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!

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Our recent festival recommendations

A night of radical reflection at Bristol Folk House, discussing Helen Moore’s collection of ecopoetry with poet, journalist and activist Ambrose Musiyiwa. The Last Lighthouse in Rising Seas moves through environmental grief, collapsing systems and collective action, its urgency and pathos balanced with joy and hope. The Last Lighthouse in Rising Seas, Forced Migration and Poetry at Bristol Folk House.

Bristol’s experimental puppetry extravaganza continues at pace! London’s The Enchanted Surgery wrangle handmade homunculi through grotesque operating-theatre surrealism, alongside Italian ensemble Mondo Assurdo’s playful dreamworlds of foam creatures, shadow rituals and cardboard myth-mythmaking. A DIY cosmic awakening! THE ENCHANTED SURGERY X QUANTA QUALIA X PAPO CUCARACHA at KIT FORM.

Sell out warning! The Puppetfest hijinks continue with a Kino queer storytelling special! A constellation of multidisciplinary performers and artists crisscross assorted otherworldly puppet forms with dance, drag, and musical interludes – ft Hector Who Lived, Silver Ley and Sarahsson – in this beautifully DIY variety bill. Experimental Puppet Festival at Cafe Kino.

Free entry / PWYC! We’ve got so much love for this Puppet Fest special led by Glasgow artist Fibi Cowley, exploring inner-child-nurturing expressions of selfhood and gender through a welcoming, beginner-friendly doll-making workshop. All materials provided and finished creations form part of a trans healthcare fundraising zine – puppets will heal the world! A slow stitching, exploratory session

What our editors say

“| GETTING TO THE FESTIVAL | The festival takes place on a beautiful farm outside of Abergavenny, Wales. 1hrs drive from Bristol. Full address and travel details will be sent to ticket holders closer to the festival.”
From: Come Bye 2026

“The Three Wheel Drive returns for 2026. Line-up TBA. The event begins at 4pm on Thursday. You must arrive on Thursday night. There will be no entry on Friday or Saturday. 3WD is a DIY festival run by lots of people, and we'd love it to be enjoyed for its full duration.”
From: The Three Wheel Drive

“A happening at the Cube on a July Sunday afternoon. A festival film followed by Sixties music in the bar. Monterey Pop, held June 16 to 18, 1967, is the rock festival that started it all, beckoning hippies to the seaside town of Monterey while the tune of "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" wafted softly through the air. As Ben Sisario writes in the New York Times, Monterey Pop "served as the blueprint for the explosion of rock festivals that culminated in Woodstock, and with its crowds of face-painted hippies and slogan of 'music, love and flowers,' Monterey defined the look, spirit and sound of the Summer of Love."”
From: Hippy Trippy Summer presents...Monterey Pop 1967

“This is not your average Open Day… join us for Summer Future Fest – a festival-inspired takeover transforming our campuses into a neon, Y2K-inspired world of live DJs, performances, interactive experiences and creative spaces designed for future creatives exploring what comes next after GCSEs. Drop in anytime between 11:00AM – 2:00PM (last entry 1:30PM) on Saturday 27th June 2026 at your local campus.”
From: Access Creative College: Open Day

“As part of the Experimental Puppetry Festival Puppet Place will be Hosting a screening featuring many of the films made for the Puppet Place 48 Hour film festival. All of the films are under 3 minutes and all were made in under 48 hours. Feel free to come and go from the screening as you please. The film reel will be shown twice, once from 2:00pm to 3:00pm and then from 3:30pm to 4:30pm”
From: Puppet Place 48 - Shorts Film Screeing #2