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
Free entry / PWYC! This bumper editions of the priceless Anarchist Bookfair spreads its disruptive tentacles over five venues in Old Market, with radical publishers, direct action crews, free childcare, workshops on resisting immigration raids, blocking the Israeli supply chain, and more. Everything you need to stop doomscrolling, get informed, and get involved...
Bristol Anarchist Bookfair at Exchange.
The thespian life is not all greasepaint and curtain calls… Argento’s former assistant director Michele Soavi made his debut with this gloriously unhinged horror chimera, a hallucinatory stew of backstage paranoia, baroque bloodletting and Hitchcockian mischief. Stagefright is a queasy little treasure chest of surface pleasures featuring bodies cleaved in two, pickaxes through the gob and an absolutely deranged final act.
STAGEFRIGHT at Bristol Megascreen.
Sell out warning! The arch-cinephiles at Forbidden Worlds pack their toothpaste, wooden stakes and black gloves for a European Slaycation! Celebrating continental horror excellence with the giallo excesses of Blood And Black Lace & Deep Red, parasitic Francophile gore-fest Bad Blood + the morally wrenching Who Can Kill A Child. Expect rare-screenings, illuminating cultural introductions and lots of on-screen ketchup.
FORBIDDEN WORLDS: THE BIG SCREAM - EUROPEAN SLAYCATION - FESTIVAL PASSES at Bristol Megascreen.
Deep Red is an underrated Argento masterpiece that paints its themes in scarlet and slaughter. David Hemmings plays a jazz musician who becomes entangled in a bloody mystery, surrounded by lurid imagery, disturbing killings and cryptic hints, set to Goblin’s twitchy, hypnotic score. Beware the children’s song....
DEEP RED at Bristol Megascreen.
What our editors say
“Next year, we go again! If you've been already the chances are you're not missing it again. If you've never been, you're in for a total shapeshifting experience. We are DANCING BODY, a festival of dance on a permaculture farm in Wales - merging the elements of a retreat setting and a proper festival rave culture to give you the ultimate summer weekend experience.”
From: Dancing Body Festival 2027
“Hosted by Marta Isabella Reina (Bristol Tarot Reading Club), this supportive gathering honors Yule, the festival of the winter solstice, the return of the light, and renewal. Focus on themes of rebirth, inner illumination, gratitude, and new beginnings as we explore tarot spreads inspired by Yule’s joyful and reflective energy.”
From: Yule Tarot Circle with Mireinart
“Ruby Derriere (she/her) Headliner for Croatian Burlesque Festival 2023, The Queen of Nerdlesque, Global international headline sensation from the UK, acclaimed pocket-dynamite-fire-cracker powerhouse you'll never forget. With 14 years performing, she'll leave you breathless! Previous performances include: Bristol Burlesque festival, Glasgow Festival of Burlesque and Perth Fringe Festival.”
From: Untamed Burlesque
“If you’ve attended the festival before, you’ll know how much care goes into crafting a warm, welcoming and imaginative weekend. If you’re joining us for the first time, this is the perfect way to experience everything the festival has to offer. Your early support helps us secure film rights, guest speakers and the wrap‑around experiences that make Cary Comes Home such a distinctive part of Bristol’s cultural calendar.”
From: Cary Comes Home 2026 Festival
“* people who haven't sung since primary school * people who sing in the shower * people who love to sing along at a festival * people too chaotic to join a regular weekly choir * people in community choirs who want to join in the fun * and anyone that wants a fun night out that's a little bit different!”
From: Choir Party by Candlelight: The One Night Choir For Everybody