Features / Best of Bristol 2019
Best of Bristol 2019: Festivals
These are Bristol24/7’s festivals of 2019:
1. The Downs Festival
Idles played a triumphant homecoming show; Grace Jones hula-hooped in between her four costume changes; and Lauryn Hill turned up on time and turned in a fantastic performance which drew heavily from her landmark Misseducation… album. The third annual Downs Festival was the best one yet.
Former Fugees lead singer Lauryn Hill performed at The Downs
2. Festival of the Future City
Featuring more than 200 speakers and performers, this year’s agenda-setting Festival of the Future City confirmed the event’s reputation as a world leader in examining the problems facing cities and their development. And as an innovative, ambitious platform for showcasing solutions and ideas via a multitude of disciplines, art forms and points of view, it remains unrivalled.
Festival of the Future City put on more 200 speakers and performers in 2019
3. FarmFest
After a brief break and a leg stretch last year, FarmFest was back and bigger than ever. Pitched up in the rolling Somerset landscape and bursting at the seams with heaps of Bristol talent, the lineup was diverse with plenty of jazz, funk, pop and an abundance of DJs till the early hours. It’s incredibly close to home – you’d be daft not to check out this family-friendly affair.
FarmFest was the ultimate family-friendly festival
4. Love Saves The Day
With sun shining and the weather sweet: it was the perfect setting for another sold-out Love Saves the Day. Rays bounced off glittered faces that bobbed in the crowds.There was Paradiso with crowd pleasers Ross From Friends, local trio French Kiss at Cocktails & Dreams and teenage favourite, Lily Allen – and yes, we sung our hearts out, knowing every word to every song as if 2006 was only yesterday.
Love Saves the Day returned to Eastville Park for its eighth annual festival
5. Simple Things
Simple Things offered so much and left me wanting to go back round again, mainly for the immersive conceptual experiences that you don’t get in Bristol every Saturday, stirring the senses like you’ve stepped into a multi-angled, parallel version of a familiar city centre.
Simple Things was the perfect escape
Read more: Best of Bristol 2019: Music
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