LIVE REVIEW: Forwards Festival 2025: A Bristol love letter in sound....

If Bristol were a song, Forwards Festival would be its chorus—bold, brilliant, and impossible not to sing along to. Since its debut in 2022, Forwards has become a fixture on the UK festival circuit, and rightly so. It’s a celebration of Bristol’s rich musical heritage, a showcase for rising stars, and a playground for legends. Saturday’s lineup was a genre-hopping joyride, and I was strapped in from the first chord.

Winners of the War Child Rising competition, Undici didn’t just open the festival—they detonated it. With guitars slung behind heads and Foo Fighters’ “All My Life” roaring through the speakers, they played like they were headlining Wembley. The crowd may have been small, but the energy was seismic. Expect big things from this band—if they can ignite a sleepy field at noon, imagine what they’ll do with a packed tent at midnight.

Over on the East Stage, Mermaid Chunky turned confusion into elation with their surreal, sunshine-soaked performance art. This vibrant duo builds songs around recorder riffs—yes, really—and layers them with dancers in technicolour costumes. It’s like stumbling into a primary school music class run by Björk and a glitter cannon. Their set was pure serotonin, and the crowd responded with gleeful abandon.

Fronted by the magnetic Holysseus Fly, Ishmael Ensemble delivered a masterclass in genre fusion. Their set began in jazz and morphed into club-ready chaos, with guest appearances from The Rituals Orchestra, MC Rider Shafique, and the ever-electrifying Grove. “Ezekiel” became the unofficial anthem of the day—its dirty dance energy rippling through the crowd like a shared heartbeat. This was Bristol music at its most expansive and emotionally raw.

As the afternoon mellowed, Katy J Pearson’s voice floated across Clifton Down like a warm breeze. Backed by a seven-piece band, she delivered a set that felt like a hug from the city itself. “Beautiful Soul” shimmered with summery folk charm, and the crowd—now the largest of the day—swayed in blissful unison. It was a moment of collective calm, and it felt like home.

Then came the curveball. Shaun Ryder, often a verse ahead of himself, and Bez, dancing like he’d just discovered Red Bull, brought the party. The Happy Mondays delivered exactly what we wanted: classics, chaos, and charisma. It was a glorious mess, and we loved every second.

English Teacher closed their festival season with a bang, turning “World’s Biggest Paving Slab” into a funky, singalong anthem. Their set was tight, playful, and perfectly pitched for a crowd now fully in festival mode. It was the kind of performance that makes you want to follow a band across the country just to relive the magic.

As the sun dipped behind the West Stage, Ezra Collective took over—and took off. Their jazz-infused carnival of sound transformed the field into a dancefloor, with families, kids, and seasoned ravers grooving shoulder to shoulder. Saxophonist James Mollison owned the pit, while drummer Femi Koleoso hit a solo so fierce it seemed to summon the sunset. Their love for Bristol was palpable, and the city gave it right back. This was not just a set—it was a celebration.

Just when you thought your feet couldn’t take any more, Bristol’s own Mould headlined the Information By Night stage with a sonic sledgehammer. Their blend of crunching guitars and catchy melodies had the crowd on its feet in seconds. It was gloriously loud, unapologetically raw, and the perfect way to blow the final cobwebs off a euphoric day.

Forwards Festival 2025 was a love letter to Bristol—its artists, its audiences, and its unapologetic joy. From jazz to mosh pits, recorders to rock legends, the day was a kaleidoscope of sound and spirit. If you missed it, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. But next year? Pack your wellies, bring your glitter, and meet us on Clifton Down. You won’t want to miss it.

Words & Pictures by Matt Barnes

Beautiful Days Festival 2025 Live Review - A sun drenched escape in the Devon hills…

Beautiful Days Festival returned to Escot Park from 15th to 17th August 2025, its undulating lawns and hidden glades transformed by six stages, artisan food stalls, theatre tents and roaming performers. This family-run festival, founded by the Levellers in 2003, once again sold out its 17,500 capacity and eschews corporate sponsorship in favour of a fiercely independent spirit.

A sea of bubbles greeted the Levellers Collective as they opened the Big Top, reminding everyone why this acoustic ritual has become the festival’s unofficial heartbeat. Their stripped-back harmonies and crowd-singalong of “One Way” set a communal tone, warming the tent for the weekend ahead.

Penguin Café followed with their genre-blurring chamber folk, weaving nylon-string guitars, brushed percussion and wistful violin lines into sunlit daydreams. Their playful “The Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Gone Away” had dancers and daydreamers alike drifting between nostalgia and optimism.

