Forwards Festival

by Pascale Loftus.

The Festival:

Forwards Festival is relatively new to the circuit but has fast become a highlight on Bristol’s vibrant cultural calendar, having launched only two years ago. Hosted on the Clifton Downs, it brings together a diverse mix of live music, talks and experiences, with a line-up of up-and-coming artists from Bristol and beyond, alongside some more established names. The festival is a collaboration between Team Love, the creators behind the festival Love Saves The Day, and AEG Presents, one of the world’s largest entertainment companies.

With a focus on sustainability, inclusivity, and social justice, Forwards Festival is carving out a spot for itself as one of the city’s most forward-thinking events. Team Love describe Forwards as a ‘Bristol love-affair’ in their sustainability report, proudly declaring that the majority of traders, site team and crew hail from the city. Just over a third of artists are Bristol-born too! We were delighted to attend the festival, as press, to give the Squarely scoop on the weekend.

The Music:

Having been kindly welcomed and steered towards the bar, we settled into the press tent to lay out the line-up and a plan for the day. Where once Forwards Festival grouped together Charli XCX, Shygirl and Fred Again, this year we were treated to a smorgasbord of LCD Soundsystem, CMAT, Greentea Peng, Floating Points, Loyle Carner and The Jesus and Mary Chain. This year’s line-up was neither mine nor Squarely designer Lauren’s cup of tea on the whole, with Lauren lamenting the lack of rock and me needing just a bit more of a boogie. However, we were optimistic and looking forwards to standouts such as Greentea Peng, Hak Baker and Yard Act, who absolutely did not disappoint.

Whilst there was something slightly jarring about bouncing from Four Tet to Loyle Carner, the seemingly nonsensical timetable of performances did work – like dipping fries in a milkshake, it was so wrong yet so right. Once you got over the sudden shift in tone there was something quite refreshing about being pulled from genre-to-genre, never quite settling into a single sound. Having seen Loyle Carner perform years ago, I was unsure about his billing as a headline. Don’t get me wrong, I love him. Previous years saw the likes of Jamie XX and Aphex Twin, and I just couldn’t picture Loyle Carner’s soft-spoken verses commanding a crowd in the same way. I now, however, hold my hands up in shame. He was the perfect pick. From his encores of spoken-word poetry to his frequent fawning over Bristol, it was magical watching one man single-handedly charm an entire sea of people. You could almost feel the city blush when he admitted, “It’s a crazy job, I get to play everywhere but Bristol’s always been a special place. Don’t tell London.” In the words of the woman behind me, ‘what a lovely man.’

His performance was energetic, engaging and, despite a relatively slow catalogue of songs, he was adept at keeping the crowd going through to the end of the festival. In a move that probably made the Forwards Festival marketing team swoon, he ended his set (after two encores) by calling for us to “take these words and go forwards, go forwards, go forwards.”

Day two was blighted by storms and torrential rain, meaning performances like CMAT’s were temporarily paused, but the energy stayed high. Whilst golden oldies Baxter Dury and The Jesus and Mary Chain disappointed in their dreary performances, CMAT and Jessie Ware cut through the mist and rain to reinvigorate the crowd.

CMAT was hellbent on having a good time despite the rain, even rushing the stage later during Yard Act’s lively performance with Bristol’s very own KJ Pearson. There’s something special about a penned-in group of Brits (and Irish, sorry CMAT) being absolutely pummelled by the elements and just not caring. I’d take seeing a whirlwind of leopard print hotpants pull a dishevelled James Smith off the stage by his ankles over a bit of sunshine any day.

The Food:

Arguably the most important element of any festival, the food certainly did not disappoint. Whilst we were lucky enough to tuck into a fair few of the traders’ menus, one absolutely stole the show; the birria tacos from Gourmet Warriors.

Operating out of Easton’s Plough Inn by day, by night the team follow the festival circuit, serving up fresh and delicious tacos to revellers around the Southwest. The birria tacos were fall-apart, melt-in-the-mouth, drippy messes of deliciousness, certain to satisfy even the most discerning festival foodie. The perfect mix of filling, flavourful and filthy, they just might be my death row meal.

Sustainability:

With the tagline, ‘A festival in Bristol, for the future’, it would be hard not to mention Team Love’s dedication to sustainability, particularly at Forwards Festival. When the Main Stage screens weren’t warning of severe weather, they showed videos educating punters on the climate-forward initiatives being undertaken, including zero-waste policies for traders. As ‘Vision: 2025’ members, Forwards intend to significantly reduce their climate impact with several pledges written out on their site including the development and publication of a net zero strategy by next year. Their transparency in processes and consistent sustainability messages can only have helped Forwards to solidify itself as a staple of a Bristol summer, resonating with the city’s young people and creatives.

Photography:

Our cover image is by the talented Irene Haro, who attended the festival with Big Team, a sister venture of Team Love that helps young people from underrepresented backgrounds get involved in events and the creative industries. Big Team selected young creatives from Bristol to attend, capture front-row images, and learn from industry professionals.

Haro, a Spanish photographer based in Bristol, specialises in live music stills, transforming electric performances into intimate tableaus. Our cover image of Greentea Peng is a prime example of this skill—an unstaged, mid-performance portrait that suspends the moment in time. Her nostalgic colour grading reflects her thoughtful eye for aesthetics.

Haro has worked with festivals like Love Saves the Day, DanceCorp, Bs24/7 and Forwards.

Find more of Haro’s work on Instagram @irenehacefotos.