Forwards Festival: Reviewed

If you were organising a festival in Bristol…

If you were organising a festival in Bristol, and you thought “I’d love for people to tell other people about this festival in Bristol, so I must make it a priority to invite people who will tell other people about this music festival in Bristol to the festival that I’m organising in Bristol, and fortunately enough for this hypothetical interlude I’m about to make a list of all the people I should invite”…

Who, Beats Clubber, do you reckon would be the first name on your list?

Why, the Bristol Beats Club, of course!

Sadly, that’s not what happened at Forwards.

Forwards has been running for a couple years now. Bookended, that’s three editions. And for some reason unbeknownst to us, the organisers only bleeding got round to inviting us along this time around.

It is, of course, conjecture. But we must assume, for the first two Forwards festivals, they were warming up. Making sure Forwards was fit for the Beats Club. Apparently satisfied that, this time around, the festival was indeed ready to be reviewed by yours truly, this year, we were asked to head along. Too late?

Maybe a bit. But, in many ways, we’d have happily waited a fair while longer.

The proper lowdown on Forwards Festival

Strap in once again, Beats Clubbers. In this review, we’re gonna give you the proper lowdown on Forwards festival. You’ll get all the usual Beats Club goodness, including a  real feel of what you can actually expect.

First, a little bit of history

We need to begin with a little bit of history.

Three editions in, Forwards festival remains fledgling

That Forwards remains a fledgling festival is important context prospective attendees should consider. The festival will no doubt improve as time goes on. And, in fairness, given this year was but Forwards edition three, the festival has already achieved plenty.

Still, drawbacks exist. As we approached the festival on day 1, we were struck by how damn small this thing really is. You’ve got two stages. Facing each other. Maths has never been our strong point, but we’re gonna go ahead and say there are maybe 150 metres between the two stages, which are lined either side by, primarily, food trucks, bars, and toilets.

That’s pretty much it.

It must be noted that there’s a kids’ area on the far side, complete with mini golf (we wanted to play but ofc feared looking like paedos), and also a little halfpipe should the urge to skate in an odd location prove for attendees a bit too much.

An ice cream van in the middle of a crowd

It should also be noted, however, that, at Forwards, there was an ice cream van plonked in the very middle of the East stage’s crowd – such was the squeeze to fit vendors in. 

The layout, for some, might prove convenient. For us, it left much to be desired.

Yep, at Forwards, there is simply nowhere to chill. It’s a problem hampered not just by the layout, but by the fact Forwards’ two stages play musical tag. Forwards’ stages are, realistically, too close together to have artists playing simultaneously. So, at Forwards, the minute a set on the East stage ends, a set on the West stage starts up. And vice versa.

The Forwards setup creates a kinda cross between a rabbit run by day and, once mass intoxication kicks in, a zombie apocalypse by night: following the end of a set, punters turn a communal 180 then hover fifty meters or so towards the second stage to be entertained once more.

You know that bleep test from back in school?

You know that bleep test you had to do once per year at PE when you were at school, running to one end of a gym, waiting for a bleep, then turning round and doing it again?

That seems to have laid the foundations for Forwards. 

We’re being facetious, obviously, but the whole thing felt pretty frustrating when Forwards was set on Bristol’s downs – a bloody massive green space with ample opportunity for a big old festival site.

Forwards, however, have fenced off a small area at the far side of said downs, penning people in. Why?

Council directives? An effort to create an atmosphere? Either way, combined with the two walls of street-food vendors, the festival’s population density meant we rarely felt like we weren’t in some kind of walkway.

As the festival grows, we’d hope its square footage follows suit.

Wall-to-wall musical entertainment

Of course, the flip side of the inability to chill out at Forwards meant wall-to-wall musical entertainment, and on day 1, we very much indulged.

We were impressed by Nubya Garcia’s intriguing jazz – a new artist to the Beats Club – before we attempted to settle in to Romy’s electronic side-project, a jumping set that had a slightly surreal feel given how used to Romy’s solemn xx performances we’ve become accustomed to. 

Greentea Peng followed, and what you’ll notice by now is that, at Forwards, you’ll almost certainly be introduced to new music.

