It's the tail end of the festival season now. Artists are normally exhausted from the extensive festival circuit while some will be preparing for autumn tours, but there was no absence of energy from the inaugural event of FORWARDS in Clifton over the weekend.
There was a hugely impressive roster of artists and speakers spread across three stages over Saturday and Sunday (September 3-4) on Durdham Down in Clifton, as organisers promised some of the best names on the international stage. Among some of the biggest names were The Chemical Brothers, Charlie XCX, Jamie xx, Little Simz, Khruangbin, Floating Points and Caribou.
Jointly run by AEG Presents and Team Love (of Love Saves the Day), the line up has been carefully curated with inclusivity at the core. There was truly something everyone could enjoy, with a brilliant kids' area offering entertainment throughout the weekend.
In pictures: Chemical Brothers bring new festival on the Downs to a close
It's a forward-thinking festival that brought Bristol-centric issues to be discussed in an open space. On Sunday, some of Bristol's Big Issue sellers were on site to sell copies of the publication. Among them was the legendary seller of Stoke's Croft, Jeffrey Knight, who was threatened with deportation at the beginning of the year, causing an outcry from the community.
This festival has certainly hit the ground running in its first year, with an incredible sequencing of acts across both days. Here are some of the top moments I discovered at Forwards:
The Chemical Brothers still reign supreme after three decades
After more than 30 years, this beloved electronic duo showed no signs of wavering as they played out the last night of Forwards. The Chemical Brothers are now considered a vintage act but proved why they're still selected time and time again as festival headliners each year.
Their Bristol main stage performance was a sensory overload, filled with lasers, immersive graphics on the big screens and giant dancing robots. It was the perfect tribute to their rich repertoire spanning three decades, starting their set with firm favourites 'Block Rockin' Beats', 'Go' and 'Hey Boy Hey Girl' and ending on 'Galvanise'.
Little Simz was in the moment
Fred again.. could have been on the main stage
The British producer has been on the scene for a while having worked with an impressive range of artists including Ed Sheeran, Eminem, FKA twigs, Underworld and Brian Eno. Now, it’s clear how popular Fred again.. is in his own right drawing a huge audience on Saturday afternoon.
When hit track ‘Marea (we’ve lost dancing)’, a poignant song about the loss of dancing and clubbing during Covid, festival goers were whipped into a trance. I’ve never seen so many people get up onto each other’s shoulders at once.
Fred again.. seemed touched by the support of his fans, even running overtime to play an extra song or two. “This is actually our last song now,” he promised at the end of his set.
Don’t expect the hits from Jamie xx
Jamie xx, of The xx fame, closed the show on Saturday with a non-stop 90-minute live DJ set where the artist remixed some of his lesser-known tracks. Those who have seen the London-based DJ live before will know this - there was just one song from his Grammy-nominated album In Colour, 'Gosh', which is always a crowd favourite.
I heard someone playing popular single 'Loud' on my way home from their phone, a song that didn't make it to the setlist, suggesting there may have been some disappointment that these tracks were missing on Saturday night's headline show. Nevertheless, the audience was entranced by his hypnotic set, which flowed from one song to another seamlessly without a pause for breath.
Rósín Murphy’s many costume changes
The wonderfully weird Rósín Murphy kept the crowd going on Sunday evening with her spellbinding vocals and exuberant dancing. It was an honour seeing this dance-pop icon singing in the flesh, backed by a band that created her popular dance floor tracks live on stage, even playing ‘Bring It Back’ from her Moloko days.
She sauntered across the stage effortlessly in platform heels, performing the lively tracks from her most recent album Crooked Machine among other favourites from her stellar solo career. The number of costume changes she fit into an hour was almost unbelievable, from a patchwork number to a slime green suit, then draped in a red cloak moving into a pinstriped jacket with excessive shoulder pads - all adorned with a bizarrely brilliant green headpiece.
Forwards is not just about the music
A huge aspect of this new festival was the panel discussions on the Information Stage unpicking some of the important conversations in our culture today. Lemon Sissay blew crowds away on the first day of the weekend with a powerful performance of extracts from his My Name Is Why memoir.
Sunday saw Bristol’s Lawrence Hoo interview John Barnes discussing race in a thought-provoking 90-minute conversation, including how the truth on the history of slavery is being exposed, helping us have an understanding of how the modern world works. Food critic Jay Rayner also joined campaigner Jack Monroe to uncover the state of food in our nation.
Festivals can be more sustainable
There is mounting pressure on festivals to be more sustainable in the 21st century. At Forwards, there was an evident environmental consciousness from both the organisers and the punters - this was even touched on in one of the discussions at the Information Stage over the weekend.
Most festivals offer separate bins to encourage recycling but it’s rarely followed closely at larger festivals. This seemed to be closely followed by most of the festival goers (on a couple of occasions I did witness a few people just throw cans onto the floor), and there were plenty of bins on site.
The bars were selling drinks from either cans or reusable plastic cups, dramatically reducing the amount of single-use plastic. The food stalls played their part, too, with cardboard or biodegradable packaging.
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