Harbour View at the Bristol Harbour Festival is set to welcome three nights of back-to-back music from Bristol’s best emerging artists. Greenpeace and Global Local have programmed the music line up for the main stage, along with a ‘Made In Bristol’ Sunday curated by the festival’s creative producers, Swans Events and Proud Events, with artists applying through the expression of interest form. Between Friday 19 and Sunday 21 July, talented performers will take centre stage at one of the biggest platforms in Bristol, the Amphitheatre.
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A boat-load of fun: Bristol Harbour Festival announces main stage music line-up, programmed by Greenpeace and Global Local
Bristol favourites and local legends BLOCO B, Laid Blak, Gabriel Templar and more are set to amplify the Amphitheatre between Friday 19 - Sunday 21 July 2024
25/04/2024
In collaboration with the two renowned programmers, festival organisers are committed to curating a diverse line-up that’s truly representative of the city – with over 50% of this year’s artists female, non-binary and from other underrepresented groups.
On Friday 19 July, Global Local – an initiative set up to provide professional performance opportunities to talented emerging artists in a celebration of cultural diversity – will kick off the festivities at Harbour View at the Amphitheatre between 6pm – 10pm.
Supported by Arts Council England, highlights for Friday’s musical-showdown include Xaman X – Bristol’s first Tropical Bass live act with live electronics – and She’s Got Brass, a 10-piece female-fronted brass band that intertwines old-school funk and soul-classics with a new school twist. From 8pm, BLOCO B, a Bristol-based Brazilian performance group with traditional carnival sambas, drummers and dancers will wow crowds before handing the stage over to The Bhangra All Stars, who take all the enthralling elements of Punjabi Bhangra music from India. In the high energy performance, audiences can expect dancing, Dhol Drummers and mesmerising vocals as the group closes the show ‘til 10pm.
Famed for its innovative, inclusive and joyful programming in celebration of people and planet, Greenpeace will take over Harbour View on Saturday 20 July, with an all-day family-friendly party from 11am – 10pm. Ready to set the Amphitheatre alight with their eclectic programming style, Grove will bring experimental dancehall beats to the harbourside for an unmissable performance that will keep festival-goers in high spirits all night long. An absolute fan-favourite on the festival scene and introducing the ‘Fab Four’ like you’ve never seen before is an extra special DJ show from The Beatles Dub Club, fronted by local comedian and radio personality, Chris Arnold.
Keeping the energy high all afternoon with brooding swirls of electronics and effervescent melodies is dream-pop-sensation, Emily Magpie who will shimmer on stage from 2 pm – 2:45pm. No stranger to harbourside-vibes are the Old Time Sailors who will start the day with the ultimate shanty-party to get crowds stomping, dancing and singing along to traditional sea-shanties and unforgettable covers of the latest hits. Welcoming the best of Bristol’s music scene, the full line-up of stellar artists will be announced in May, but Bristolians can expect back-to-back dance, electronic, dream pop and alt-rock.
Sunday 21st’s programme will present a ‘Made In Bristol’ line-up for the ultimate multi-genre gig between 11am – 6pm. Hélélé will bring the rhythms and music of Cameroon balafonist, Alphonse Daudet, with a jazz afrobeat inflection to crowds, before Laid Blak introduce their unique fusion of the jungle and rave scene. Continuing the feel-good-vibes, Bass Choir’s harmonic instrumentation and bass-led rhythms will entertain all ages with D&B and UK garage from 3pm.
TikTok sensation Gabriel Templar, along with his backing band, will perform his signature indie-pop at 4pm, following his first ever performance at Glastonbury in 2023. Closing the festival at 5:15pm will be none other than folk-punk-shanty-rock band, Imprints, who will guarantee a foot-stomping performance until 6pm.
Extending the festival footprint beyond the core activities, organisers are programming the Bristol Harbour Festival Fringe, to continue the entertainment in venues in and around the city centre. Bringing live entertainment and unique performance to cafes, restaurants, creative outlets and more, the Bristol Harbour Festival team is calling out for city centre venues to host a fringe event, or put forward their venue for harbour musicians and performers to entertain in. For those venues interested in finding out more about becoming part of the Bristol Harbour Festival Fringe, they should contact harbourfestival@proudevents.co.uk.
John Smith, Executive Director Growth and Regeneration at Bristol City Council, said:
“Bristol’s Harbour Festival is truly an opportunity for all communities to come together to celebrate the city’s heritage and creativity. We’re fortunate to have this incredible event in our city’s calendar which provides such a great platform for aspiring artists and local talent to perform in front of huge audiences. We’re excited about this year’s line-up that’s genuinely representative of our diverse city and its creative talent and look forward to announcing it in full next month.”Noemi Antonelli, Managing Director Swans Events, said:
“It’s been a fantastic experience putting together this brilliant programme for the 2024 Bristol Harbour Festival. There’s undoubtedly so much talent in this city, so it was a tough job for us when curating our final programmes, but we can’t wait for everyone to come together and have an incredible time at the Amphitheatre. Together with the local steering group, and putting local talent at the forefront of this iconic event, the Bristol Harbour Festival is definitely (ship) shaping up to be the ultimate showcase of what Bristol is all about.”With a food offering as diverse as the performance areas, Bristol Harbour Festival organisers are looking for local vegan and vegetarian food traders to come forward to share delicious dishes with festival-goers, as well as Bristol-based creative retail and concessions artisans keen to showcase and sell their creations to the thousands expected over the festival weekend. Any food or retail traders looking to find out more should contact harbourfestival@proudevents.co.uk.
For more information on the Bristol Harbour Festival, head to the website for all the latest line-up and performance information, and Follow the event on Facebook, Instagram and X.
To support this year’s festival, there’s the option to make a donation – and all funds will go directly into the artists programming for 2024. For those who simply can’t wait for their Harbour Festival dose, they can also access the official Bristol Harbour Festival playlist on Spotify.
