St Pauls Carnival 2025 Stages and Lineup

When is St Pauls Carnival?

This years carnival occurs on Saturday 1st July 2025.

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.

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Sell out warning! Explosive Afro-Colombian sound system rumberos bring the vibrant energy of Barranquilla Carnival to Jam Jar. With their patent mix of porro, electro-cumbia, hip-hop turntablism, ragga culture and anything else that gets sucked into their psychedelic vortex this is heavy revelry FFO: Bomba Estéreo, Sotomayor, Sidestepper. Systema Solar at The Jam Jar.

It takes a city to make it happen, right? Sensi Sounds give a little back to the Carnival committee with a subterranean fundraiser ripe for all the soundsystem rotters out there. Expect Darth Leng serving Mandidextrous-approved jungletek and womping kickbass to knock yer teeth out + Anna Prank slinging only the smiliest slices of breakbeat ardkore and ruffneck junglism. Massive. Sensi Sounds x Goldstax St Pauls Carni Fundraiser at Loco Klub.

Double-headed Sheffield Moor Beer takeover. Cosmic eccentrics Pohl will wreck your head with their doomified noise-rock and psych-damaged sludge alongside Dearthworms’ jagged and surreal post-punk snarling. Big recommend FFO: Big Business, Electric Wizard, Torche, Hey Colossus, The Fall, Blood Sport. POHL + Dearthworms + BENZO QUEEN at Moor Beer Co.

The late, great anarchic visionary Benjamin Zephaniah is in the spotlight for Lyrafest’s flagship event. Celebrating his dub poetical works with performances from Brummie Laureate Casey Bailey alongside recollections from friends and family on the Brixton Riots, Peaky Blinders and his historic OBE snubbing. There’ll never be another like him, rest in power! This special Bristol tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah will celebrate his extraordinary work and enduring legacy. The event will feature readings of Zephaniah’s iconic poems by renowned figures in UK poetry, including his 'Poem for St Pauls' performed in Bristol in 1983 for the BBC, as well as talks, personal stories and reflections from Benjamin’s friends and family members. Hosted by Professor Shawn Sobers.

From the Bus Boycott to the St Paul’s Riots and the birth of Carnival, Black Bristol on Film weaves together vital archival scenes of resistance that have defined our city. Includes free patties and a Q&A with the directors, inviting us to reflect on Bristol’s battles with racism and the future of its Black communities. Three short documentaries that tell Bristol’s Black history from 1960s - 1990s

A topsy-turvy Bridge Farm jamboree to welcome in spring! Surreal poodle-costumed electro duo Dogshow head up a stacked all-dayer of family-friendly fun alongside workshops, food, cabaret, DJs, and heaps more seasonal revelry. A Masquerade Celebration of Spring, Music & Wild Imagination

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 2025 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 2025 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

— Crofters Rights

Crofters Carnival: Brown Excellence, Club Siren ++ Tickets

— The Love Inn

Club Djembe Carnvial After Party Tickets

— The Canteen

St Paul's Carnival All Dayer + Afterparty Tickets

— Strange Brew

Strange Brew Nights - Dirtytalk DJs + Fig b2b Suze Tickets

— Phoenix Pub

DTYM - Bristol Pride Fundraiser Tickets

— The Old Market Assembly

BRISTOL NORTHERN SOUL CLUB Tickets

— Lakota

Lakota's St Pauls Carnival Day & Night Party Tickets

— New Bristol Brewery

Disco Dinner Carnival Day Party Takeover Tickets

— Dare to Club

FNUK de HOUSE'D - SECONDCITY & ELLIE COCKS Tickets

— To The Moon

DJ Folu's House Party - carnival special! Tickets

— To The Moon

FOLU'S AFROHOUSE PARTY - CARNIVAL EDITION Tickets

— The Cock and Tail

Eject x Uprise: St Paul's Afters// Rominimal, Free Tickets

— No. 51s

Rockit Science Tickets

— The Jam Jar

Jungle Connoisseur & The ASBO Disco: Bristol Fire Tickets

— Lost Horizon

Carnival Afterparty w/ Joker & King Original Tickets

— Revs de cuba

Carnival showdown Tickets

— Loco Klub

SUBVISION CARNIVAL AFTER PARTY Tickets

— Basement 45

Apocalypse Bristol - Metal // Emo // Alternative Tickets

— The Lanes

All Out 90's Tickets

— Dare to Club

FNUK de House'D Afters with Slipmatt and Tenacious Tickets

— The Fleece

Propaganda - Indie vs Pop-Punk Special! Tickets

“Set in an imaginary country, The City of Lost Children sees a monster and his army of clones capture children and steal their dreams, in an attempt to discover the secret of happiness. One of the children captured is the friend of Miette, an orphan young girl, who decides to do all she can to find him. She's helped in her task by One (Ron Perlman), a gentle carnival strongman.”
From: THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN

“BENZO QUEEN fuse manic carnival energy with raw punk aggression, crafting a sound that's equal parts circus riot and basement show mayhem. This Bristol collective attacks stages like a deranged big band, wielding instruments as weapons of mass disruption.”
From: POHL + Dearthworms + BENZO QUEEN

“Dub Boy has been pushing his own unique fusion of Caribbean carnival and rave culture since the early 2000s. His knack for an earworm and encyclopedic knowledge of music and culture has sent him all over the UK and beyond, becoming a regular fixture at festivals including Glastonbury, Boomtown, Womad & St. Pauls Carnival.”
From: Terrain: Bangers Without Borders

“Founder of Booty Bass, and one of the most exciting musical voices to come out of Bristol, NGAIO has been part of the city's music scene for decades as a raver, vocalist, performer and DJ. Blending genres that have influenced her musical journey you'll hear afrobeats, afrohouse, percussive and Tribal music reflecting her Nigerian ancestry. Latin, reggaeton, moombahton and carnival sounds from her time in South America and naughties edits, dubstep, Grime and Drum & Bass as a long term lover of rave with some jazzy elements and extra bassy bits chucked in for extra flair.”
From: Booty Bass, Femmes on Decks & Mothers in Music

“Stormy J is a true original. She terms her sound "Jab House", a highly energetic and emotive fusion of house, electronic rave, jab-jab and gutter soca music. Jab-house is driven by unapologetic extreme freedom, carnival and festival culture. Making waves in London clubs including Ministry of Sound and Queen of Hoxton, while holding down a weekly show on Select Radio, we are deeply honoured to be bringing Stormy to the Ruffnek dance. *Check out her jab-house mix (youtube link above), seriously this sound is FRESH!”
From: Ruffnek Diskotek

St Pauls Carnival Map and Set Times.

When is St Pauls Carnival?

Our editor's top live music recommendation

This year's carnival after parties