St Pauls Carnival Map and Set Times.
When is St Pauls Carnival?
This years carnival occurs on Saturday 1st July 2026.
Once the carnival has started it becomes a lot harder to work out which sound systems are where! Stages and sound systems are scattered throughout the streets of St Pauls. Closer to the time this page will include a Google map with each scheduled stage. These include the infamous PA systems and speaker stacks which the evening part of St Pauls Carnival is known for.
Our editor's top live music recommendation
Stage organisers can use this page to announce set times for the djs and mcs for the music stages and sound systems at Bristol’s 2026 carnival. While the main stages focus on Caribbean music, it’s foolish to consider St Pauls carnival as predominantly dub and reggae event. Programmed by sound system owners and local promoters, the lineups for the stages each bring different musical styles and artists to the 2026 event. From established drum & bass and dubstep djs to the cutting edge electronica and house producers that Bristol is becoming known for, St Pauls carnival by night is a celebration of Bristol’s diverse music scene.
When the sound systems switch off around midnight, the party moves indoors with almost every venue in Bristol boasting some form of St Pauls carnival after party. After parties range from big club events in venues like Lakota, Basement 45, The Black Swan and Blue Mountain, to free-entry all-nighters in the pubs and bars around St Pauls and Stokes Croft. The event listings below outline all of the free and paid after parties for this years carnival.
This year's carnival after parties
From: Ya Freshness + DJs til 2am
“The Brass Junkies are a dynamic 8 piece brass band inspired by the funky Mardi Gras sounds of the New Orleans street bands. Two trumpets, two saxophones, trombone, drums/percussion and tuba keeping it funky at the bottom end this high-energy, good-time music will bring some carnival atmosphere to the place!”
From: Brass Junkies - Brass Band
“Das Günther’ (punk/electro/performance) embark on their first UK tour: Somewhere between sequins and protest, between the dance floor and the deep sea, Das Günther from Hanover deliver a stage show that challenges everything. With drums, bass, synth and vocals, they take the audience on a journey through clubs, alternative venues and festivals, they take the audience on a journey, dismantling the feel-good oases of the late-capitalist party and poking fun at patriarchal ways of thinking. The trio sets off an anarchic spectacle that oscillates between Kraftwerk and carnival, between clown and diva, in a techno cellar. Improvised, impulsive and always one joke away from madness.”
From: Das Günther
“The players tonight will be: Naomi Smyth, a rapacious enquirer seeking novelty and honesty, an ethereal being with muddy boots; Michelle Roche channeling the combined spirit of every kids' TV presenter dancing wildly at a dayglo carnival; and Ed Rapley saved from a life of fame that would have destroyed him by lack of talent and abundance of laziness.”
From: Failing Forward: Fooling with Ed Rapley, Naomi Smyth, Michelle Roche
“Sir Sebastian - Bassi Sound System. One of Bristol's elder Sound Systems being a resident of Bristol Dub Club and having championed St Puals carnival years past. As a member of the community who laid the foundations for the scene we love today. It comes with our great excitement to be hosting someone who helped inspire us to build our own sound system.”
From: Dharma HIFI X Elijah Minnelli