Bristol Harbour Festival's line-up sees three nights of back-to-back music

Bristol Harbour Festival 2024 will see three nights of back-to-back music from some of the city's emerging talent. This year's main stage music line-up will consist of predominantly female, non-binary and underrepresented artists.

Acts will take to the stage at the Amphitheatre between Friday, July 19 and Sunday, July 21. Global Local, an initiative set up to provide professional performance opportunities to talented emerging artists in celebration of cultural diversity, will kick off festivities at Harbour View at the Amphitheatre, between 6-10pm on the Friday.

Dubbed a 'musical showdown', and supported by Arts Council England, there is an option this year to make a donation to the festival. Funds will go towards artists programming for 2025. There's even a Harbour Festival Spotify playlist festival-goers can check out in the run up to the weekend.

Here's who is on the line-up this year...

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The first names announced 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 on Friday, 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, July 20, 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'. 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 be on stage from 2pm-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.

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’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 introduces 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 folk-punk-shanty-rock band, Imprints, who will 'guarantee a foot-stomping performance' until 6pm.

John Smith, executive director of 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.”

Extending the festival footprint beyond the core activities, organisers are currently putting together a line-up for 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. And Bristol Harbour Festival organisers are also looking for local vegan and vegetarian food traders to come forward, as well as Bristol-based creative retail and concessions artisans. Any food or retail traders looking to find out more should contact organisers here.