Nine Inch Nails bring NOS Alive 2025 to a spellbinding close with epic sets from Muse, Justice & more

15 July 2025, 09:33 | Updated: 15 July 2025, 14:26

Nine Inch Nails, Muse, Amyl and the Sniffers and The Wombats were among the acts at NOS Alive 2025. Picture: 1. Sara Hawk 2. Matilde Fieschi 3. Matilde Fieschi 4. Jose Fernandes, 5. Sara Hawk

By Jenny Mensah

The Portuguese festival, which took place from 10th - 12th July this year, included memorable performances from Olivia Rodrigo, CMAT, The Wombats, Amyl and the Sniffers, Jet, St. Vincent, Bright Eyes and more.

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Nine Inch Nails closed an epic installment of NOS Alive 2025.

The Portuguese festival - which takes place at Lisbon's Passeio Marítimo de Algés - welcomed revellers from all over the world for its 17th edition, which delivered a varied line-up of acts from the across the world of music, comedy and entertainment.

The three-day event kicked off on Thursday 10th July with an impressive headline performance from Olivia Rodrigo, who - not long since her Glastonbury Festival set - drew in one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, proving the undeniable potency of her angst-riddled rock-pop.

Olivia Rodrigo at NOS ALive 2025. Picture: Hugo Macedo

Day two saw Girl In Red open the NOS stage, followed by The Wombats, who valiantly replaced Sam Fender at short notice after he sadly hemorrhaged his vocal cord.

After apologising to fans for not being the Geordie rocker, Matthew 'Murph' Murphy dedicated their Moving To New York track to the North Shields singer, who'd once told them he liked the single.

The Liverpool-formed rockers treated fans to a 16-song set, ending with their enduring hit Let's Dance To Joy Division, which came complete with an on-stage invasion from their crew in Wombat suits!

The Wombats at NOS Alive 2025. Picture: Sara Hawk

Justice took to the stage ahead of Friday night headliner ANYMA, bringing a rave to the NOS Alive Stage, which was so visually dazzling, it literally came with a warning.

They went on to treat fans to an impressive set, which included their undeniable bangers D.A.N.C.E, Genesis and Phantom Pt. II as well as their indie sleaze dancefloor filler We Are Your Friends amidst the impressive light show, which saw lasers curated across the stage and shoot across the crowd.

Justice perform at NOS Alive 2025. Picture: Tomi Cornio

Elsewhere, The Tesky Brothers and FINNEAS welcomed heaving crowds at the Heineken Stage, as did St. Vincent - who enthralled the audience with a powerful 1am set, followed up by a dance party that went into the early hours, courtesy of British DJ and producer Sammy Virji.

St. Vincent performs at NOS Alive 2025. Picture: Jose Fernandes

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The third and final day of the festival was undoubtedly reserved for fans 'who like to rock', with sets from the likes of Jet and Amyl and The Sniffers, with a double header of Muse followed by Nine Inch Nails on the NOS Alive stage.

Matt Bellamy and co were not initially booked to play the festival, standing in for Kings of Leon, who's frontman Caleb Followill suffered a "freak accident" and broke his foot back in May, meaning the band had to axe some of their European dates this summer. However, with the crowds donning Muse t-shirts and holding signs up for the Devon trio, it was clear they were a welcome addition to the line-up.

Muse's Matt Bellamy at NOS Alive 2025. Picture: Matilde Fieschi

And, which was to be expected, band did anything but phone it in, playing a career-defining performance, which featured hits from across their nine studio albums, including Hysteria, Plug In Baby, Time Is Running Out and Supermassive Black Hole- accompanied by ticker tape and pyrotechnics galore!

Muse let the ticker tape fly during their NOS Alive 2025 set. Picture: Tomi Cornio

A poignant moment came from bassist Chris Wolstenholme, who paid tribute to Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota, the Liverpool F.C star who tragically died in a car crash at just 28 years old earlier this month.

After playing Ennio Morricone's Man With a Harmonica intro, he turned his back to the stage to reveal his 21 Liverpool football shirt bore the late footballer's name on the back - a touching move, which was applauded by the crowd.

Muse bassist Chris Wolstenholme wears Liverpool F.C. shirt with Diogo Jota on the back. Picture: Matilde Fieschi

The band ended their 20-track set with their uplifting 2006 single, Starlight, as fireworks shot into the Portuguese night sky.

Muse - Starlight at NOS Alive 2025

Incredibly, that wasn't the end of the glittering night, which still had a full headline performance to come from Trent Reznor and co. It was a quarter past midnight when Nine Inch Nails finally took to the stage as planned, opening their set with Somewhat Damaged - the album opener from their 1999 album The Fragile.

Next came Wish from their 1992 debut EP Broken, followed by 1994's Mr. Self Destruct and March of the Pigs.

Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor NOS Alive 2025. Picture: Sara Hawk

If Muse's set had bells and whistles, then Nine Inch Nails' was certainly more dark and sultry, as Trent Reznor and co delivered their brand of industrial rock to the masses.

As they rattled through their 18-song-set, it seemed as if the band were totally at ease on the stage, content to be considered elder statesmen of their genre, despite still looking and sounding completely in their prime.

Their show also included NIN's take of David Bowie's I'm Afraid of Americans - taken from the late icon's 1994 Earthling album - which Reznor remixed for a special maxi-single for and has long performed and been associated with.

Nine Inch Nails ad Nos Alive 2025. Picture: Sarah Hawk

Big singalong moments came from the band's performance of the subversive anthem Closer from 1994's The Downward Spiral alongside 2005 anthem The Hand That Feeds and Head Like A Hole, taken from 1989's Pretty Hate Machine.

Their scintillating set ended on a haunting rendition of NIN's poignant '90s tear-jerker, Hurt - made immortal by Johnny Cash's cover in 2002 - which saw Trent Reznor send their fans off into the night entertained and entranced in equal measure.