De La Soul
Hip hop legends De La Soul will headline this year’s Brisfest alongside Hawkwind, Beardyman and Roni Size, as the festival returns to its spiritual home of Ashton Court.
The line-up, revealed this morning, features more than 300 acts representing the best musical talent from the South West including Babyhead, Laid Blak and Dr Meaker.
There will be 11 stages managed by the likes of BBC Introducing, Jelli Records, Nokia (Wi-Fi), The Gryphon and Remix.
But it is Grammy Award-winning New York trio De La Soul which will be the star attraction, widely recognised as being one of the most influential hip hop acts of all time.
It is also the first year that Brisfest has included a major international headliner on its line-up.
Brisfest Director, Poppy Stephenson, said: “We’ve grown steadily since 2008 and we’re now in a position to make the big move to Ashton Court, and take the next step in terms of booking an international headliner.
“We’re also giving local acts – up and coming and established – the opportunity to share a stage, so to speak, with De La Soul. This enables us to showcase the best artists from Bristol and the South West by placing them alongside a big international act.
“We’re extremely lucky to have a diverse and thriving music scene in Bristol and we’re proud to provide a showcase for the talent it produces at Brisfest. It’s going to be an amazing party in September!”
The group is aiming for 20,000 people to turn up for the event over two days, which will be held on the weekend of September 22 and 23. The festival announced its move from the harbourside to Ashton Court in January.
The annual event, thought to be Britain’s biggest free festival attracting up to 60,000 people, had run since 1974 but went bankrupt in 2007.
The event predominantly promoted local artists, but in later years saw the addition of top UK acts headlining, including Portishead, Feeder, Robert Plant, The Stranglers, Kosheen, Super Furry Animals, Roni Size, Plan B and Simple Minds.
BrisFest began the following year as a two-day event, attended by some 14,000 people. The festival expanded to three days in 2009 and 2010, when visitor numbers grew to 16,000. About 25,000 people attended the event in 2011.
“Ticket sales have been busy since we announced our move to Ashton Court in January and releasing this line-up, with De La Soul top of the bill, puts us on course for a sell-out event,” Ms Stephenson added.
To see the full line-up and to buy tickets visit www.brisfest.co.uk. Tickets are priced at £31 plus booking fee for a weekend ticket.
