A UK festival at the back end of August can be a dicey proposition. After a summer spent on the circuit, there’s always a danger that, with the early autumn finishing line in sight, both artists and fans will be running low on stamina, those May/June levels of optimism a distant memory. And, of course, the British weather plays by its own rules at the best of times, let alone in the week before the kids go back to school.
Bristol’s Forwards festival, though, has a lot going for it. Now in its fourth year, its line-ups have consistently been strong, veering towards the ‘credible’ side of the musical spectrum. There’s no camping, either, which means there’s none of that ‘when will this thing be over?’ feeling you sometimes get when you’ve spent three days in a tent next to someone who thinks they’re doing you a favour by blasting out ‘90s trance at 5am every morning. Everyone smells a bit better, too.
