After making a triumphant return last year, St Pauls Carnival will return to Bristol with a bang next month, bringing with it a feast of sound, colour and food.
Taking over the streets of the city centre area on July 6, the world-renowned event looks set to be another party to remember with plenty lined up for all ages to enjoy.
With just over three weeks to go until the celebration takes place, organisers have just announced a jam-packed lineup which showcases the best musical and creative talent from Bristol and beyond – with some exciting surprises still to come.
The four main stages will host a wide range of Afro Caribbean inspired sounds and world music alongside contemporary dance tracks.
Staying true to carnival roots, genres featured on the day will include reggae, soca and dancehall as well as grime, hip hop and drum and bass.
Live performers and DJs will be entertaining the vast crowds from midday until 10pm.
Below is everything you need to know about who's playing on the four main stages.
The Windrush Stage
St Paul's Learning Centre
The Windrush Stage at the St Paul’s Learning Centre has a lineup combining music and spoken word, designed to honour the Windrush generation and the theme of this year’s event, Our Journey .
The stage will feature a series of performances paying homage to the carnival’s cultural and musical heritage, and will be brought to an explosive conclusion by Eva Lazarus, Split Prophets and reggae legends Talisman.
In keeping with tradition, the Windrush Stage opens at midday with the carnival blessing, before music kicks off at 12.20pm with the Bristol Reggae Orchestra. It will then continue with live reggae acts including Hotsteppas and BackBeat Sound System, DJs Yam and Banana Takeover and poet Zed Regal.
At 3.20pm, they will hand over to two of Bristol’s most celebrated poets, wordsmith and activist Edson and spoken word maverick Lawrence, who will captivate the audience with their powerful and evocative words exploring the carnival theme.
At 4.20pm the music resumes with a trip down reggae’s ‘Music Memory Lane’ as Nia Melody & Friends sing classics such as I Can See Clearly Now , Girly Girly , Uptown Ranking and more.
From 6.25pm, visitors can expect to hear some of their favourite homegrown artists and discover some new favourites as Bristol’s top musical talent takes to the stage in a series of memorable performances.
At 8pm, supporting acts Eva Lazarus and then Split Prophets will take to the stage to warm up the crowds for headliners, roots reggae legends Talismanm, who are due on stage at 9.10pm.
The World Dance Stage
Brunswick Square
For those keen for a boogie, the World Dance Stage in Brunswick Square will be blasting out beats of every genre throughout the afternoon and evening, culminating in a show by two Bristol dance music legends from 8pm until 10pm.
These two acts are being kept secret for now and will be announced closer to the event.
Music kicks off at 12.10pm on the World Dance Stage with a Tribe of Doris takeover presenting a range of world music followed by a BCFM Takeover focus on pop, reggae and hip hop from 1pm.
High energy dance duo Culture Fusion will light up the dance floor with soca, afrobeat and hip hop at 2.20pm can admire some of Bristol’s best homegrown grime and hip hop lyrical talent, Griz-O Official, Jasi, Lijitt and Stay Hungry, from 2.50pm.
Dance to drum & bass from the Ambush Family from 3.40pm then hip hop from Blacksmith, classic pop tunes from Anna Lisa Price and finally reggae from Dallas at 5.20pm.
The Unity Stage
St Paul's Park
The Unity Stage in St Paul’s Park, run by youth arts group, Aspiration Creation Elevation (ACE) and funded by Bristol Music Trust, will host a wealth of young musical talent throughout the day, with live performers to DJs serving up urban beats, grime and hip hop alongside reggae and afro beat influences.
Mandela's Hideaway
St Agnes Park
Mandela's Hideaway in St Agnes Park has a children’s stage designed to keep the little ones entertained throughout the day with highlights including performances from the finalists of Bristol’s Got Talent.
'Amazing varied carnival line-up'
LaToyah McAllister-Jones, executive director of St Paul’s Carnival CIC, said: “We’re thrilled to unveil this amazing varied carnival line up, featuring fantastic musicians and performers from Bristol and all over the world.
“This is going to be a real musical feast with everything from African Caribbean classics and world music to contemporary UK dance beats. With so much great music we expect to get everyone dancing at some point throughout the day.
“Carnival is a celebration of our diverse cultures and the music reflects this, bringing the whole area to life with a mix of happy high energy tunes, heavy beats and happy carnival vibes!
“It is also an opportunity to give a platform to many of the city’s emerging musical talents who we expect to go far in coming years.”
