Highlights from Forwards Festival 
Highlights from Forwards Festival, Bristol 28th-30th August 2026
Day 1: Forwards Presents… Pop Royalty & Stilted Entrance
The weekend kicked off with Friday’s teaser day, setting a high bar for the visual spectacle to come.
- Audrey Hobert made an unforgettable entrance, conquering the soggy stage in a massive raincoat while performing entirely on stilts.
- Maisie Peters delivered a sparkling set packed with high-octane pop hooks, radiating a magnetic charisma that felt distinctively reminiscent of Sabrina Carpenter.
- Djo: Joe Keery and his band put in a brilliant shift of fuzzy indie rock tunes. The rail was packed with dedicated young fans hoisting handmade signs—including one die-hard devotee who revealed she had flown 11,000 kilometres just to catch the set.
Photos by David Jeffery-Hughes
The Lens View: Lorde
The evening belonged to Lorde, though she threw a curveball at the media tent: a strict pit ban for photographers. Refusing to miss the shot, I bolted into the crowd 40 minutes before showtime to secure a prime spot.
Opening with a punchy, stripped-back version of her signature anthem “Royals”, her stage design was an innovative masterpiece. Multi-angle live cameras tracked her every move as she sang directly into the lenses, projecting her expressions across the Downs. Between tracks, she paused to praise FORWARDS for its 100% renewable green energy initiative, telling the crowd that the people of Bristol felt like “her people.”
Photos by David Jeffery-Hughes
Day 2: Smoke Machine Sabotage
Saturday shifted gears into a celebratory, genre-blending marathon led by a powerhouse, top bill.
- Goldie (Live): A hometown hero with a deep Bristol legacy. He leaped across the stage with boundless velocity while his full live band breathed massive, orchestral energy into his drum-and-bass classics.
- Joy Crookes: Bathed the crowd in smooth, neo-soul and R&B elegance. Right on cue, the sun finally made a brief appearance, perfectly matching her stunning, velvety vocals.
- Self Esteem: Rebecca Taylor delivered a jaw-dropping theatrical opening, appearing disguised as a nun alongside a choreographed choir of dancing sisters. She began with a tearful monologue, acknowledging that this was the final curtain call for this specific touring set. A few tracks later, the vibe flipped entirely into an explicit, electronic pop rave backed by provocative, boundary-pushing screen visuals.
Photos by David Jeffery-Hughes
Photographer’s Nightmare: Wet Leg
Wet Leg’s co-headlining set was easily one of my most anticipated shoots, but it quickly turned into a comedic battle against the elements. Lead singer Rhian Teasdale struck her signature strongman pose, but capturing it was near-impossible. The stage crew pumped an astronomical amount of heavy smoke directly into a wall of blinding backlighting. In the pit, we were all laughing; for the first song and a half, we couldn’t see a single thing. Obstacles aside, the band tore through an incredible set, marking an emotional end to their massive 18-month world tour.
- Tems: Closed out the West Stage with supreme, effortless confidence. The global Afropop star radiated a warm, relaxed energy, showcasing breathtaking vocal runs and an infectious rapport with the front row.
Photos by David Jeffery-Hughes
Day 3: Post-Punk Rain Carnage & Front-Row Survival
Sunday was a total washout, transforming the Downs into a swamp and providing the ultimate test for our camera gear.
The Lens View: Viagra Boys
Dressed in plastic waterproof ponchos with our expensive cameras wrapped in makeshift sandwich bags, the press pit braced for impact. Swedish post-punk icons Viagra Boys brought the exact chaotic energy the wet weekend needed. The crowd went wild, a slippery sea of crowd-surfers and chaotic mosh pits. The highlight? Amy Taylor of Amyl and the Sniffers bounded onstage to join the band for a historic, first-ever live rendition of their duet “In Spite of Ourselves”.
Photos by David Jeffery-Hughes
The Lens View: Amyl and the Sniffers
Another strict pit ban meant another hour-long stakeout in the driving rain to lock down a front-row spot. Knowing Bristol’s rabid appetite for pure punk rock, I knew I needed to get there early to protect my angles. The second the band kicked off, it was absolute warfare. The barrier collapsed into a brutal crush of moshing bodies. I was nearly swept off my feet multiple times, ducking for cover as sodden crowd-surfers flew over my head. Amy Taylor is an unmatched, ferocious frontwoman, and guitarist Declan Mehrtens absolutely ripped through his solos. It was their first Bristol return since skyrocketing to global fame, and they left the city completely scarred in the best way possible.
Photos by David Jeffery-Hughes
- Little Simz: Left battered and dazed by the punk rock onslaught, I staggered over to catch the festival’s grand finale. The Mercury Prize-winning superstar commanded the stage with a razor-sharp, high-velocity hip-hop performance. Framed by a striking, minimalist triangular backdrop and an immersive light show, she delivered a masterclass in visual storytelling to close the weekend.
Photos by David Jeffery-Hughes
The Verdict
Despite the unruly British summer weather, FORWARDS 2026 was a lot of fun. If anything, the shared misery of the rain forced a unique, tight-knit camaraderie among the crowd. Perfectly embodying the community-driven ethos the organisers aimed for. A massive shoutout to the incredible media team at Plaster for keeping the press tent warm, organised, and beautifully looked after. Roll on 2027