New music is, of course, the Bristol Beats Club’s cup of camomile, and something we all need to get behind. The line up, then, is one of Forwards’ greatest strengths; expect to be treated to rising stars by day and big names as the sun sinks.

The big names on Forwards day 1 came in the form of Joy Anonymous, whose similarities with Fred Again.. you might mistake as manufactured if it weren’t for the fun oozing through the act’s performance, and an epic set from Four Tet by the time darkness fell.

Loyle to the encore

By the time Loyle Carner took to Forwards’ West stage, it was fair to say, the festival was really cooking.

As was the case with Joy Anonymous, the London jazz-poet’s crowd interaction shone through, and Carner’s continuous praise of the city of Bristol seemed less platitudinous than it did a sincere reflection of the vibe emanating from the crowd.

Just a few weeks back, over in Sziget, the Bristol Beats Club praised the music industry’s apparent decision to do away with encores. Carner bucked the trend with two of the fuckers. And, it has to be said, there were few complaints.

Forwards Day 2 drew an older crowd

The differences between Forwards day 1 and day 2 most likely stemmed from the line up. Don’t get us wrong – on day 2, attendees could expect to take in a fair share of upcoming acts. But day 2’s bill was topped by artist’s you’d expect to appeal to an older crowd.

LCD Soundsystem. Underworld. The Jesus and Mary Chain. Had Forwards’ organisers deliberately attempted to deter whippersnappers from day 2, in the hope of a subdued Sunday with a timely end?

If so, they succeeded… and they were helped in no small part by rain.

At Forwards, you should expect to get wet

We need to mention the rain at Forwards, because, if you’re gonna attend this shindig, you should expect to get wet.

This is a Bristol-based festival the leaks into September. Yet, with the exceptions of the tiny information stage (for which a massive queue formed as soon as the Forwards’ weather turned) and an inconspicuous parasol in the western quadrant of the Forwards ‘arena’, at Forwards, there is basically no cover from the elements.

The Bristol Beats Club, being no strangers to a festival, therefore attended Forwards with our brollies in tow. And, of course, we erected (hehe) said brollies once the rain inevitably began. 

Those who smuggle umbrellas into Forwards risk eviction

What a sin we had committed.

Within seconds of our umbrella erection, a security guard approached us. No umbrellas, she said, were permitted at Forwards. Perplexed, we asked why, and were told umbrellas were a health hazard. If we were quick to conceal our umbrellas, we were told, we’d be able to keep hold of them. It all seemed like madness and we protested but, recognising the inevitable, eventually, we complied.

We were just a little too late. 

Yep, by the time we’d heeded the first security guard’s advice, a second was on us, demanding we hand over our weapons of mass destruction post haste. We were being robbed, apparently, of our personal property.

Why the fuck weren’t we allowed umbrellas?

This riled us: why the fuck weren’t we allowed umbrellas? And, if we handed them over, how the hell were we realistically gonna get em back? Of course, there was no arguing. We were met with claims of “terms and conditions” (as guests, we’d signed none). “Health and safety!” seemed the retort to any reasonable claim we made. 

At Forwards, apparently, an intoxicated skate session on a laid-on halfpipe slides. Keeping dry, however, is a criminal offence.

We were given two options. We could choose from either being mugged, or being kicked out. The latter, then, you pricks! was our response, and we were ceremoniously marched to the exit.

We stood on the precipice of forcible eviction

As we stood, soaked through, and on the precipice of being forcibly removed from a sodden UK music festival for using an umbrella, we were handed a lifeline: we could chuck the brollies in our car and come back in.

How obliging.

Feeling very much like we’d have preferred our spat to open with such an offering, we agreed.

“We need to get you a re-entry wristband, then,” our by-now-really-quite- sizeable entourage declared. No need, we said, revealing we were press, which immediately triggered visible panic amongst our assailants. Apologies emerged but it was, you’ll understand, too little, too late. The escapade would be reported at excessive length. Factually (“make sure you say I was nice!” a nice security guard jokes). But not favourably.

There is no re-entry to Forwards

Here’s the other thing you’ll have noticed from umbrella-gate, Beats Clubbers. There is no re-entry to Forwards festival.

