High Water Festival returned to Riverfront Park in North Charleston, South Carolina last weekend, and it once again proved why it remains such a destination outside of the larger, mainstream festival ecosystem.

Headlined by the likes of Lord Huron, Arcade Fire, Mt. Joy and Counting Crows, the two-day East Coast event curated by the duo Shovels & Rope returned after a mammoth showing last year when Noah Kahan and Hozier headlined. And while it was unlikely the stars could align so perfectly as they did last year, this year's show provided plenty of big moments in its own right.

The 2025 lineup featured a number of standout acts, including The Backseat Lovers, flipturn, Julien Baker (who appeared at the inaugural fest in 2017) and Torres, Waxahatchee, Wild Rivers, Joy Oladokun, Medium Build, The War and Treaty, Goldie Boutilier, Darren Kiely, Gigi Perez, Ethan Tasch and Easy Honey.

See photos from High Water Fest 2025 below, by Summer Compton.