2 minute read
Forwards Festival
FORWARDS FESTIVAL 2022
Forwards Festival, a new and exciting festival with a unique identity launched on the Bristol Downs this September and we were lucky enough to experience the birth of an event which will hopefully be around for years to come.
Advertisement
It featured acclaimed artists from around the world including The Chemical Brothers who delivered an energetic, innovative performance which was visually stunning had the whole crowd dancing for hours. Stars from Bristol featured such as Shygirl, a University of Bristol graduate, who’s lyrical dance hits were rocking all in attendance.
Music & society
written by Aidan Bristow
We had a chance to interview one of the head organisers, Tom Paine, a founder of Team Love and Big Team CIC, an independent events company based in St. Werburgh’s Bristol, which also runs the Love Saves the Day Festival in Bristol. Tom has lived in St. Paul’s for 15 years and his love for our community could not be more apparent. Our chat was extremely refreshing and honest, he highlighted issues such as the music events industry being closed off to minorities and Tom expressed his and the teams desire to change this to become more inclusive, which was very reassuring. Tom spoke about the paid internships and artist development programs he is working on within St. Pauls and surrounding areas with individuals that have traditionally been excluded from the festival industry. Tom’s awareness extends into the logistics and sustainability of the festival, by offering no single use plastic and no car parking during the event, the carbon footprint of Forwards and other Team Love projects is clearly a high priority.
Team Loves goal with Forwards festival was to create a new identity and not imitate other festivals. With the decision to make an information stage which introduced a social space for debate, education, and positive impact. This stage featured great experiences such as Black Excellence Bristol, an eye opening, proud moment for the wonderful people spoke about. Local initiatives like Caring in Bristol which touched on Bristol’s housing crisis and what the next steps we need to take move this issue forward. The Bristol Drugs Project talk focused on harm-reduction and drugs awareness, a feature we believe should be at all festivals.
