Top 10 Acts You Can’t Miss At Humber Street Sesh 2025
Leeds funk-punk collective Flat Moon
Our Humber Street Sesh programmer, local promoter, The Sesh and Polar Bear Music Club powerhouse, and all-round music legend Daniel Mawer (O’Phantom, and formerly Low Hummer and La Bête Blooms) gives us his top picks and artists you must see this year at Humber Street Sesh 2025.
PLUS, he’s playing the festival with O’Phantom (5:45pm on The BBC Music Introducing Stage), so be sure to check them out too!
Take it away, Dan…
Hull’s music scene has been through an incredible resurgence since our last time together at Humber Street Sesh.
Led by a new wave of artists, we’re seeing the rise of a youth music movement nurtured by the incredible work that our labels, venues, radio shows, eve
The people of Hull sometimes forget just how impressive we are as a city of music. It only takes a minute to remind ourselves and visit our local venues' listings or websites and see the mass foray of incredible artists that exist within our region.
Humber Street Sesh aims to give our city a fresh programme of new talent each year, showcasing a selection of local talent alongside emerging artists from across the country who have made the pilgrimage along the M62 over the past year or so.
Whilst huge, expensive stadium and arena shows maintain their popularity within the UK, we’re delighted to focus our spotlight on artists that aren’t household names, but nevertheless are incredibly exciting, visceral, engaging and just as important to the fabric of the country's musical offering.
Here are ten acts that I reckon you should chuck in your playlist if you haven't already got yer list sorted!
The Howl & The Hum - 10:15pm - Main Stage
It’s a flipping easy cop out for me to suggest a headliner to you as a must-see, but this one’s an emotional one for the team.
Having graced our Hull venues tens of times over the past decade, The Howl & The Hum astounded venues like The Adelphi and Polar Bear with beautiful performances time and again in the pre-lockdown days, and have always played homage to the city's music scene along their journey onto festival lineups across the country.
Littered with indie sensibility and melancholy, the bands debut record solidified their knack for writing incredible hooks, Sam Griffiths project really earnt its wings last year with their incredible second record ‘Same Mistakes Twice’ which was critically praised. Having them headline the festival is a full circle moment for the festival having watched the band grow to be the powerhouse that they are today.
Divorce - 10:00pm - The Sesh Stage
Alright, so it’s a proper massive cop out to suggest TWO headliners as must-sees, but technically there’s fifteen mins crossover with timings, so you CAN and MUST see both!
Divorce are a Nottingham four-piece who braved a Tuesday night in ‘Ull at our weekly Sesh night back in 2022. We were instantly smitten with their mix of off-kilter country-post punk and alternative indie songs, so we had to get them back to Polar Bear for a second time.
From there, the band set off at a remarkable pace, regular 6Music play solidified them as one of the country's most exciting new bands, and their debut record has had them touring the world, most recently smashing a set at Glastonbury after touring the US with Mumford and Sons.
Flat Moon - 7:45pm - BBC Introducing Stage
Funk-punk collective Flat Moon will be a force to behold at The BBC Introducing Stage this year.. They set our Sesh at Polar Bear stage on fire (not literally) earlier this year with their incredible musicianship, sing-along choruses, and fond use of crowd interaction, creating an energy that we haven’t seen anywhere else across the UK.
The six-piece Leeds band are doing the hard yards across the country this year, including a visit to Tramlines, Kendal Calling and of course, our very own Humber Street Sesh.
Fiona-Lee - 9:45pm - BBC Introducing Stage
The best thing to come out of Hornsea since Hornsea Mere and Seafront Chippy, Fiona-Lee’s steady rise has been incredible to watch.
Writing personal songs of heartbreak and woe to a backdrop of big-sounding guitars and saxophones, Fiona-Lee started her journey via open mics within Hull’s music scene, but by 2024 had become incredibly well travelled, her incredible music taking her across the country and beyond.
This year saw her release her debut EP, play Glastonbury and support CMAT along the way. Expect her and the full band to smash this set out of the park.
Jodie Langford - 10:15pm - Deadbod Stage
Hull’s very own Jodie Langford headlines the Deadbod Stage in 2025. Her journey has been an organic one, creating a sonic mix akin to The Streets, utilising the immense Endoflevelbaddie’s production skills. Jodie’s an example to all emerging artists everywhere, after becoming a BBC Introducing favourite using the uploader (available to all musicians within the country), which gave her the opportunity to play Leeds and Reading festival last year.
Her honesty, Hull uniqueness, mixed with infectious positivity, saw her make friends with emerging artists such as Getdown Services, and tour the venues that really matter in the UK alongside bands like Bureau De Change. This will be a homecoming show of epic proportions.
Eve Buckley - 3:45pm - Cuban Pete’s Stage
It’s time to pay homage to our weekly night in the heart of the city, Trinity Live. A free entry, all-ages event in Trinity Market, Trinity Live gives us an opportunity to expand our platforms to other genres within the region; Eve Buckley being one such artist we had the privilege of working with on our Thursday nights. Her solo performance was incredible to watch, blending her beautiful, soulful voice with jazz and R&B sonic references. Her full band is an ethereal sonic display, expect to see fantastic musicians underpinned by brilliant songwriting.
Bugfacer - 4:00pm - Rock Stage
For those that enjoy proper good noise, Bugfacer are a Hull three-piece that could and SHOULD grace the Park Stage of Glasto anytime of any year. Visceral, emotive, powerful, the band rattle through post-punk sets with ease. The band have become a brilliant export of Warren Records (an incredible resource for young people based in the centre of Hull). We can’t wait for this mid afty mosh with one of the city's finest.
Slowdaze - 2:45pm - BBC Introducing Stage
It's been five years since Slowdaze’s first ever EP, produced by Hull-born and bred artist Alex Fish, his second output, ‘Glasshouse’, was a beautiful sonic journey through jungle-esque instrumentation and jazz infused lo-fi beats. Alex and his music as become known within the area for his rare but beautiful solo performances.
Humber Street Sesh, however, sees the opportunity to watch Slowdaze, for the first time, as a full band, armed with some of Hull’s finest musicians, and this, we think, will be something really special.
Wench! - 3:45pm - BBC Introducing Stage
If you’ve visited any of Hull’s music venues over the past year, it will have been almost impossible not to have spotted the three-piece band Wench. They’re one of the city’s most regular performers and are often either supporting artists as part of the crowd or plastered on venue walls as part of upcoming gig posters.
Frighteningly young to be so talented, the band harnesses the energy of the 1977s punk movement with early 90s girl riot sensibilities, this concoction making an intriguing sound that has gained them the chance to play at both Leeds and Reading Festival this year. With their debut EP released by the time of reading, the band are heading up a new youth movement within the city.
DeafDeafDeaf - 9:00pm - The Sesh Stage
Manchester’s quite rightfully having a bit of a nostalgia moment right now, who can blame them! But the city has always showcased incredible independent artists that embed themselves into the countries live music culture, we’re over the moon to snare one such band for our festival. DeafDeafDeaf come over to the city again, having graced The Adelphi stage via Under The Influence earlier this year. Feedback-laced post-punkers, the band are as much shoegaze as they are raucous noise. We love witnessing bands carving their own path so fiercely and welcome DeafDeafDeaf to the Sesh stage in 2025.