The announcement of the new Forwards festival on Clifton Downs marks an exciting new era for Bristol’s music scene but also the end of another chapter.
Since 2016, The Downs Festival has been a permanent date in the diaries of the city’s festivalgoers, with appearances from a wide range of global and local acts.
Over the past six years, The Downs Festival has provided plenty of great memories for people attending the two-day event, usually in the first week of September.
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For many, the first Downs Festival in 2016 will be forever etched in the memory - and for reasons other than the brilliant music.
The headliners for the debut event were local heroes Massive Attack, with support from Primal Scream, Skepta and Savages.
But the weather was not on the side of the first festival and torrential downpours me0ant that music fans were soaked to the skin by the time Massive Attack had started their biggest hometown show for years.
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The weather was a lot kinder the following year when the 2017 line-up included De La Soul, Mike Skinner and Seasick Steve.
But it wasn’t without incident and many people will certainly recall the moment a naked fan climbed on stage when headline act Elbow were just two songs into their set.
Much to the surprise and delight of the crowd, the naked stage streaker danced with frontman Guy Garvey during The Bones of You before being whisked away by security.
In 2018, The Downs Festival was headlined by Oasis star Noel Gallagher with his new band High Flying Birds and Paul Weller, who also appeared together on stage for one song.
Also on the bill were The Heavy, Goldie and Basement Jaxx, although this was the year when many fans complained about the lengthy queues for toilets and a distinct lack of bins, meaning an extra job for the litter-picking team the morning after.
Due to the pandemic, The Downs Festival didn’t take place in 2020 or 2021 so the last one was over the bank holiday weekend of 2019.
Bristol’s rising stars Idles and 80s pop icon Grace Jones headlined along with Irish post-punk band Fontaines D.C. and American rapper Lauryn Hill.
Now replaced by Forwards, and with a line-up promising The Chemical Brothers, Jamie xx, Sleaford Mods and others, it looks like The Downs Festival will be consigned to the Bristol festival history books alongside the Ashton Court Festival.
But for co-founder Tom Paine, the success of The Downs Festival has paved the way for the Forwards festival, which he will be heavily involved with now.
“The first year of the Downs Festival will certainly go down in history as a seminal moment for Bristol,” says Tom.
“It was the first time the Downs had been used for a concert in over 15 years and the first time Massive Attack had played the city of many, many years. To then sell the show out within two hours of tickets going on sale was unreal.
“It had taken a number of years to get that show on the road so we were all really proud of what we had created for Bristol.”
Tom says there have been many highlights over the years of The Downs Festival and he’s proud that he and his team achieved everything they set out to.
“The Downs Festival was the first of its kind in that spot, which introduced a whole new generation of people to one of the most stunning areas of Bristol.
“We had some amazing moments and artists like Grace Jones bringing her inimitable performance to the stage, as well as Lauryn Hill and Idles on the same bill, which was a personal highlight for lots of the team.
“We’ve also had some great local talent showcased on The Information stage. We felt like we raised the bar with our sustainability agenda through the festival but there's always more to do as organisers and as the wider industry on that.”
And there have been plenty of other memorable moments, on stage and backstage.
“Grace Jones asking for a buggy to be driven to the stage under a cloak from the dressing room was definitely a funny moment, as was the streaker on stage with Elbow.
“I also remember every single person on Sunday singing Abba tunes with Bjorn Again - as organisers it’s all about those stories that everyone shares.
“But the rain during Massive Attack is hard to forget - it was biblical and added to the feeling of that being a seminal moment for Bristol.
“It felt like the perfect weather for the messages in their set about the threat of climate change and I don't think any of us will ever forget it.”
Looking ahead, Tom says Forwards will take Bristol to another level when it comes to festivals.
“Forwards, reflects where we are right now and what festivals need to do within the cultural landscape.
“We want our events to make a difference, bringing people together for debate. I think lockdown gave us all time to reflect and some perspective, with us all emerging ready to create things close to our personal values.
“This event is taking our foundations from The Downs Festival and, with our new partners AEG, securing the internationally renowned line-up that Bristol deserves, now and in the future.”
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