A UK festival at the back end of August can be a dicey proposition. After a summer spent on the circuit, there’s always a danger that, with the early autumn finishing line in sight, both artists and fans will be running low on stamina, those May/June levels of optimism a distant memory. And, of course, the British weather plays by its own rules at the best of times, let alone in the week before the kids go back to school.
Bristol’s Forwards festival, though, has a lot going for it. Now in its fourth year, its line-ups have consistently been strong, veering towards the ‘credible’ side of the musical spectrum. There’s no camping, either, which means there’s none of that ‘when will this thing be over?’ feeling you sometimes get when you’ve spent three days in a tent next to someone who thinks they’re doing you a favour by blasting out ‘90s trance at 5am every morning. Everyone smells a bit better, too.
In fact, if you don’t go for a weekend ticket, the biggest problem is deciding which of the two days’ line-ups grabs you the most (inevitably, your dream one-day schedule will contain a mixture of the two).
If you wanted to draw a distinction between the Saturday and Sunday rosters in 2025, it would be that Saturday’s bill was more ‘electronic’ – Barry Can’t Swim, Confidence Man and Orbital featured towards the top of it – and Sunday’s leaned more towards vocalists and bands, with Jorja Smith, Doechii, Olivia Dean and The Last Dinner Party having their names in big letters.
There was one significant late curveball, though – Forwards suffered what could have been a hammer blow last week when it was announced that Doechii – arguably the biggest draw of the whole weekend, given her current career trajectory – wouldn’t be playing. Much to fans’ consternation – not least because there was no public apology or explanation – she also pulled out of London’s All Points East and Rock en Seine in Paris.
In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity, though, and for the presumably stressed-out Forwards organisers, this meant recruiting UK drum ‘n’ bass queen Nia Archives to fill Doechii’s slot. A pretty good replacement, given the extremely short notice, and one that ensured that, as Forwards intended, Sunday’s line-up of headliners was still stuffed with female artists.
Saturday
Confidence Man’s onstage aesthetic works incredibly well in the context of a festival set. Even for those previously unaware of the band, it’s impossible not to be drawn in by the sight of a pair of masked musicians churning out high-energy electro pop whilst front duo Janet Planet and Sugar Bones perform their relentless, slightly tongue-in-cheek dance routines.
The combination of cartoonish outfits and dance moves that look like they’ve been learnt from hours of mimicking music videos gives the whole thing the feel of a ‘90s Madonna concert, reinterpreted via a secondary school talent show. It helps that it's all underpinned by a set full of solid hooks and bold synth lines that pull from both the fashionable and Vengabus-adjacent sides of ‘90s dance music.
Performing directly after them on the opposite stage, Mount Kimbie feel like a downward gear shift. With their wobbly synth lines and half-spoken vocals, the band are more about mid-tempo grooves than festival anthems.
Mount Kimbie’s decade-long transition from post-dubstep duo to krautrock inspired post-punk band has been fascinating to watch and has resulted in a rich, varied and genuinely progressive back catalogue of music that holds up remarkably well.
As a live act, the group’s re-emergence as a fully-fledged five-piece band is still relatively new and – perhaps due to a couple of technical issues – there are moments during the set where it shows; the whole thing doesn’t gel quite as well as some of the more established ensembles on the line-up. When it does come together though, such as on the low-key chorus hooks of Dumb Guitar or Shipwreck, it’s perfect for a sun-drenched late afternoon.
By contrast, Orbital are a band who know exactly what they’re doing. The Hartnoll brothers have been winning over after-dark festival crowds for three decades and their finely-tuned stage show, complete with headtorches, visuals and a well-stocked rack of hardware synths, doesn’t put a MIDI note wrong.
Their setlist is familiar territory for anybody that’s seen them play in recent years, mixing the odd newer track like opener Dirty Rat with highlights from their back catalogue. When the tracks are as strong as these though, nobody is going to complain: Lush is wall of ravey grooves; Satan brings a burst of synth-driven angst; the Wannabe-sampling Spicy is guaranteed crowd pleaser; and the trio of Belfast, Halcyon and Chime are some of the most euphoric electronic tracks of the past 30 years. When Confidence Man re-emerge for a closing mashup of their track Holiday and Orbital’s Kinetic it’s a genuine treat.
On paper, headliner Barry Can’t Swim is a bit of an unknown quantity, seeing as his Forwards set, along with one topping the bill at London’s All Points East the previous night, is the first time the Scottish producer has headlined such a big stage. In reality though, there was never much doubt that his music would work in this sort of context. His style of melodic, lightly-jazz infused house music is crowd-pleasing and accessible to the point of being occasionally a little frictionless, but while it might lack a few rough edges on record, the rich pad swells and soulful vocal samples are perfect for a festival setting.
To his credit, the live show has been thoughtfully augmented for the larger stage. Live strings and percussion add sonic textures and visual interest, and the setlist flows in a way that feels appropriately cinematic for the occasion. At times, the resulting combination brings to mind the live shows of Barry Can’t Swim’s Ninja Tune label-mate Bonobo, and it feels likely that he’ll similarly become a staple of these larger stages.
Sunday
Early risers were treated to half an hour from up-and-coming LA indie dream-pop duo The Two Lips, who brought their charming best friend energy to the East Stage. After going viral in 2024 with Still Love You (todavía), they’re now signed to Island Records, but on recent singles Clue and Talk, their unpolished lo-fi charm remains intact.
Sudanese-Ethiopian singer-songwriter Alameda is another afternoon highlight, with a powerful band supercharging her soulful indie-rock set. There’s one potentially awkward moment when she mentions that a soon-to-be released song has a feature from Doechii but, despite her name being rather sullied in these parts, the crowd manages to muster up a few muted cheers.
With an eagerly anticipated second album on the way in September and a 2026 arena tour just announced, this might be one of the last times Olivia Dean occupies the early evening slot at a festival, but her easy-on-the-ear pop soul feels perfect for the moment. Tellingly, her new material – from upcoming album The Art Of Loving – is as warmly received as the songs from her first record, 2023’s Messy, offering further evidence that her star is very much on the rise.
In fact, she seems genuinely taken aback to find the words to Man I Need – a song released little over a week ago – being sung back to her. With a brass-fuelled tight-as-you-like band behind her, her performance is one of the day’s highlights.
The same could be said of LTJ Bukem’s set in The Arches, with the crowd stretching well beyond the stage’s canvas covering. Which means that, by the time Nia Archives takes to the West Stage, shortly afterwards, Forwards is well and truly in drum ‘n’ bass mode, and the Yorkshire-born DJ/producer is willing and able to give them exactly what they want.
Because the festival site is reasonably compact, it’s easy to jump between stages, so fans have no problem getting across to watch 2024 indie-rock darlings The Last Dinner Party. Those looking for something more musically challenging, meanwhile, could find it in The Information tent, where Bristol-based three-piece Waldo’s Gift made their sometimes improvised and frequently impressive brand of math-rock and prog-metal available to those willing to seek it out.
West Stage headliner Jorja Smith, meanwhile, is an artist who appears increasingly confident to conduct her career on her own terms. While her first album, 2018’s Lost & Found, majored in sultry R&B, much of her recent output has a tougher edge, and Smith has managed to successfully marry her multiple musical personalities into an impressive live band show that culminates with the irrepressible Little Things, a song that’s pretty much impossible not to move to.
As its infectious groove powers the festival to a conclusion, we're guessing that for a lot of Forwards goers, Doechii’s withdrawal – though undoubtedly a big loss – feels like a distant memory.
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