By Alisha Lawton
Photo Credit: Shirlaine Forrest/BBC Radio 6 Music
BBC’s Radio 6 Music Festival is an annual celebration of cutting-edge music, bringing together a diverse lineup of both established and emerging artists, across multiple genres and venues. Known for its eclectic mix of performances, exclusive collaborations, and immersive atmosphere, the festival serves as a key platform for musicians championed by BBC Radio 6.
Hosted in different cities each year, the event not only highlights groundbreaking live acts, but also fosters a strong sense of community among music lovers. We were lucky enough to attend night 2 at the O2 Victoria Warehouse this year, where the festival was hosted in Manchester.
Starting the night off strong, while the crowd were piling in, was Jamilla Walters, also known as Jamz Supernova—a British DJ, television presenter, and record label owner. Spinning a mixture of broken beats, and alternative R&B, with club sounds from around the globe intertwined with each other, festival-goers were dancing rapidly to the beat, warming up for the arrival of headliners, Fat Dog, and Ezra Collective.
It then came time for Fat Dog to take the stage. The quintuple performed an electric set full of techno, rock, and rave sounds. Since forming in 2020, Fat Dog have gone from strength to strength, and after so much airplay on BBC Radio 6 last year, and after playing special sessions for the station, it was clear that the audience had been following their journey, and excitedly had prepared themselves for the performance.
Starting with a bang, the band broke into Vigilante, and before the song had even ended, one of the band members evoked a huge mosh pit with fans in the audience, ramping up the energy from the very beginning.
During King of the Slugs, a fan on the front row put on a humourous slug mask and jumped around to the band on stage. By this point, lead singer, Joe Love, had ventured down to the barrier to join the people in the audience where he spent the rest of the set.
People all around the venue were dancing to the beat, and head-banging to the booming kick drum. Towards the end, they were joined by Jessica Winter, to perform a reimagined version of Satisfaction, by Benny Benassi and The Biz.
Fat Dog put on a theatrical dance-inducing show, where you couldn’t help but bop your head and dance along to the music.
Ezra Collective then appeared on stage and were greeted by a massive cheer from the audience.
BBC Radio 6 was the first station to play the band’s music on the airwaves, back in 2022. The Jazz band formed in London, after meeting at a youth group a decade prior, and have since gone on to win The Mercury Prize for their album Where I’m Meant To Be and most recently won Group of the Year at the 2025 BRIT Awards.
After playing a small snippet of their song, Shakara, the band’s drummer and leader, Femi Koleoso, took to the mic and came centre stage to speak to the audience. He introduced every member of the band and told the crowd that he needed to ‘address something’ … which was that the band are on a mission to make every room they’ve ever performed in ‘a temple of joy’.
He invited the audience to make friends with those around them, and ask for their names, as they may become acquainted, especially considering they would be spending the entire night dancing with them.
Throughout their performance, the band spent their time playing perfect jazz. All around the venue, the crowd were non-stop dancing and cheering for the music.
Ezra Collective are really shining—they were the first jazz group to headline at Wembley Arena, and now 3 years after their first stint at Radio 6 festival, they’re back, only this time, they’re headlining. And my—they were doing an exceptional job! Everywhere you looked, people were feeling the music, and letting their bodies take control; moving to the beat without a care in the world!
Later in the set, Femi made his way back to the front of the stage, addressing the audience, and those watching from home, saying: ‘So a few months ago, we got an email saying, ‘Would you like to be a part of Radio 6 festival? And it’s never been an easier yes than in all our lives. And I’ll tell you why, because the love and support that has been shown by this very beautiful corner of the radio is completely unrivalled. […] When a lot of other radio stations wouldn’t play Instrumental Jazz music, man like Gilles Peterson played it. […] And then our girl Jamz Supernova played it […] and then Mary Anne Hobbs and Guy Garvey and Craig Charles and Huw Stephens and man like Nick Grimshaw. Welcome to the family, my brother. I really, I’m really into that Cloudbusting thing, man, that’s my vibe in the morning.’
It’s clear to see how supportive BBC Radio 6 have been towards Ezra Collective, and how their DJs are open-minded enough to champion, and give new music, a go.
He continued…
‘And the truth is, if we are to celebrate one thing, it has to be a celebration of all the youth clubs and all the schools that are teaching young people to play music. […] Because Ezra Collective is going through a really beautiful moment right now, but I hate to break it to you, one day, that moment will end […] if you want to make something last forever, you need to create a legacy. And the legacy comes from giving it away to other people and the other people we choose to give it to are our youth clubs and schools… that is not just the message of this gig, but that’s the message of the Ezra Collective. And a lot of people ask me, ‘Why do you care so much about youth clubs?’ And the lazy answer is because I grew up in one. But […] if we can learn to champion youth clubs and schools and celebrate teachers and people that pour into young people, all of the other problems in society will be fixed. […] If you fix the foundation, suddenly the building can stand strong.’
So, during the next song, Ezra Collective brought the crowd back to their roots, by inviting a youth club to play and dance with them—the same youth club they met in, over a decade earlier.
Everyone on stage wore Ezra Collective merch with ‘Youth Clubs Save Lives’ printed on the back of them.
During the last song a member of the youth club took to the mic for the final song, and began to sing God Gave Me Feet For Dancing, along with the band accompaniment, and as the song was coming to a close, the band had the audience crouch down as low as they could, and got them to jump for one last party favour.
On the count of ten, the audience jumped with more energy than they started with, as if Ezra Collective had ignited a flame in the Manchester audience. A truly fun and inspiring night for all those in attendance.
If you didn’t manage to catch Ezra Collective, Fat Dog, or any of the BBC Radio 6 Festival sets, that’s okay—because you can stream them on BBC iPlayer!
Unless otherwise stated, Photography & Text Copyright 2025 © Alisha Lawton/ADRENALINE Magazine.