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| The Downs Festival | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | Late August/Early September |
| Frequency | annually |
| Locations | The Downs, Bristol |
| Inaugurated | September 4, 2016 |
| Previous event | September 3 - 5, 2021 (with Love Saves The Day) |
| Attendance | 20,000 - 30,000 (estimated) |
| Website | thedownsbristol |
The Downs Festival is a (usually) two day arts festival which takes place annually on theDowns inBristol, England. The first event was held on September 4, 2016 with the headliner being the Bristol-basedtrip-hop bandMassive Attack.
Over the years, it has hosted the likes ofElbow,Groove Armada,Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds andIDLES.
2016 was the inception of what is now known as The Downs Festival. This event had thetrip-hop bandMassive Attack headlining, with other acts includingPrimal Scream,Skepta andSavages. This year was also plagued by inclement weather, with there being a torrential downpour for most of the day - this has been described as "the foulest weather I have ever encountered outside of a sci-fi film" by a reviewer.[1]
The headliner for 2017 was the Britishrock bandElbow. Other acts for this year includedDe La Soul,Mike Skinner, andSeasick Steve. This time round, the weather proved to be much more promising, with "a colourful helter skelter" and "acres of food vans".[2]
This year heldNoel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (andPaul Weller),The Heavy,Goldie, andBasement Jaxx. This year, there were problems with queuing for toilets and adequate bins, as one attendee would describe it as "this event took the form of lining up for the bogs (that and bin-dodging, as the carpet of crushed, crunching cans underfoot)"[3]
The most recent occurrence of the festival was during the final weekend of August 2019. This year saw theBristol-basedpunk rock bandIDLES and Irishpost-punk bandFontaines D.C., withLauryn Hill andGrace Jones headlining the Saturday night. Other acts included Heavy Lungs on the Information Stage joined by DITZ, Talk Show and Milo's Planes.