create an alluring blend of hip-hop, drone, RnB and classical. Sonne is at the forefront of the Scandinavian alt scene alongside Erika De casier, ML Buch and Elias Rønnenfelt. This somewhat unconventional palette of sounds and cultures is a joy to experience.

Nala Sinephro’s Endlessness is one of the most outstanding jazz releases of recent years. I had the opportunity to see her and the band perform at Turin’s Club To Club festival last year. And I can confidently say it was the most spectacular and memorable performance I’ve ever seen. There is this looming subbass which I presume comes from Nala’s modular synth that doesn’t seem to translate on record, however it is the cherry on top of this already, gorgeously complex dreamscape. Over the course of an hour, Nala hypnotised the crowd into a meditative state. It is beautiful to see a genre so culturally and historically important as ‘Free Jazz’ pioneered by the likes of Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp and Sun Ra, continue to grow and impact the world the way this album has.

We Out Here Festival 2025, photo by @sahilkotwani

Over at the intimate lemon lounge tent, Brooklyn born, honorary South Londoner Goya Gumbani took us on a journey of funk, soul and hiphop which put the wind back in our sails after Nala’s dreamy performance. The rapper’s skills as a selector have been well and truly established on his NTS show Chicken Foot Soup alongside Dommy P.

A brief interlude at the Carhartt WIP stage found us entranced in the sounds of OK WILLIAMS. The London based NTS resident, transformed this Tardis-esque stage into berghain for an hour thirty.

When the WOH lineup was released back in March I was pleasantly surprised to see Pa Salieu as a headliner, emphasis on “surprised” though, perhaps due to my own misconceptions of the artist. This British-Gambian Rapper/ singer spent 21 months behind bars prior to the release of his latest project Afrikan Alien which paints a more mature and reformed picture of the artist as opposed to his earlier releases. On stage, Salieu dons a red beret and military vest adorning both the Union Jack and the Gambian flag, his militant energy is quickly overshadowed by his two “back-up dancers”, that I’m actually struggling to describe. One red, one orange, head to toe in tinsel suits like distant relatives of the sesame street crew.

Loyle Carter, photo by @siennalorrainegray

Opening with “Belly” the single he dropped just three days after being released from prison. This single gave us an exciting insight into what Salieu had instore for us upon his return, an intricate blend of UK rap and modern afro-pop which was further explored on the album. His performance had me skittishly checking my phone for signal so I could listen to the album and keep the party going.

A long night of dancing and 37 thousand steps taken meant my Saturday began a little later than expected. Over at the main stage, Everything is recorded geared up for their performance. This experimental project by Richard Russell, founder of XL Recordings, which invites countless collaborators including Sampha, Florence and the Machine, Kamasi Washington and Obongjayar to create playful, lengthy projects with collaboration and experimentation at the heart of them. Their latest release Solstice Equinox clocks in at 1 hour 40 mins and takes the listener on a journey through jazz, electronic and ambient. The name “everything is recorded” suggests an improvisational, “beauty in the imperfections” approach to creating music which was reflected in their performance. My hungover state may have impacted my view on this particular performance as it didn’t quite grip me as much as other acts. A trip to the Lush Life stage for Lex Amor was in order to perk me up.

Lex, who I saw for the first time just a week before at Jazz Cafe Festival automatically became a must-see for WOH. My first run-in with this artist was on Alfa Mist’s incredible 2021 album Bring Backs and I’ve been hooked ever since. This time round she was joined by a live band which absolutely transformed her performance. Lex has this laissez-faire cadence which perfectly complements her jazz forward production.

Noname, photo by @siennalorrainegray

Back to the main stage to catch Jalen Ngonda, the Maryland born singer who spent the formative years of his career in Liverpool. Watching Jalen’s truly deserving rise to fame has been felt on a personal level, flashback to 2015 on Liverpool’s Bold Street where a ten year old me sat earwigging as my dad interviewed a young Jalen on his exciting career prospects just 8 years before his debut album. The album in question, Come Around And Love Me was more than worth the wait. Jalen’s Falcetto transports you straight back to the golden era of Motown, Tracks like “If You Don’t Want My Love” and “Just Like You Used To” have cemented Ngonda as this generation’s Marvin Gaye. Everything about Jalen, from his floral silk shirt to his charming demeanour spell superstar. It’s rare that an artist sounds better live than on record yet Jalen manages to find a way every single time.
Towards the end of his set Jalen’s band took a “smoke break” leaving him and his piano to execute a gorgeous rendition of Dusty Springfield’s “The Look Of Love”. A truly beautiful ending to match a truly beautiful set.

