Reviews / Forwards 2025
Review: Forwards 2025 – ‘Rosy cheeks and flailing arms’
Forwards may only be four summers old, but it’s got all the gravitas of a seasoned veteran.
With a storied roll call including Charli XCX, Four Tet and Erykah Badu this has fast become a weekend of surefire stars and sublime energy.
This time around, the Saturday party started in earnest with the first absurdity: Gloucestershire duo and patrons of ‘improvised chaos’, Mermaid Chunky. It’s fluorescent, swirling, electronic silliness for the early birds. Imagine Mr. Motivator on some sort of benevolent psychedelic.
is needed now More than ever
Shortly after, Ishmael Ensemble open with ethereal sax before shifting into full-blown electronic jazz. The curved cymbals and metronomic hi-hat offer tightness to even the fuzziest, noisiest interludes.
Bristol artist Bethany Ley joined local heroes Ishmael Ensemble on harp
The homegrown ensemble are joined by the lush harp and strings of the Rituals Orchestra, then by Grove who raps and cajoles the crowd. Ezekiel is a standout tune that starts slow, swells steadily, and culminates in a funky dance track.
Katy Jay Pearson’s driving pop hits reverberate across the West stage as I peruse the day’s flavours. Kotthu Roti is a winning selection. Let’s hear it for chopped bread and shredded veggies.
Let’s also hear it for Happy Mondays. Their energy hasn’t dimmed. It’s indie meets acid house meets stand-up routine, with Shaun Ryder reading the setlist and letting loose his rambling thoughts. Can he recall the year any of the tracks were released? Can he heck! A fabulous frazzled brain with great command over the spoken word.
There’s a powerful female vocalist to keep things soaring, and just how iconic is Bez? He gives “a shout out to all the grandads out there” and never falters from that sauntering hypemanship.
Hits like Step On and Twenty Four Hour Party People draw roars from a BIG crowd. Those maracas needn’t be mic’d up.
Happy Mondays: still got it
The sizzling sun sets forth some shade-seeking in the mid PM, so the audience is smaller than expected for Mercury-prize-winning English Teacher.
Theirs is a nonchalant brand of indie rock, complete with the throb of brilliant bass interludes, layers of synthy melodies and lyrics that flick from forlorn to defiant at the drop of a hat.
It’s a testament to the stacked bill that mid-afternoon slots are adorned by such emerging royalty. Last year’s electric set from Yussef Dayes also comes to mind.
Forwards pulls in huge acts, including Mercury Prize winners, even for its afternoon slots
Forwards opts to schedule sets so that as one act finishes on the East stage you can rush West to catch the bulk of the next. In theory this gives you the chance to catch nigh-on every artist, but in practice it fuels a wave of humanity bouncing back and forth.
The busier it becomes, the harder it gets, and all you need is one major delay to throw the whole shebang off-kilter.
So the point remains: day festivals are a veritable lesson in decision-making. Being torn is commonplace and mild regret is inevitable.
For example, I’d like to have seen Orbital — to witness their tantalising compositions bleed into improv. I’d like to have made it to the ‘Information’ tent, where scores of people absorb wisdom and swerve the incessant rays. Alas.
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Annie Mac does Annie Mac things at debut dance tent, the Arches. It’s an uplifting example of exemplary pacing. Right tune, right time, and the place is abuzz.
We’ve got two-stepping works of art from Jamie XX’s latest record, sweeping segues, and stone-cold classics like the Bucketheads’ These Sounds Fall Into My Mind.
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Confidence Man have stacked up a repertoire of toe-tapping, jovial heaters in the past few years. The faceless drummer and DJ keep the rhythm but give the floor to Janet Planet and Sugar Bones’ high-energy prancing.
Shades of nostalgia in their quintessential sunshine electro pop, with tunes like I CAN’T LOSE YOU harking back to your Cascadas and Basshunters of yesteryear.
Now U Do is the sort of viral content magnet you sense they strive to create. It’s rosy cheeks, stark dehydration and flailing arms out there.
Janet Planet and Sugar Bones put on an exuberant show that matches the high energy of Australian Confidence Man’s tunes
DELICACY INTERLUDE: Sometimes the hard work done by those first three cool sips of beer is duly undone by the warming, flattening remainder. Enter Moth cocktails for 10 British pounds sterling. An Espresso Martini, please. Ice cubes galore. A tang. A lift.
And then there’s Bianchis. Would you expect anything less than perfection from that lot? Stonebaked Italian subs draw glowing testimonials and smiling, glistening lips from plenty of punters.
The West Stage sees things out with Ezra Collective putting in an absolute shift at sunset, and Barry Can’t Swim setting feet aflutter with his rich, textured dance tracks.
Both the London collective and Scottish producer give props to Bristol’s music scene and its role in their progress. Makes you proud to be a patron, doesn’t it just?
Barry Can’t Swim’s DJ set is augmented by a live band, bringing the festival’s Saturday to an impeccable close
As figureheads of the UK’s jazz renaissance, Ezra Collective blend afrobeat, calypso, and infectious instrumental covers into a constant groove. God Gave Me Feet For Dancing is a firm favourite, as is clap-along banger Ajala.
Between tracks, drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso commands the crowd with double-down optimism. His bassist brother TJ is the pulse. James Mollison’s sublime sax echoes across the parched field and Ife Ogunjobi gets feet shuffling every time that trumpet meets his lips.
Barry Can’t Swim smashes his headline slot as the sun dips, faces exude warmth, and lasers stretch out to countless swaying bodies on shoulders. It’s all lively and it’s all lovely, from the hypnotic refrain of Woman to the Latin flair of salsa-sampled Kimbara.
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Tunes like Sunsleeper and How It Feels aren’t just bona fide beats; they also showcase the producer’s proficiency on keys. And bringing musicians makes a huge difference — a DJ set wouldn’t cut through in the same way as those live drums on Sonder. A couple of violinists add delicious depth to trippy vocal loops and enchanting samples.
Across 2023 debut When Will We Land? and this year’s follow-up, Loner, what strikes most is the divine attention to detail. The Scot brings every ounce of that diligence to the stage. He’s in the business of bringing joy, and it’s a fitting finish to a doozy of a day.
Another big-hitting Saturday by all accounts. Forwards might be young but it’s already accomplished. And the name very much captures its trajectory.
All images: Sam Fletcher
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