Taking place on 31 August and 1 September, on the vibrant southwest city’s Clifton Downs, Forwards already boasts an esteemed collection of artists who’ve played there – and now, in just its third year, it can add even more significant names.
Wordsmith and rapper Loyle Carner will be headlining the Saturday, whilst Brooklyn dance-punk icons LCD Soundsystem will be headlining the Sunday.
Saturday will also see sets from Four Tet, Floating Points and Maribou State, whilst the subsequent day’s events will feature Yard Act, Jessie Ware, Baxter Dury and CMAT.
Pretty impressive, right? Well, inevitably, there’s more. Romy, Greentea Peng, Yussef Dayes, Hak Baker and Nubya Garcia are all also among the first wave of acts announced (I repeat, this is just the first wave).
And genre-spanning music isn’t the only thing Forwards offers; reflecting the progressive city it’s based, the festival is also home to social initiatives, talks and timely debates, local food and beverage provisions and a future thinking kids area.
Speaking about today’s announcement, Tom Paine, co-founder of the independent and “passionately Bristolian” event production company behind the event, has said: “Forwards is back for its third year, and we couldn’t be prouder.
“Each year it grows, evolves and delivers even more for the city of Bristol and beyond. From an international and genre-spanning music lineup to future thinking talks, initiatives and with a growing-in-popularity kids area, Forwards is the perfect day out for everyone.”
Last year, Forwards was headlined by Aphex Twin and Erykah Badu, whilst the year before that saw Jamie XX and The Chemical Brothers play out to a packed crowd on the Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
When the festival made its debut in 2022, whynow wrote in its review: “Bristol has a new festival on its doorstep. One it can be proud of, that speaks to its musical history. And the best part is: it’ll probably only get better.”
With another terrific wave of artists set to descend on the festival this year, it’s hard to argue with that.
What’s more, there’s still plenty more names to be announced down the line.
Tickets are on pre-sale from 10am on Tuesday, 5 March and general sale is 10am on Wednesday, 6 March – and visit the festival’s site for more information and to buy tickets.
Forwards Festival 2024 lineup (so far):
Saturday
Loyle Carner
Four Tet
Maribou State | Floating Points
Romy | Greentea Peng | Yussef Dayes
Nubya Garcia | Hak Baker | Mrcy | Jersey
Sunday
LCD Soundsystem
Jessie Ware
Yard Act | Baxter Dury | CMAT
Crazy P | Holysseus Fly
Da Fuchaman & The Fire Blaze Band