A short walk to the Love Dancin’ tent, to see NYC based DJ Lovie who found herself sandwiched between the most soulful acts of the weekend, a pocket she’s more than familiar with. I became aware of Lovie through her Summer School Radio show on The Lot Radio, a weekly show compiling the most delightful music of all time, expect to hear the sounds of Nala Sinephro, Lonnie Liston Smith and Dorothy Ashby. Outside of the radio station, Lovie meticulously selects rare grooves from her collection to soundtrack nights like tonight.

Headlining the mainstage this evening was Rotary Connection 222, Celebrating the life and music of Charles Stepney, the man behind the music of Minnie Riperton, Earth, Wind and Fire and of course Rotary Connection. Sadly, Stepney passed back in 1976 but his legacy has lived on thanks to his wonderful family and his timeless music. The estate released Step on Step back in 2022 as a tribute to the man, packed with unreleased demos, personal family audio clips and alternative versions of his most celebrated compositions.

Rotary Connection 222, photo by @siennalorrainegray

The performance could not have started on a higher note with an eyewatering rendition of Riperton’s “Les Fleurs” and continued on that note with “I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun” and “Love Has Fallen On Me”. Ironically, it was Lovie that introduced me to Rotary Connection and the legacy of Charles Stepney; unfortunately, she missed their performance since she was holding it down at Love Dancin’. To quote Gilles Peterson, “The Charles Stepney tribute felt like a perfect embodiment of everything I ever hoped WOH could stand for”. Undoubtedly the highlight of the entire festival.

We reconvene on the final day of WOH back at The Bowl for another sunkissed soundsystem affair this time courtesy of Aba Shanti-i. With Notting Hill Carnival looming in the near future, this Carnival veteran gave us a comprehensive history of roots reggae music from Ska to Dub to Dancehall and everything in between.

Another NTS resident took over the Lemon Lounge stage for the most unexpected set of the weekend. Scouse selector Macca opened his set with “Woke Up This Morning” by Alabama 3, famously the theme music for HBO’s The Soprano’s. To which I responded “I know he’s not going to do a full Sopranos set”, I was wrong. Who knew The Soprano’s was filled with so many hits, Afrika Bambaataa’s “World Destruction” and “I feel free” by Cream to name a few.

A year before the festival’s debut Peterson’s label Brownswood released an album titled We Out Here with the aim to showcase the modern UK jazz resurgence, featuring the likes of Shabaka Hutchings, Ezra Collective, Moses Boyd and Kokoroko which became the blueprint for the festival. In the sixth edition we see the return of the OGs Kokoroko this time with a slightly more upbeat demeanor. Their latest project Tuff Times Never Last invites vocalists Demae, Azekel and LULU in an effort to further merge their jazz and soul roots. The result, an incredibly funky “New Jazz” album which translates perfectly on stage. The festival has come a long way since 2019 and Kokoroko has followed.

We Out Here Festival 2025 admat

Closing the main stage for the 25’ edition of WOH was Loyle Carner, a last minute substitution for Michael Kiwanuka. Initially I was a little displeased with this replacement. I caught Loyle Carner on his Hugo tour back in 2023 and I left Liverpool’s Mountford Hall pretty content with not seeing him again any time soon. I didn’t even bother to check out his latest release Hopefully !. You get the picture of my relationship with LC. But with full humility I’m happy to admit that I was wrong. Loyle managed to rekindle the fire that was burning back in 2020 with an immensely beautiful performance. Tracks like “feel at home” from his latest project evoke this universal urge for belonging and the frustration that comes alongside that. These emotional complexities are felt by everyone in the crowd yet he has the ability and vulnerability to put it into words. This album taps into a more instrumentally focal palette which elicits a more human response to the music, something that I really appreciate as a listener. That’s not to say his earlier music doesn’t have the same effect, tracks like “Desoleil” and “still” are some of the most beautifully vulnerable songs of recent years and I’m very grateful to have experienced all of this live.

It has become WOH tradition that Gilles Peterson brings the festival to a close at The Bowl stage. It’s no surprise that the man behind it all has an unbelievably eclectic taste, you simply cannot predict a set from Gilles. Bouncing from jazz, hip-hop, house and quite literally everything in between like an excitable child. Regrettably, during Gilles’ closing speech, he referred to this year’s festival as “lit” which bordered Tim Westwood territory. But he is forgiven for putting such a wonderful festival together year after year. Peterson paid homage to the late Sly Stone by spinning “Family Affair” which was beautiful in so many ways and a lovely way to close We Out Here 25’.