FORWARDS Festival Drops Incredible Line-up With Doechii, Jorja Smith, Ezra Collective, Barry Can't Swim & More...

3 minutes ago

Bristol's highly coveted FORWARDS Festival has announced it's line-up for the 2025 edition, and it's safe to say, they have delivered.

FORWARDS festival in Bristol announces its 2025 headliners and first music names for its fourth year, revealing Electronic DJ and producer BARRY CAN’T SWIM and British jazz group EZRA COLLECTIVE as co-headliners for Saturday.

All female co-headliners have then been announced to top the bill for Sunday with 2025 Grammy winner and rapper DOECHII making her Bristol debut at FORWARDS, soulful singer-songwriter JORJA SMITH, and indie rock band THE LAST DINNER PARTY.

FORWARDS will for the first time take over the August bank holiday weekend, bringing the biggest names in international music to Bristol Downs for an electrifying two-days where genres collide and creative talent takes centre stage.

FORWARDS is celebrated as one of the UK's most progressive festivals, closing out the summer in style in Bristol over the August bank holiday weekend. A future-thinking festival, FORWARDS places international music acts side by side with major social initiatives and timely debate on the INFORMATION stage.

As well as the stand-out group of headliners, we at Oculate are particularly excited by English Teacher, Olivia Dean, Moonchild Sanelly and The Silhouettes Project.

Will we catch you on The Downs this August?

Check out the full line-up below:

LATEST FEATURES

DIGITAL COVER 003: LEGZDINA

On a crisp morning in Shoreditch, Legzdina brought the bold energy that defines her music and style. She discussed her debut EP, Celestial Girl and Her Milky Way, a fearless mix of drum’n’bass, sung-rap, and poetic storytelling. The project captures her journey as an artist forging her own path. In conversation, she reflected on the personal stories shaping her music, her community-focused open-mic series Say It Back, and her drive to inspire through art. With ethereal vocals and experimental production, she’s pushing boundaries while eyeing her next milestone - representing Latvia at Eurovision -all while staying true to her belief in individuality and connection.

DIGITAL COVER 002: FLIPTRIX

This album tells a story, and hearing the tales that led to its formation from Fliptrix himself was an honour. We caught up with the charismatic artist shortly before the release of ‘Dragonfly’, to discuss his father, the current state of UK Rap, psychedelics, social media & more.

DIGITAL COVER 001: CLOUD X

In the midst of their planning of this year’s festival, we sat down with Ben Cross and David Dabieh of Cloud X to discuss the business of live music events, the UK government, South London and their future plans, perhaps surmised when Dabieh explained; "One thing about Cloud X is that we didn't have this big plan, we just kept trying to be free".