On the same stage, Peter Doherty delivered a patchwork of solo work, Libertines classics and Babyshambles rarities. Fresh from releasing his fifth solo album Felt Better Alive—a confident, playful collection—Doherty turned every verse into theatre, prowling the stage with Mick Jones swagger while Mike Joyce’s drumming spurts of Smiths-styled tom-fills punctuated each chorus.

Terrorvision lit up the Main Stage with crowd-pleasers from their back catalogue, each an invitation to pogo or belt out “Alice What’s the Matter” and their cheeky “Tequila”. The swaggering guitars and Danny’s snarling vocals reminded everyone why they’re still festival favourites.

The Mary Wallopers followed with riotous Irish jigs and political satire, likened by many to “the Dubliners on acid”. Their uproarious banter between songs and a climactic stomp of “The Battle of the Boyne” had dancers across the field mimicking Riverdance footwork.

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls closed Friday’s Main Stage. Tonight was their 3066th show and despite not wearing their trademark white shirts, Turner et al still managed to rip through a folk-punk greatest hits set, from Joe Strummer-esque rally cries to Bruce Springsteen-style storytelling. His tenth studio album Undefeated debuted at number three on the Official Album Chart in May 2024, and live it’s clear why he’s sold over a million records worldwide and earned three gold albums.

We began under a brilliant sun with a stroll past the children’s field and record stalls. A pristine Herbie Hancock LP from the pop-up shop paired perfectly with a fragrant chicken and chorizo paella.

Panic Shack’s joyful set of post-punk, alternative tracks had the arena bouncing; they even posed for backstage portraits, which was way beyond our expectations.

Kid Kapichi brought their snarling alt-rock grooves to the Main Stage. Frontman Joseph Stevens talked European tours in France and The Netherlands to me ahead of their set before thrusting the mic to the crowd for a call-and-response in “Loaded Dice”.

Sleeper delivered polished ’90s hooks under an open sky, their cover of “Atomic” shimmering like late-afternoon light on water, Statuesque, sounded, well, Statuesque but it was ‘Inbetweener’ that really stole the show!

Kula Shaker invoked Britpop nostalgia with swirling sitar infused psych-tinged jams, teasing a crowd-singalong on “Govinda”. Jay Darlington and Crispin Hunt’s Knebworth anecdotes only amplified the magic before their set.

Shed Seven earned an ovation for “Going for Gold” and “Chasing Rainbows”. Rick Witter’s backstage pizza rating of 8/10 mirrored the set’s 9/10 reliability—timeless guitar anthems that feel as fresh in 2025 as they did in 1996.

The Saturday night climax belonged to the Sex Pistols, reborn with Frank Carter powering the mic. With original members Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock blasting “Pretty Vacant,” “God Save the Queen” and the full Never Mind the Bollocks set, Carter injected modern ferocity into 1976’s anti-establishment anthems. This was punk redux at its most visceral—an elder statesman’s procession with a young front-man’s blood-pressure-raising zeal.

Sunday’s Main Stage kicked off with Grandma’s House, a punk-flavoured fresh breeze, followed by Heavy Lungs, whose frontman Danny Nedelko’s early-morning hangover tales only fueled the moshpit fervour.

We timed Young Knives perfectly for a family cameo: frontman all three signed a 40th-birthday card, Henry left a video message of sage advice to my sister in law who turns 40 very soon!—proof that festival goodwill extends beyond the crowd barrier.

Mad Dog McRea unleashed Celtic-storm chaos, banjos plucked like twin heralds over angry drums. Each tune felt built for communal stomping.

The Bluetones followed with a graceful journey through Britpop gems, their “Slight Return” earning hushed reverence from sun-bleached ears.

As dusk fell, Spiritualized cast a dreamy spell over Escot Park. Jason Pierce’s cosmic guitars and sweeping orchestration carried us through hallucinatory soundscapes, each song a widening cosmos of reverb and soul.

To close the Main Stage, The Levellers returned for a full-circle moment, reprising opener classics like “One Way” and “World Freak Show” amidst a confetti of fireworks. The night sky ignited in tandem with the band’s triumphant riffs—an emotionally charged coda to another unforgettable year.

Huge gratitude to the Levs, Laura and Dave’s DMF crew, security teams, stagehands, caterers (special shout-out to Otter Brewery ales) and every festival-goer who made Beautiful Days 2025 a triumph. Not a drop of rain fell all weekend—a Devon miracle—and already the countdown to 2026 has begun. Tickets go on sale soon and, as always, you’ll want to be there.

Words - Steve Muscutt

Pictures - Julian Baird