Bristol's Festival Scene

Bristol festivals draw huge crowds year on year - from commercially run events like Tokyo World Festival in Eastville park to free (and community minded) events like Trinity Garden Party and St. Paul's carnival. There are a string of multi-venue festivals (in the style of Sonar in Barcelona) around the Stokes Croft area including Simple Things and Rave on Avon. Simple Things has expanded somewhat in the last few years and taken over the city's flagship venue, Colston Hall.

As well as music festivals, Bristol's deep historical connection to street art is celebrated in day events like Upfest. Centred around the recently created (and unofficial) street art district - North Street - you can spend the day watching apartment blocks getting a new lick of paint from head to toe. Truly a festival not to be missed!

Buy tickets for festival events in Bristol

Our recent festival recommendations

Essential one for cut-and-splice connoisseurs: this quartet of avant-garde short films raids the attic and finds the empire in a shoebox. Merging diasporic memory with geopolitics, Sylvia Schedelbauer and Richard Fung recontextualise queer love, colonial history, AIDS and opera across four haunting screenings. Scraps of Memory: A Sylvia Schedelbauer and Richard Fung Medley at KIT FORM.

Free entry/PWYC! Curious about sound engineering? Hear from a range of music professionals about their career routes – from studio work to touring roles – and insights into navigating the industry. Ask the panel all your burning questions and get first-hand advice at this networking event hosted by the ever-incredible Saffron. Starting Out In Sound at The Jam Jar.

Those who missed their wassailing fix this year, fear not: you can still get your pomaceous kicks with a screening of this lovingly made Heritage Fund documentary celebrating the humble apple and the centuries of folklore surrounding it. Screened in suitably Cubey style with games, refreshments + more. Welcome to the Orchard of England - Bristol Premiere at The Cube.

Sell out warning! A fresh and accessible way into the Bard from award-winning writer, director and performance storyteller Debs Newbold. She transforms the Cube’s stage into the Tempest’s otherworldly isle in a playful, one-woman reimagining of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic work. Fairytales for grown-ups at the Cube

What our editors say

“Next year, we’re welcoming a slightly bigger community, unveiling a brand new wellbeing area, and offering a rich mix of fresh and already adored dance workshops. Ah, and of course, the unforgettable club night sessions too! The farm is ready to host us once again for what promises to be a truly sensational celebration of movement and togetherness. One and only festival of this kind :)”
From: Dancing Body Festival 2026

“Welcome to KINDOM: a festival for Women, Non Binary and Trans people to connect, resource our bodies and political movements, and get the f!ck down. Expect dance and creative workshops, political discussions, drag performances, banging DJ sets + a healthy side of wholesome with locally-sourced food, sauna sessions and swims.”
From: KINDOM

“Meaning “Bright Fire” Beltane is the festival of fire and fertility—a time to prepare for the summer ahead, celebrate the vibrant life-force of nature within and without and bless the land that sustains us.”
From: Ignite Your Spirit: A Beltane Yoga Day-Retreat:

“A big hit at film festivals worldwide, Laila Abbas' enthralling and uplifting West Bank-set black comedy will have you rooting for Mariam and Noura as they race against time to secure their inheritance while putting aside their own personal differences. Sisters really are doing it for themselves!”
From: Gaza Film Fundraiser: Thank You for Banking WIth Us

“Travis Alabanza is a writer, performer and theatre maker from Bristol. For stage, Travis wrote and performed in their debut show BURGERZ which won the Total Theatre Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, sold out at Southbank Centre and Traverse Theatre and toured internationally. It was also voted one of The Guardian Readers Top Shows of The Year. The text is published by Oberon Books. In January 2026, the show will be remounted in Australia at the Sydney and Melbourne theatre festivals.”
From: Queer Poetry Cabaret | Travis Alabanza + Guests