What's On / Bristol Gigs

St Pauls Carnival Map and Set Times.

— Things get pretty disorientating at Carnival, don't get lost.

When is St Pauls Carnival?

This years carnival occurs on Saturday 1st July 2025.

Once the carnival has started it becomes a lot harder to work out which sound systems are where! Stages and sound systems are scattered throughout the streets of St Pauls. Closer to the time this page will include a Google map with each scheduled stage. These include the infamous PA systems and speaker stacks which the evening part of St Pauls Carnival is known for.

Our editor's top live music recommendation

The late, great anarchic visionary Benjamin Zephaniah is in the spotlight for Lyrafest’s flagship event. Celebrating his dub poetical works with performances from Brummie Laureate Casey Bailey alongside recollections from friends and family on the Brixton Riots, Peaky Blinders and his historic OBE snubbing. There’ll never be another like him, rest in power! Dis Poetry: A Tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah at St George's Bristol.

She blew the lid off Strange Brew in 2024, now Stormy J returns with her highly infectious blend of soca, percussive house, killer UKF excavations and groove-filled Trinidad Carnival flavours. BIG. Ruffnek Diskotek at Cosies.

It’s gonna get steamy in the Love Inn for Girl on Girl’s next party, headed up by Popola’s Ivicore supplying the ‘elektro perreo’ fuego, drawing on Latin and Afro-Caribbean rhythms mixed with spicy club edits. Dress to sweat. Girl On Girl presents: Ivicore at The Love Inn.

The unstoppable occupation of Ashton Court rolls on with heavy lovers dub from crucial operators Two Step Forward. Featuring Martin Melody’s silky vocals gracing the mic alongside Ras Addis, Sisters in Dub’s Danniella Dee serving the impeccable roots selection + much more. Community Jam Collective hold down room two with everything from Anatolian psych to crooning country to cosmic disco oddities. Big! TWO STEP FORWARD AND CJC TAKEOVER THE MANOR IN SPECTACULAR STYLE.

Armed with decades of organising experience, activist-authors Jane Holgate and John Page join Bookhaus to light a fire in the bellies of a new generation of agitators: ‘Changemakers’ is collective action 101, blending theory and practice to equip communities with power-building, injustice-battling know-how. Changemakers Radical Strategies for Social Movement Organising with Jane Holgate and John Page

The Cowfolk continue an incredible run of PWYC stereotype-busting presentations aimed at dispelling imperialist myths and misrepresentations of global peoples. This edition focuses on the Kurdish women's freedom movement, with a feature length doc focusing on their guerilla conflicts against Iraqi and Turkish forces. An utterly essential education and solidarity evening for all! We will be screening Zaynê Akyol's brilliant 'Gulîstan, Land of Roses' (2016),

Stage organisers can use this page to announce set times for the djs and mcs for the music stages and sound systems at Bristol’s 2025 carnival. While the main stages focus on Caribbean music, it’s foolish to consider St Pauls carnival as predominantly dub and reggae event. Programmed by sound system owners and local promoters, the lineups for the stages each bring different musical styles and artists to the 2025 event. From established drum & bass and dubstep djs to the cutting edge electronica and house producers that Bristol is becoming known for, St Pauls carnival by night is a celebration of Bristol’s diverse music scene.

When the sound systems switch off around midnight, the party moves indoors with almost every venue in Bristol boasting some form of St Pauls carnival after party. After parties range from big club events in venues like Lakota, Basement 45, The Black Swan and Blue Mountain, to free-entry all-nighters in the pubs and bars around St Pauls and Stokes Croft. The event listings below outline all of the free and paid after parties for this years carnival.

