Music festival crowd
There’s barely a weekend which goes by over the summer without some sort of festival in Bristol. Everyone knows about the big ones – St Paul’s Carnival and Bristol Harbour Festival – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg; here are our top 10 tips for music festivals in Bristol this year (in date order)…
Bristol Folk Festival
A must for folk fans, this fairly recent addition to the Bristol festival calendar has been going from strength to strength – naming nu-folk impressario Seth Lakeman as its Patron, championing folk awards and hosting some of the most magnetising music this side of the Atlantic. Centred around the Colston Hall, and offering camping of sorts in a nearby church, Bristol Folk Festival will undoubtedly sell out. Taking place on May 5-7, the festival has revealed a line up which includes Show of Hands, Cara Dillon, Afro Celt Soundsystem, Karine Polwart, 3 Daft Monkeys, Amy Wadge & Pete Riley, Under The Driftwood Tree, Joe Tilston and more. Day tickets start at £30 from www.bristolfolkfestival.com
Simple Things
After the success of the first Simple Things Festival, this day-long (and night of course) festival brings some of the hottest new indie and electro talent to Bristol, on Sunday May 6. With six venues, eight stages and 60 artists you’re bound to come away with a cache of new music to check out. The line-up includes Squarepusher, Death In Vegas, Simian Mobile Disco, Ghostpoet, Factory Floor, Three Trapped Tigers, Male Bonding, Hooded Fang, Stealing Sheep, Gaggle, Tall Ships, Errors and more, plus a DJ set from Caribou – and every time you look at the bill, you spot some other amazing act. Tickets start at £30, from www.simplethingsfestival.co.uk
VegFest
What’s that? The world’s biggest vegan event? Don’t let the premise put you carnivores off, here we have another decent Bristol festival – which attracts some equally decent bands and musicians (as well as the predictable fare of delicious vegetarian and vegan food). The sister festival of VegFest Brighton, the Bristol offering takes place on May 25-27. With Finley Quaye, Neville Staple (The Specials) and Johnny Clarke headlining this FREE event, you’d be foolish to miss it. Other acts confirmed are Bristol’s Talisman, Dub Mafia and Baraka. More information at http://bristol.vegfest.co.uk/
Dot to Dot
Bristol’s best citywide indie music festival takes place in all the top venues in town, including The Thekla, The Fleece and The O2 Academy. With sister festivals in Nottingham and Manchester, Bristol folk get to enjoy the acts first as the date for this year’s Bristol Dot 2 Dot is Saturday June 2 (Diamond Jubilee Weekend). Headlined by The Drums and Pulled Apart By Horses, whose Bristol gig earlier this year was utterly brilliant, as well as Neon Indian, Willy Mason, Lucy Rose, Dog Is Dead, Admiral Fallow and Summer Camp the festival also helps introduce you to lesser known acts; ones to watch this year include Turbowolf, Beth Jeans Houghton and Kyla La Grange. Tickets start at £20 from www.dottodotfestival.tumblr.com
Love Saves The Day
A brand new festival for Bristol, this one harnesses all that is vibrant about the city’s music and dance scene and brings it all together in this one-day festival. Taking place at Castle Park on Sunday June 3 (Diamond Jubilee Weekend) this one’s expected to attract thousands of people – and with a line up which includes the awesome Annie Mac, Roots Manuva, Joker, Bonobo, Babyhead, Mr Scruff, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and more, banging just ain’t even the word! And what festival would be complete without a set from Bristol pensioner supremo DJ Derek?! Tickets start at £29.50 from www.lovesavestheday.org
Bristol Harbour Festival
A lynchpin of the summer calendar in Bristol, the annual harbour festival turns the already bustling harbourside area into one big extravaganza. Taking place on July 20-22, this multi-venue event showcases music, theatre, art and more. Full details are yet to be announced, but if previous years are anything to go by, you can expect some top quality local music at the Grain Barge and The Louisiana (among others), some cutting edge street performance in Queen’s and Millennium Square and of course water displays and grand olf visiting boats. See our photo review of Bristol Harbour Festival 2011 here. More information at www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk
WOMAD at Bristol Zoo
After the success of last year’s event, WOMAD returns to Bristol Zoo for another evening of world-class music in the surrounds of everyone’s favourite city zoo. With two stages of music, workshops for children, a Bath Ales bar and plenty of decent grub, this family friendly event gives you the opportunity to see the zoo in a new light. Musical acts already confirmed include the jaw-dropping Bristol girl-group The Bozettes and the multi-instrumental Spiro. This year’s event takes place on Saturday June 30, with tickets starting at £20 for adults from www.bristolzoo.org.uk
Redfest
One of the lesser known Bristol offerings (possibly as it doesn’t take place in the City Centre), is Redfest. The arts and music, which takes place in Redfield/St George from August 2-4, has been going for several years now and embraces local talent. Spread across several venues, including Grounded Cafe, the Red Lion and Fire Engine pubs, Redfest (nothing to do with New Labour per se) also spills into the fantastic St George Park on Saturday August 4 for a music all-dayer with live acts and DJs – acts tbc though last year’s offerings included Bristol favourites Schnauser and Neotropics. More information at www.redfestbristol.co.uk
BrisFest
Returning to the spiritual home of Bristol festivals, this year’s BrisFest will take place in the grand surroundings of Ashton Court (just over the other side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge) on September 22 – 23 (see previous article). As the event is one of the last of the summer, the full line up is yet to be unveiled but previous years have seen the likes of The Correspondants, The Blue Aeroplanes, DJ Cheeba, Dub Pistols, The Heavy, Phantom Limb and pretty much any other Bristol band of note. As the name suggests, this celebrates all that is great about Bristol music and with its new (old) venue this year looks set to be better than ever. Weekend tickets cost £31.43 from www.brisfest.co.uk
St Pauls Carnival - CANCELLED
The infamous St Pauls Carnival is due to take place on July 7, but financial concerns mean that the future of the event is under threat. Bristol legend Roni Size is fronting a fundraising event for the festival this weekend, read more about that here. At the very least, the carnival will inhabit the confines of Portland Square, though there will be no after-hours soundsystems or fairground rides. However, you can still expect a colourful display of multi-culturalism, top notch food stalls and quality music. This year’s theme is ‘independence’. More information at www.stpaulscarnival.co.uk
