Massive Attack opened the first LIDO Festival with a day they curated, a battery-powered stage and a 90-minute set from an eight-piece line-up.
On Friday 6 June 2025 Massive Attack, the Bristol pioneers of trip-hop, opened LIDO’s first edition at Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets. They chose the whole bill.
The group grew out of the Wild Bunch, a sound system that led the Bristol club scene in the mid-1980s. Their debut, Blue Lines, followed in 1991 and is generally held to be the first trip-hop album.
Their third album, Mezzanine, gave them a first UK number one in 1998 and carried “Teardrop”. They have won a Brit Award for Best British Dance Act.
The bill was picked by Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall. All the food on sale was vegan, and the stage ran on batteries.
The 90-minute set used an eight-piece band and a run of guest singers. Visuals on a backdrop about 30 feet tall dealt with Gaza, the Congo and the use of personal data.
Air, the French duo behind Moon Safari, played the main stage before them. Yasiin Bey and The Alchemist performed as FORENSICS, and Tirzah also played.