What's On / Bristol Gigs

St Pauls Carnival Map and Set Times.

— Things get pretty disorientating at Carnival, don't get lost.

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

Is this their biggest party yet? The Wrong ‘Un Crew orchestrates a fever dream fairground of rave tomfoolery: over a hundred artists + DJs descend upon this four-stage playground of donk-fuelled slumber party, bassline jungle, breakcore clown carnage and unhinged cabaret beyond our wildest fantasies. You really are gonna have to see it to believe it ;) The Carnival of Chaos at The Boxing Gym.

TSVI’s rhythmic wizardry strikes again! The Nervous Horizons boss is a true master of percussive flow, seamlessly traversing through a heady blast of polyrhythmic heat, global rave rollers and rowdy bass pressure. After tearing up dancefloors at PTS and Livity Sound, he makes a hugely welcome return for MASS’ launch party. MASS presents TSVI at The Jam Jar.

The Cowfolk continue their run of radical and affordable double-doc screenings. This edition highlights the struggle of the Chilean people and the junta’s symbolic assassination of activist/folk hero Victor Jara + there’s a fly-on-the-wall look at the US-backed coup against Hugo Chavez. Essential viewing for understanding the roots of the Maduro abduction, and vital anti-fascist learnings for all humans. Films against Fascism at St Pauls learning Centre.

A special PWYC screening of Franco Rosso’s classic tale of brutality and prejudice in Thatcher’s Britain; Babylon was a landmark of UK cinema and remains an unflinching testament to cultural defiance. Afterwards URF host a reflective open discussion on white supremacy and institutional discrimination, with all funds going to Netpol. URF screening of Babylon (1980) at the Malcolm X Community Centre on Wednesday 28.01.2026, with a panel/audience Q&A, fundraising for Netpol.

Sell out warning! Fiery reggaeton riddims, low-slung afrobeats and non-stop clurrrb festive mayhem; get ready to dust off those winter cobwebs for a pre NYE workout with Winter Whine. Yusef Suave and Handstand Papi, butt-2-butt all night long! Handstand Papi & Yusuf Suave are back once again with the ill behaviour, going b2b all night for their annual post-Xmas throwdown. Dancehall // Soca // Ragga // RnB // Afrobeat // UK Funky // UK Garage & Carnival Anthems all night

Legendary MC and dancehall don Thunda Banton heads up this sizzling winter warmer from the Back A Yard crew. Joined by a stacked bill of regulars including Nymfro, Sky Lion, Jonesy Wales and Stormy J, expect roots, reggae, amapiano, dub and bashment with all the trimmings. Last Back A Yard for 2025!!

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

“Bringing 25 years of experience, tracking back to the vibrant scenes of Liverpool and London during the late nineties and early noughties, Sarah brings a fusion of generations and genres, seamlessly intertwining house, disco, acid, afro, and carnival beats into a sweaty joyous dancefloor journey from beginning to end.”
From: Wiper and True's Annual NYE House Party

“Cheza Lucina is a dynamic artist and DJ fusing Afro, Caribbean, and Latinx sounds with UK underground bass — from jungle and dubstep to garage and funky house — in their signature Jungle Soca style. Founder of BUMPAH and co-producer of Popola UK and Felt Sound System, they’ve lit up stages from Glastonbury to St. Vincent, bringing carnival energy and global bass to every set.”
From: Twende & Wildtune present: PCHA

“The project began in the quiet and solitude of lockdown, before coming alive in a creatively explosive residency at the newly opened Cornish Bank in 2022 – a vibrant not-for-profit community arts space in the centre of Falmouth which has become the heart of a thriving underground Cornish scene of which Blind Yeo are very much a part. The band has since grown into a psychedelic carnival of sound best experienced live.”
From: Blind Yeo + Pictish Trail

“Where the original was raw terror, the sequel is a grotesque carnival; louder, gorier, and funnier than anyone expected. Leatherface, Chop-Top, and the Sawyer clan are back, this time trading the dusty backroads of Texas for radio stations, underground lairs, and chainsaw duels the size of opera.”
From: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

“On Wednesday 29th October, Be Kind Rewind Bristol + Bristol Queer Cinema Club** invite you to step back into the carnival of cinema’s strangest showman with William Castle’s cult shocker The Tingler - screening in the basement at The Ill Repute as we count down to Halloween night.”
From: The Tingler