The line-up for a unique weekend of music, Portals Festival, has been announced with Northern Irish instrumental rock group, And So I Watch You From Afar, announced as Sunday’s co-headliner.
Taking place in Hackney, London on the 24th & 25th May 2025, ‘Portals’ is a one-of-a-kind festival where no music is too experimental, too eclectic, or too idiosyncratic.
A weekend full of genres including post-rock, prog-rock, math-rock, psych, shoegaze, metal and everything in between… it really is a festival full of diversity and bravery. Check out the official aftermovie from last years event to get a true feel of the festival.
The event will be hosted by EartH in Hackney, the venue holds three stages full of colour and atmosphere. As described in a blog post by echoesanddust.com: “The 1,200 capacity Hall at the bottom; the seated 680 capacity theatre, in all its shabby-chic art deco glory; and the 300 capacity Bar in-between.
“So immerse yourself in the Hall’s powerful sound system, hang out on the roof terrace, recline on the tiered wooden decks of the Theatre, and grab a beer and t-shirt from the Bar.”
The line-up for this year follows on from every previous edition, promising a weekend full of exciting, eclectic and experimental music.
American indie rock band, Foxing, will headline the Saturday with a 2025 London exclusive performance. They will be joined on the opening day by Kalanda, Brontide, Long Distance Calling and many more.
Post-rock band Foxing released their magnum opus in 2015, ‘Dealer‘. The album went on to be ranked at number 2 on AbsolutePunks top albums of 2015. They’ll be sure to bring their mixture of emo, indie-rock, and post-rock to London this summer.
Sunday will be co-headlined by the aforementioned Northern Irish group, And So I Watch You From Afar, as well as Brooklyn born musician Julie Christmas, who will be giving a UK exclusive performance to the festival-goers.
Belfast-based And So I Watch You From Afar are an instrumental rock band known for blending post-rock, progressive-rock, math-rock and more. To date they have released seven albums with their last EP, ‘Megafauna’, coming out last August. The four-piece band will be sure to bring their Irish energy to Hackney in May.
Bands such as Waldo’s Gift, mouse on the keys, TOTORRO and EXXASENS will also be performing on the Sunday in Hackney.
If for some reason you’re still undecided about heading to Hackney towards the end of May, head over to their website here where you’ll be able to find more details including the full line-up, ticket information and details on how to get to and access the venue.
It is worth noting that the majority of the festival is wheelchair accessible, with the EartH Hall and Theatre having lifts and stairclimbers, although the EartH Bar does not have any stair-free access.
Head over to www.portalsrock.com/festival right now to find out more information, where there is also the chance to sign up as a volunteer for the weekend!
As stated on the festivals Instagram: “If you’re coming, now is the time to buy a ticket!!”
You can head to this website to buy tickets to the unique event, https://link.dice.fm/PortalsFest2025. Tickets are available now with day tickets costing £60 and access to the full weekend costing only £99, although you can choose to pay £150 for the full weekend whilst also offering a donation to Portals to help them continue running these great events.
