13/08/2025
Why The Blessed Madonna’s festival stand took me back to the 90s rave scene 🎵✨
I’ve just finished writing about The Blessed Madonna pulling out of Boardmasters Festival rather than sign away her right to free speech, and honestly… it hit me right in the feels.
Back in the 90s, I fell hard for the rave scene. Not just the music (though those basslines were everything), but what it stood for: pure freedom, love, and happiness. Those underground warehouses weren’t just parties—they were spaces where you could truly be yourself, where differences didn’t matter, where the music united everyone.
When The Blessed Madonna said “I can’t allow myself to be contractually bound from free speech. That’s my law”—that’s the exact spirit that drew me to those smoky dancefloors decades ago.
The rave scene was never really “unpolitical.” It was radically inclusive, defiantly joyful, and completely free. It gave sanctuary to people who needed it most. That’s inherently political, even when (especially when) it’s wrapped in 4/4 beats and euphoria.
Today’s festival world is more corporate, more controlled. But artists like The Blessed Madonna remind us that the authentic heart of dance music is still beating. Walking away from a major gig to protect your values? That’s pure rave spirit right there.
The music that changed my life in those 90s warehouses taught me that real freedom means never compromising who you are. Seeing that same energy alive today gives me hope that the culture I fell in love with will keep inspiring new generations.
Sometimes the most political thing you can do is refuse to be silenced. Respect. 🙌
The electronic music world rarely sees an artist willing to sacrifice a major headlining performance on principle, but The Blessed Madonna proved she’s anything but ordinary when she pulled out of Boardmasters Festival in August 2025.
