Review Wild Paths Festival 2025 Afterparty.
Words and photography by Steph Bornemann.
This year’s Wild Paths Festival was a remarkable celebration of sound and community — so many bands across so many venues, each adding to an atmosphere that buzzed with creativity and support. It’s rare to see such a strong network of artists and audiences all sharing the same pulse.
The perfect finale came with the after-party. Lfay, a rising local band, opened the evening with confidence and intensity. Each performance seems to elevate them further — tighter, bolder, more assured. Time will tell whether they gain the wider recognition they deserve.
The festival finished with a mesmerising performance by Steam Down, a collective whose energy and sense of unity reach far beyond the London scene. Though the crowd had thinned slightly after five nights of relentless music, any trace of fatigue disappeared the moment the first syncopated rhythms hit. Within minutes, the audience was moving as one, drawn irresistibly closer toward the stage.
Steam Down’s music carried not just rhythm, but optimism — a message as uplifting as their sound. Their message is rooted in how their sense of community extends to the whole of humanity. As the final notes faded, the smiles across the room said everything. Wild Paths may be exhausting, but somehow it’s never quite enough.
When asked how he felt at the end of the night, the festival organiser Ben Street said “ecstatic”. There are an awful lot of folk in Norwich who will likely say the same.
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