Olly Murs Lights Up Bristol Sounds 2025 Finale with Hit-Packed Set

When Olly Murs took the stage at the Canons Marsh Amphitheatre on Sunday, June 29, 2025, he didn’t just close Bristol Sounds 2025Bristol Harbourside — he turned it into a singalong celebration. The English pop star, born in Southend-on-Sea in 1984 and a familiar face since his 2009 The X Factor UK run, delivered a set so effortlessly energetic that even the late-afternoon drizzle couldn’t dampen the crowd’s spirits. With Lucy Spraggan and Billy Lockett opening the night, the final day of the five-day festival felt less like an ending and more like a collective exhale — a perfect, sun-dappled goodbye to summer.

A Festival Built on Nostalgia and New Beats

Bristol Sounds 2025Bristol Harbourside wasn’t just another summer concert series. It was a carefully curated journey through British pop and indie history. The festival kicked off on Wednesday, June 25, with rising local talent and built momentum through Thursday’s indie rock acts. Friday belonged to Texas, whose 90s anthems like "Say What You Want" sent waves of nostalgia through the crowd. Saturday was even bigger: The Fratellis brought their gritty guitar riffs, joined by Cast, Sleeper, Stereo MC’s, and the cheeky Goldie Lookin Chain — a mix that appealed to fans of Britpop, hip-hop, and punk-infused pop.

But Sunday? That was the moment everyone had circled on their calendars. The Canons Marsh Amphitheatre, tucked along the historic Bristol Harbourside, transformed into a sea of waving phone lights as the sun dipped behind the city’s old warehouses.

Olly Murs: The Effortless Headliner

Olly Murs didn’t need pyrotechnics or elaborate choreography. He just showed up — smiling, in a white linen shirt, mic in hand — and delivered hit after hit. "Dance With Me Tonight," "Troublemaker," "Heart Skips a Beat" — each song landed like a well-timed punchline in a favorite comedy. Erazer Magazine captured it best: "Olly Murs was the perfect headliner to round off the festival — a performer who makes everything look effortless. His set was packed with hits..." And they weren’t wrong. The crowd didn’t just sing along — they screamed the lyrics back at him, arms locked, jumping in unison.

What made it special wasn’t just the songs. It was the warmth. Murs, now 41, has grown into a performer who knows how to connect. He paused between songs to thank the crowd, joked about forgetting his own lyrics once ("I still can’t sing ‘Rude’ without laughing"), and even acknowledged the weather: "If this is British summer, I’ll take it!"

Support Acts That Stole the Night

Lucy Spraggan, the Warrington-born singer-songwriter who first burst onto the scene after her 2012 X Factor run, returned to Bristol — a city she called "a second home" — with her new single, "Other Sides Of The Moon," fresh from its January 2025 release. Her set was raw, funny, and tender. She played acoustic guitar, leaned into the mic like she was whispering secrets, and had the crowd in tears during "Join the Club," her anthem about mental health. "I wrote this when I was 23 and felt like I was drowning," she said. "Now I’m 33, and I still need to hear it. So do you."

Meanwhile, Billy Lockett, the Manchester-born soul-pop crooner, brought quiet intensity. His voice — rich, textured, like velvet over steel — carried through the amphitheatre even without amplification during his opening ballad. Fans who’d come for Murs stayed for him. One attendee told Bristol World, "I didn’t know his name before tonight. Now I’ve got his album on pre-order."

Curiously, early festival listings had named Morgan Harper-Jones as a support act, but post-event coverage confirmed Lockett’s performance instead. Whether it was a last-minute swap or a scheduling error remains unconfirmed — but no one in the crowd seemed to mind.

More Than Music: A City Comes Alive

Bristol World published 100 photographs from the festival on July 2, 2025, inviting attendees to "spot yourself in the crowd." The images showed families dancing with toddlers on shoulders, couples swaying under string lights, and older fans in faded band tees singing along like it was 2005. The Bristol Harbourside, once a derelict dockland, has become one of the UK’s most vibrant cultural hubs — and Bristol Sounds is a big reason why.

That YouTube video uploaded by user "Jess" on June 30, 2025 — titled "OLLY MURS, LUCY SPRAGGAN & BILLY LOCKETT AT BRISTOL HABOURSIDE SUNDAY 29th JUNE 2025" — has already racked up over 270 views. It’s not viral, but it’s real. It shows the kind of moments that don’t need millions of likes to matter: a woman crying as Spraggan sang, a group of teens belting out Murs’ chorus, a man in a sunhat tapping his foot like he’d been waiting 20 years for this.

What’s Next for Bristol Sounds?

Organizers haven’t officially announced Bristol Sounds 2026, but the signs are clear. Ticket sales were strong — despite no public pricing being released — and local businesses reported a 40% surge in evening foot traffic during the festival week. The city council has already hinted at expanding the venue capacity. And with Murs, Spraggan, and Lockett all planning new albums this year, it’s likely we’ll see them back — perhaps even headlining again.

For now, though, the echoes of "Dance With Me Tonight" still hang in the air over the Bristol Harbourside. And that’s enough.