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
Resting on their much-deserved laurels after Marcellus Pittman tore some serious holes in Brewstory, Deep Street dial in a residents session with unstoppable b2b duo Jay L & Andy Mac exploring the sunshine dimensions of clublandia. Expect hard-dug cuts of soulful house, jazzed-out techno, string-laden diva disco and everything in between.
Deep Street Summer Jam w/ Jay L & Andy Mac b2b all night at Strange Brew.
Free entry! Tucked away in the Attic Bar, Void’s giving Bristol's DIY radio scene a real shake-up. For the weekly listeners and unfamiliars, they’re putting their cards on the table with this Croft offering of global booty-shakers: Stormy J cutting shapes to jab house, soca and Caribbean flavas, with WINK bringing the femme bass baile and amapiano NRG + Dowdle’s itchy 140 stylings. At this price, it’s hard to miss...
Void Radio land at The Croft providing you guys with some global bass goodness!
Sell out warning! Birmingham is the place. It’s where Sun Ra first touched Earth, where Angela Davis got radical and Dr King put pen to jailhouse paper. The Magic City lets the streets talk about how they birthed a cosmos under segregation; more than just the Sun Ra origin story you desperately need, it’s a slice of 16mm sociology. Bring some noise for the Arkestra procession + your burning questions for the directors!
City-based, community focused documentary on Sun Ra
Free entry! 90 years of Afro-Brazilian carnival tradition crash-lands into
the Canteen for one night only: Maracatu Nação Cambinda Estrela will suck you into a parade of whirling dresses, thundering master percussionists and soaring call-and-response chants. Better start saving for those flights to Recife...
UK TOUR! Maracatu Carnival Rhythms!
PWYC! Bless the Cowfolk for this continued education in the local history of Bristol's Black communities, this time hosting a Carnival deep dive after an enlightening session on the 1980 St Paul’s uprisings. Head to the beloved Grosvenor Road hub to see footage from past Carnivals and hear stories from the elder women of St Paul’s, where Glen’s Kitchen will (of course) be providing jerk and ital goodness.
At St Pauls Learning Centre
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
2026 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 2026 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.
“A high-energy carnival-style night celebrating vibes, music and food. Bringing together the best of dancehall, reggae and soca in an inclusive space where people of all backgrounds can come together, dance and enjoy a true taste of the Caribbean culture!”
From:
Gwaan Madd Residency
“CGC Sound System are proud to announce a carnival special featuring Bristol roots/dub veterans: NEGUS MELODY! CGC Sound System’s 2nd ever session was at Canteen for St Pauls Carnival 3 years ago! 3 Years later they’re back to help mark the occasion with Bristol roots/dub veterans: NEGUS MELODY! Alongside Negus Melody (and as is tradition) CGC Sound System will be providing selections reaching into roots, dub, steppas and sound system music. July 4th - SAVE THE DATE FREE ENTRY BEFORE 930 £6 AFTER SEE YA IN THE DANCE Poster by @lifemoves.png Photos from CGC Sound at Lost Horizon, taken by @turiya_sounds”
From:
Carnival Afterparty CGC Sound System Presents: NEGUS MELODY