Forwards Festival 2024 names LCD Soundsystem and Loyle Carner as first headliners

Forwards Festival has released its first wave music lineup with LCD Soundsystem and Loyle Carner among the headliners. The two-day festival - which runs from August 31 - 1 September - also features performances from Four Tet, Jessie Ware, Maribou State, and many more.

Forwards debuted in 2022 and has quickly become Bristol's biggest music festival. The inner city festival presents multiple platforms for entertainment and discussion alongside an epic music lineup, which draws the biggest names in international music to the South Wes

Loyle Carner will headline Saturday night, just a year after his powerful set on Glastonbury’s West Holts stage. The performance is set to take place on the heels of his major headline show at London’s All Points East in August 2024.

Meanwhile, LCD Soundsystem will close the Bristol festival on Sunday night with their first performance in the city for 14 years. The legendary New York band - spearheaded by James Murphy - is a pioneering force in the electronic music landscape with their genre-blending sound, seamlessly fusing dance beats and punk influences. 

Other artists confirmed on the lineup include Floating Points, Romy, Greentea Peng, Yussef Dayes, Yard Act, Baxter Dury, CMAT, Nubya Garcia, Hak Baker, MCRY, Jersey, Crazy P, Holysseus Fly and Da Funchaman & The Fire Blaze Band. 

Tom Paine, Co-founder of Team Love, said: “Forwards is back for its third year, and we couldn’t be prouder. Each year it grows, evolves and delivers even more for the city of Bristol and beyond.

"From an international and genre-spanning music lineup to future thinking talks, initiatives and with a growing-in-popularity kids area, FORWARDS is the perfect day out for everyone."

The full lineups for each of the festival’s days are still to be announced with many more exciting names set to be added to the bill over the next few months.

Pre-sale tickets for the festival are due to go live at 10am on Tuesday (March 5). Meanwhile, general sale takes place from 10am on Wednesday (March 6).