Scarborough festival recognised by UK & European live industry

Fortress Festival, a new annual festival that takes place at Scarborough Spa, was recently nominated for a "Best Small Festival" award at the prestigious European Festival Awards, which will be held in the Netherlands in January 2025.

The festival is the only UK event in the category while other categories include big names such as Primavera Sound, Rock Werchter and Montreux Jazz Festival.

This follows the news that Fortress Festival won the "One to Watch" award at the Access All Areas Awards earlier this month. The ceremony was held at the O2 in London. The Scarborough festival was in the running in the category against bigger names such as Manchester's Co-op Live. Other winners at the Access All Areas Awards include Wembley Stadium, Alexandra Palace, Co-op Live, FAB, From The Fields, FKP Scorpio and King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut.

The next edition of Fortress Festival will take place on 31 May - 1 June 2025 at Scarborough Spa in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, UK.

Agalloch will perform a 2025 European exclusive headlining show; their first in the UK since the band’s reformation and the first in the UK since 2015. 1349 will headline the main stage on Saturday, 31 May 2025, following the release of their eighth studio album "The Wolf And The King”. New Zealand unorthodox death metallers Ulcerate will perform a UK exclusive set following their recently released “Cutting the Throat of God”. RUÏM - with iconic former Mayhem guitarist and Vltimas founder, Blasphemer - will perform a UK debut and exclusive show. Forteresse will perform a UK exclusive show at Fortress, returning to the stage following a seven-year and ice-cold slumber. Moonlight Sorcery comes to Fortress with an international exclusive set, a UK and international debut and the only show outside of Finland until at least 2026. Afsky will bring his melancholic and depressive Danish black metal to the Scarborough shore with the live band on the Fortress Festival main stage. UK atmospheric black metallers Fen will perform a UK exclusive full album performance of their 2009 debut album “The Malediction Fields”. Dödsrit will make their UK debut in the Grand Hall after having to withdraw from the 2024 bill.

The Great Old Ones and Spirit Possession will perform UK exclusive shows, while it will be a UK debut and exclusive show for both Perchta and Belore. South American project Selbst will bring its music to a UK stage for the very first time with a UK debut and exclusive set, while Akhlys will perform a 2025 UK exclusive set. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of its debut album “Syner”, Grift will perform the album in full with a UK exclusive set. Perennial Isolation will perform its iconic 2021 album “Portraits” in full in what will be a UK debut and exclusive performance from the Barcelona-based atmospheric black metal band. Australian acts Suldusk and Aquilus will perform their UK debuts with exclusive shows. Abduction, the UK black metal band, will return to Fortress and perform an exclusive full album set of their yet-unreleased fifth album. Devastator also return to Fortress Festival with its fist-pumping blackened thrash following the band’s appearance at the event’s inaugural edition in 2023.

Slovak post-black metal/ambient outfit Autumn Nostalgie will make their exclusive UK debut at Fortress Festival and perform their 2020 debut album “Esse Est Percipi” in full. In a UK exclusive show, Atmospheric UK black metallers Crimson Throne will present their yet-unreleased and unannounced second full-length album at Fortress Festival. Atmospheric UK black metal act Nemorous (formed from the ashes of Wodensthrone) will also present their yet-unreleased and unannounced debut album at Fortress Festival.

The 2025 edition will see the seated theatre stage transform into a candlelit atmospheric escape on the Fortress Saturday (31 May) for attendees seeking something different in their music. Darkher, a haunting trip through the mind and spirit of founding member Jayn Maiven; Osi And The Jupiter, a neo-folk project from Ohio, United States, consisting of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Sean Kratz; and a returning Sylvaine, the solo project of Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Kathrine Shepard, all make up the bill for the new stage in 2025.

The theatre stage will revert to accommodate industry speakers on the Fortress Sunday (1 June) for Fortress Forum with the running order to be announced in the new year.

Day tickets are limited to 50 per day and over 1,500 weekend tickets have been sold in total with a sell out expected very soon. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.fortressfestival.co.uk/tickets