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

Vital showcase of short docs that’ve risen above the violent censorship of Myanmar’s military dictatorship to enlighten the global community. Educate yourself with a Q&A panel of exiled citizens and fill your belly with Burmese street food while raising funds for medical aid and relief efforts. The Burmese fight for freedom told in five films at The Cube.

The first of three vital PWYC screening fundraisers from Bristol Queers for Palestine! Catch a series of shorts exploring art as resistance from the Freedom Dabka Group, the Palestinian underground music scene and the Hirbawi textile factory + talks and tasty local food on offer. All proceeds go directly to supporting Palestinian families so dig deep! We're calling on the incredible community of Bristol – all you film fanatics, queerdos, artists, foodies, and pro-Palestinian allies – to join us in showing solidarity with the people of Palestine. Start your week right, with a gorgeous evening of authentic Palestinian short films – centred on joy, justice, solidarity and non-conformity. All profits will be donated directly to Palestinian families.

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. This short-film programme positions the family archive as a starting point from which to illustrate complex personal histories of belonging and acceptance in diasporic contexts through filmmaker Sylvia Schedelbauer and Richard Fung's works. The screening will be followed by an online Q&A with Sylvia Schedelbauer.

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. A free event offering industry networking and career guidance for emerging sound engineers.

What our editors say

“This ticket is valid for the *entire* Cary Comes Home Festival weekend, running across three days — Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 2026. Headfirst only allows a single date to be displayed, but your pass covers all events across the full festival.”
From: Cary Comes Home 2026 Festival

“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