Our official 2019 Bristol Festival Guide
Posted on: 04 Mar 2019Nothing encapsulates Bristol's legendary music scene quite like its array of top-notch festivals, and the city's favourite events are coming back with a bang in 2019. From Love Saves The Day and Tokyo World representing the city's affinity for electronic and dance music to the Jazz and Blues Festival for the more refined music lovers in the area, there truly is something for everyone when it comes to Bristol's festival calendar. Check out a quick rundown of our picks of the bunch below, as well as lineup details, ticket information and more.
Bristol International Jazz & Blues Festival // Friday 22nd-Sunday 24th March
Taking place every year across one weekend in March, Bristol's celebrated International Jazz & Blues Festival repeatedly attracts some of the world's best and most respected musicians to perform on some of the city's favourite stages. There's not much to this one aside from a genuine, all-encompassing passion and love for music from all those involved, making it - in our collective opinion at least - by far one of the best and most unique events on the Bristol calendar. With usual venue Colston Hall currently closed for renovations, performances from sax icon Pee Wee Ellis, dynamic vocalist China Moses, esteemed blues purist Lucky Peterson and many more will take place at St George's, Anson Rooms and the O2 Academy.
Rave On Avon // Saturday 18th May
Rave On Avon is a truly unique dance music festival. Not only does it provide a platform to Bristol's huge array of renowned local DJs, labels and promoters, it makes use of some of Stokes Croft's most iconic club venues and pays genuine homage to the city's historic club culture. Taking place for the last time this year amid the closure of Blue Mountain and imminent sale and redevelopment of much of the Stokes Croft area, Rave On Avon 2019 is sure to be one of the biggest and best yet, with organisers and punters 100% dedicated to give the beloved multi-venue festival a fitting send-off after eleven years of breathing life into one of the most culturally vibrant areas in Bristol.
Love Saves The Day // Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th May
Back in 2019 for the eighth edition of the festival, Love Saves The Day has gone from strength to strength since starting out as a one-day event back in 2012. The eclectic two-day spectacular has already announced a massive lineup for this year including Lily Allen, Maribou State, Chase & Status, Peggy Gou, Bonobo, Goldie, David Rodigan, Midland and more, with several artists (and a very special main stage act) still to be unveiled. If previous years are anything to go by, with Fat Freddy's Drop, Dizzee Rascal, Loyle Carner, Fatboy Slim and many more acclaimed artists having graced the stages in the past, you can rest assured that the LSTD team will be coming through with one of the biggest Bristol parties of the year on the May Bank Holiday weekend.
.PNG "Love Saves The Day in Eastville Park, Bristol.")
Dot To Dot Festival // Saturday 25th May
Dot To Dot is back in 2019, taking over Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham once more to showcase some of the UK's most exciting upcoming musical talent at the best-loved independent venues in the three cities. Widely regarded as the best event in the UK for unearthing the country's best new artists, previous years lineups have included the likes of Ed Sheeran, The XX, Florence and the Machine, Mumford and Sons, Dua Lipa, Frank Turner, Jake Bugg and many, many more acts that have since firmly established themselves in the mainstream. Among the venues taking part in the Bristol leg of Dot To Dot 2019 are SWX, Thekla, The Fleece, The Louisiana, Rough Trade and Hy-Brasil.
Glastonbury // Wednesday 26th-Sunday 30th June
Glastonbury, as the name suggests, isn't strictly a Bristol festival, but no Westcountry festival list would be complete without it. Arguably the world's most famous music festival, Glastonbury is the standard-setter for festivals across the globe and attracts close to 200,000 music fans from all walks of life to the vast site on Worthy Farm. Following a year out in 2018 to allow the site to recover, tickets were very, very hard to come by this year, but those lucky enough to get their hands on one can expect an experience like no other.
Love International // Wednesday 3rd-Wednesday 10th July
Again, this one isn't technically a Bristol event, but with Bristol party starters Team Love at the helm it's sure to be a festival to remember. Taking place on the sunny shores of Tisno, Croatia, this year's Love International will be welcoming the likes of Ben UFO, Joy Orbison, Peggy Gou, Midland, Andrew Weatherall and many more for a week-long showcase of some of the best electronic music on the planet. Bristol artists Shanti Celeste, Ellie Stokes and Dave Harvey will all be playing this year, making Love International more than worthy of a spot on a rundown of Bristol festivals.
St Paul's Carnival // Saturday 6th July
Back for its second year in a row after returning in 2018 - much to the dismay of several angry mums on the Bristol's Post's comments section - is the much-loved St Paul's Carnival. The carnival draws crowds of thousands to the vibrant St Paul's area for a full day of incredible music, dancing, delicious food and drink and much more in a true celebration of community. From humble beginnings in 1968, St Paul's Carnival has evolved over the years to become one of Europe's favourite street-based spectacles of Afro-Caribbean culture.
Bristol Harbour Festival // Friday 19th-Sunday 21st July
Attracting crowds of up to 100,000 people across the event every year, the Bristol Harbour Festival is certainly the city's biggest. It takes place on the famous Harbourside and hosts everything from live music to maritime shows, family-friendly activities to fantastic food stalls. The musical lineup is always one to watch, with the likes of Loyle Carner, Roots Manuva, the Outlook Orchestra, Jimmy Cliff, Grandmaster Flash and many more performing on several stages over the years. This year's lineup is yet to be revealed, so keep your eyes on the Harbour Festival website for updates.
The Downs Festival // Saturday 31st August
No strangers to big bookings, festival connoisseurs Team Love have pulled out all the stops to bring yet another showstopping lineup to The Downs this year. Expect the very best in R&B, soul, UK hip-hop, punk, funk and more from the likes of Ms Lauryn Hill, Grace Jones, Loyle Carner, IDLES, Neneh Cherry, The High Contrast Band, Nightmares On Wax and Crazy P. The sheer variety of the 2019 lineup and scale of the bookings make it unlike any other event you'll find in Bristol, so you can be that we've got our alarms set for the ticket release on Friday 8th March.
Tokyo World // Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd September
Tokyo World has cemented its place as a Bristol favourite among students, with new arrivals and returning students making up most of the 20,000-strong crowd at Eastville Park every year. Organisers expanded the festival into a two-day event last year, with over 100 artists expected to perform this time around. Another huge crowd is expected to turn out at Tokyo World this year, as the festival showcases some of the world's best dance music across six stages and enough variety to cater for a huge range of musical tastes. Running from midday to 10pm on each day, the festival also organises official after-parties at Motion, meaning you're not left wanting when the lights come up at the end of the day. Acts for 2019 are yet to be announced - check out the Tokyo World Facebook page to follow updates.
Simple Things // Date TBC
Another multi-venue Bristol festival, Simple Things brings an unrivalled variety of artists to the city to perform on some of Bristol's favourite stages. With an impressive mix of established and upcoming artists, last year's Simple Things saw the festival split into separate day and night programmes, a move which was widely praised by fans. After a 2018 festival that hosted huge sets from techno icon Helena Hauff, Detroit electro maestro DJ Stingray, Henry Wu's latest acclaimed jazz project Kamaal Williams and much more, it'll be hard to top this time around. The notoriously secretive organisers haven't revealed any details as yet, but keep an eye out on Facebook.
For more information or to book your tickets to any of the events above, just follow the links to the respective sites. Have we missed any Bristol-based music festivals from this list? Let us know! Contact us directly through our website, or send us a message on Facebook.
Article by:
Editor - 365Bristol.com & LOUD Magazine
Matt is a Journalism graduate and writer, passionate about supporting Bristol music, art and independent business. Get in touch via email at matt@365bristol.com.
