What's On / Bristol Gigs

St Pauls Carnival Map and Set Times.

— Things get pretty disorientating at Carnival, don't get lost.

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.

Our editor's top live music recommendation

The praise heaped on the unstoppable Cimarons is long overdue. Their legacy is now secured as the first reggae band in the UK, the original exporters of roots to Africa and Japan, Bob Marely’s go-to backing band and the muscle behind countless (uncredited) studio sessions with every major Trojan artist. Seeing Cimarons live is your chance to dance with history, seize it! Cimarons + Talisman at The Jam Jar.

Sell out warning! Fiery reggaeton riddims, low-slung afrobeats and non-stop clurb mayhem; get ready to give the summer a proper send off with Yusef Suave and J Rus, butt-2-butt all night long! Essential FFO: Jamz Supernova, Mina, Salute. Last of the Summer Whine w/ J Rus B2B Yusuf Suave all night at Strange Brew.

Carnival proved beyond a doubt that Concrete Lion is the mightiest next-gen soundsystem in town. They return for a 10-tonne heavy, three-way meeting with Bristol’s foundational Jah Lokko and Nottingham’s Kindread. All rigs and crews come road-tested and engineered to deliver only the heftiest Year 3000 steppas and rootical dubs to shake subs, walls, minds and feet. Concrete Lion X Jah Lokko X Kindread

Hi-NRG dance-positivity from Saffron Records sensation Marla Kether. Inviting Leeds’ Coco Bops and Kojo Ajala to explore the Afro-diasporia on an ecstatic dancefloor with wile-out rhythms in the dancehall/amapiano/UKF/global bass continuum. Producer, DJ and Little Simz bassist Marla Kether returns for the fourth edition of her Kilengi Dance Party

Celebrate the cultural influence of migration with punk reggae pioneer Don Letts! Then wile out to Grove’s dancehall punk rally cries, OG legend DJ Flight’s razor-edged drum and bass, plus Ishan Sound’s digital dub braindance accompanied by Rider Shafique’s killer dub-wise mic alchemy. Fueled by the Firmly Rooted for extra bass-weight. Grammy-winning filmmaker, DJ and cultural icon Don Letts launches Diaspora at Loco Klub with a genre-bending set of dub, reggae, punk and global grooves. With Rider Shafique, Grove and DJ Flight.

From Strange Fruit to the martyr musicians of the Arab Spring, Sound System hunts down the soundwaves that have set the world alight, and how commodification undermines the revolutionary potential of music. Dave Randall will be in-person launching an updated edition of this vital slice of left-leaning cultural commentary, including a new chapter on global Gazan protest songs. Sound System: The Political Power of Music launch with Dave Randall

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 Carnival: Brown Excellence, Club Siren ++ at Crofters Rights
— Crofters Rights

Crofters Carnival: Brown Excellence, Club Siren ++ Tickets

Club Djembe Carnvial After Party at The Love Inn
— The Love Inn

Club Djembe Carnvial After Party Tickets

St Paul's Carnival All Dayer + Afterparty at The Canteen
— The Canteen

St Paul's Carnival All Dayer + Afterparty Tickets

Strange Brew Nights - Dirtytalk DJs + Fig b2b Suze at Strange Brew
— Strange Brew

Strange Brew Nights - Dirtytalk DJs + Fig b2b Suze Tickets

DTYM - Bristol Pride Fundraiser at Phoenix Pub
— Phoenix Pub

DTYM - Bristol Pride Fundraiser Tickets

BRISTOL NORTHERN SOUL CLUB at The Old Market Assembly
— The Old Market Assembly

BRISTOL NORTHERN SOUL CLUB Tickets

Lakota's St Pauls Carnival Day & Night Party at Lakota
— Lakota

Lakota's St Pauls Carnival Day & Night Party Tickets

Disco Dinner Carnival Day Party Takeover at New Bristol Brewery
— New Bristol Brewery

Disco Dinner Carnival Day Party Takeover Tickets

FNUK de HOUSE'D - SECONDCITY & ELLIE COCKS at Dare to Club
— Dare to Club

FNUK de HOUSE'D - SECONDCITY & ELLIE COCKS Tickets

DJ Folu's House Party - carnival special! at To The Moon
— To The Moon

DJ Folu's House Party - carnival special! Tickets

FOLU'S AFROHOUSE PARTY - CARNIVAL EDITION at To The Moon
— To The Moon

FOLU'S AFROHOUSE PARTY - CARNIVAL EDITION Tickets

Eject x Uprise: St Paul's Afters// Rominimal, Free at The Cock and Tail
— The Cock and Tail

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

Rockit Science at No. 51s
— No. 51s

Rockit Science Tickets

Jungle Connoisseur & The ASBO Disco: Bristol Fire at The Jam Jar
— The Jam Jar

Jungle Connoisseur & The ASBO Disco: Bristol Fire Tickets

Carnival Afterparty w/ Joker & King Original at Lost Horizon
— Lost Horizon

Carnival Afterparty w/ Joker & King Original Tickets

Carnival showdown at Revs de cuba
— Revs de cuba

Carnival showdown Tickets

SUBVISION CARNIVAL AFTER PARTY at Loco Klub
— Loco Klub

SUBVISION CARNIVAL AFTER PARTY Tickets

Apocalypse Bristol - Metal // Emo // Alternative at Basement 45
— Basement 45

Apocalypse Bristol - Metal // Emo // Alternative Tickets

All Out 90's at The Lanes
— The Lanes

All Out 90's Tickets

FNUK de House'D Afters with Slipmatt and Tenacious at Dare to Club
— Dare to Club

FNUK de House'D Afters with Slipmatt and Tenacious Tickets

Propaganda - Indie vs Pop-Punk Special! at The Fleece
— The Fleece

Propaganda - Indie vs Pop-Punk Special! Tickets

“The project began in the quiet and solitude of lockdown, before coming alive in a creatively explosive residency at the newly opened Cornish Bank in 2022 – a vibrant not-for-profit community arts space in the centre of Falmouth which has become the heart of a thriving underground Cornish scene of which Blind Yeo are very much a part. The band has since grown into a psychedelic carnival of sound best experienced live.”
From: Blind Yeo + Pictish Trail

“Where the original was raw terror, the sequel is a grotesque carnival; louder, gorier, and funnier than anyone expected. Leatherface, Chop-Top, and the Sawyer clan are back, this time trading the dusty backroads of Texas for radio stations, underground lairs, and chainsaw duels the size of opera.”
From: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

“On Wednesday 29th October, Be Kind Rewind Bristol + Bristol Queer Cinema Club** invite you to step back into the carnival of cinema’s strangest showman with William Castle’s cult shocker The Tingler - screening in the basement at The Ill Repute as we count down to Halloween night.”
From: The Tingler

“Miles Arms brings the sunshine this autumn with a special Rum & Reggae takeover! Expect the very best in reggae, dancehall, soca, and carnival sounds — powered by heavy basslines, uplifting riddims, and pure Caribbean flavour all night long.”
From: RUM & REGGAE NIGHT - MILES ARMS

“ARTUBA are a highly experienced pair of musicians who formed a duo in 2021. Since that time they have played in and around the South West of England including numerous gigs in the Bristol area. Notable highlights include playing on the Bristol Ferry and Strange Brew as part of the Diaspora Festival, performing at the Bristol Beacon at the Celebrating Age Festival. They recently performed Caribbean folk songs at Trinity Centre Bristol as part of their Windrush Celebration Day and also played at Circomedia as part of St Paul's 2025, carnival celebration 'Back a Yard'.”
From: Long Time Gal