Once you’re in, you’re in. And, unless you’re a parent dropping a child back home, once you’re out, you’re out. There is no reason for this but one: money.

The policy is designed to shift money from your account

We have no idea who precisely is making money from Forwards festival. Perhaps it’s the artists. Perhaps it’s the organisers. Perhaps it’s the vendors. What we are sure of, however, is Forwards’ “no re-entry” policy – coupled with its policy of banning attendees from brining any (yeah, any) food and drink into the festival – is designed to shift significant sums of money from your bank account.

Given benchmarks, food and booze isn’t that badly priced

In fairness, given festival benchmarks, the food and drink on offer at Forwards isn’t necessarily badly priced. We had a nightmare on day 1, opting for the food truck with shortest queue, then paying £17 for a meagre helping of chips with a burger of dubious quality… which we proceeded to eat while standing stationery (at Forwards, save for the earth itself, there are very few things on which you can sit), further underlining the stupidity of our attempt to avoid queuing.

On day 2, being a little more seasoned and a little less drunk, we grabbed £9 mac and cheese.

Half-decent Lost & Grounded drinks costs us somewhere in the region of £6.50 a pint. But, of course, we had to pay an extra (non-refundable) quid for a ‘reusable’ hard plastic cup.

We’re not really sure why we had to pay extra for a cup. The cups weren’t refundable. Nor were they branded, so they were hardly a take-home. Even if they were, Forwards claims to be environmentally concerned.

A Beats Club suggestion, then, would be to avoid forcing people to take home pointless hard plastic, non-branded cups – no-one wants them, no-one needs them, they’re all going to landfill – and if it is indeed acceptable to charge us a quid for something in which to hold our beer (it isn’t), we suggest you donate the proceeds to some sort of environmental charity, perhaps who do environmental consultancy work, who would presumably suggest you serve your craft beer in compostable cups that, wholesale, cost festival organisers 9p a cup.

As we say, given typical festival prices, Forwards food and drink prices weren’t horrendous. Still, the fact you’re forced to pay festival prices, and the fact ‘festival prices’ are even a thing, is a bit rough.

Either way, we’ve published the prices. Whether or not this prompts you to duct-tape a half bottle of vodka to your penis before your Forwards entry is, of course, up to you.

Forwards’ Day 2 acts were very much on form

Despite day 2’s myriad setbacks, we must report that, once again, the acts Forwards had booked for their Sunday session were all very much on form. 

Glass Beams, a new band to the Beats Club, are worth checking out. Or listening to, at least. The trio are apparently pretty averse to publicity; so much so that, on stage, they conceal their faces with freaky masks. And you can forget any crowd interaction, lest their identities be further compromised.

CMAT’s performance is also worth highlighting. The alt-pop, mercury-prize tipped sensation started well… only for thunder and lightening to ensue, the Bristol Beats Club to become embroiled in an umbrella-related battle with security (see above), and the festival organisers to shut the set down for safety reasons.

A safety conscious festival, Forwards very much is.

While CMAT was eventually permitted to continue her set, she only managed to squeeze in a final song given her allotted stage time.

Disgruntled and sodden to the bone, your correspondents couldn’t help but think what might have been. 

Elsewhere in music, Sunday’s revellers were treated to Baxter Dury, Yard Act, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Jessie Ware, Underworld, and LCD Soundsystem sets, with a chaotic Yard Act performance the pick of the bunch.

A chaotic Yard Act set was pick of the bunch

Here you have a band who know how to lift the mood, three albums in still willing to leave nothing on stage. Whether or not you like Yard Act’s music, go and see em.

A live evening with Yard Act is one you won’t regret.

What did we make of Forwards overall?

If we’re honest, based on what we discovered at Forwards first-hand, it’d be hard for us to recommend you shell out for the party.

Between the (lack of) shelter, the arena size, the (lack of) added extras, and an overt commercial feel, there are just too many irks the festival needs to fix.

Still, you have to hand it to whoever’s booking the music. You must also remember that Forwards is a young festival, putting on performances at a time in which festivals are imploding all over the shop.

Forwards will no doubt improve as time goes on, so if you spot a Forwards line up you like the look of, go for it.

Whatever you do, though, leave your umbrella at home.

Bristol Beats Xx