This year's carnival after parties

Crofters Carnival: Brown Excellence, Club Siren ++ at Crofters Rights
— Crofters Rights

Crofters Carnival: Brown Excellence, Club Siren ++ Tickets

Club Djembe Carnvial After Party at The Love Inn
— The Love Inn

Club Djembe Carnvial After Party Tickets

St Paul's Carnival All Dayer + Afterparty at The Canteen
— The Canteen

St Paul's Carnival All Dayer + Afterparty Tickets

Strange Brew Nights - Dirtytalk DJs + Fig b2b Suze at Strange Brew
— Strange Brew

Strange Brew Nights - Dirtytalk DJs + Fig b2b Suze Tickets

DTYM - Bristol Pride Fundraiser at Phoenix Pub
— Phoenix Pub

DTYM - Bristol Pride Fundraiser Tickets

BRISTOL NORTHERN SOUL CLUB at The Old Market Assembly
— The Old Market Assembly

BRISTOL NORTHERN SOUL CLUB Tickets

Lakota's St Pauls Carnival Day & Night Party at Lakota
— Lakota

Lakota's St Pauls Carnival Day & Night Party Tickets

Disco Dinner Carnival Day Party Takeover at New Bristol Brewery
— New Bristol Brewery

Disco Dinner Carnival Day Party Takeover Tickets

FNUK de HOUSE'D - SECONDCITY & ELLIE COCKS at Dare to Club
— Dare to Club

FNUK de HOUSE'D - SECONDCITY & ELLIE COCKS Tickets

DJ Folu's House Party - carnival special! at To The Moon
— To The Moon

DJ Folu's House Party - carnival special! Tickets

FOLU'S AFROHOUSE PARTY - CARNIVAL EDITION at To The Moon
— To The Moon

FOLU'S AFROHOUSE PARTY - CARNIVAL EDITION Tickets

Eject x Uprise: St Paul's Afters// Rominimal, Free at The Cock and Tail
— The Cock and Tail

Eject x Uprise: St Paul's Afters// Rominimal, Free Tickets

Rockit Science at No. 51s
— No. 51s

Rockit Science Tickets

Jungle Connoisseur & The ASBO Disco: Bristol Fire at The Jam Jar
— The Jam Jar

Jungle Connoisseur & The ASBO Disco: Bristol Fire Tickets

Carnival Afterparty w/ Joker & King Original at Lost Horizon
— Lost Horizon

Carnival Afterparty w/ Joker & King Original Tickets

Carnival showdown at Revs de cuba
— Revs de cuba

Carnival showdown Tickets

SUBVISION CARNIVAL AFTER PARTY at The Loco Klub
— The Loco Klub

SUBVISION CARNIVAL AFTER PARTY Tickets

Apocalypse Bristol - Metal // Emo // Alternative at Basement 45
— Basement 45

Apocalypse Bristol - Metal // Emo // Alternative Tickets

All Out 90's at The Lanes
— The Lanes

All Out 90's Tickets

FNUK de House'D Afters with Slipmatt and Tenacious at Dare to Club
— Dare to Club

FNUK de House'D Afters with Slipmatt and Tenacious Tickets

Propaganda - Indie vs Pop-Punk Special! at The Fleece
— The Fleece

Propaganda - Indie vs Pop-Punk Special! Tickets

“Founder of Booty Bass, and one of the most exciting musical voices to come out of Bristol, NGAIO has been part of the city's music scene for decades as a raver, vocalist, performer and DJ. Blending genres that have influenced her musical journey you'll hear afrobeats, afrohouse, percussive and Tribal music reflecting her Nigerian ancestry. Latin, reggaeton, moombahton and carnival sounds from her time in South America and naughties edits, dubstep, Grime and Drum & Bass as a long term lover of rave with some jazzy elements and extra bassy bits chucked in for extra flair.”
From: Booty Bass, Femmes on Decks & Mothers in Music

“Stormy J is a true original. She terms her sound "Jab House", a highly energetic and emotive fusion of house, electronic rave, jab-jab and gutter soca music. Jab-house is driven by unapologetic extreme freedom, carnival and festival culture. Making waves in London clubs including Ministry of Sound and Queen of Hoxton, while holding down a weekly show on Select Radio, we are deeply honoured to be bringing Stormy to the Ruffnek dance. *Check out her jab-house mix (youtube link above), seriously this sound is FRESH!”
From: Ruffnek Diskotek

“Did you know that March marks the peak of carnival season around the world? While carnival isn’t widely celebrated in the UK, it’s a vibrant tradition in many cultures—a time of creativity, celebration, and storytelling. From the elaborate masks of Venice to the spirited parades of Brazil and the Caribbean, carnival is a space where art, music, and community come together to honor heritage and imagination.”
From: CARNIVAL✦ MASK MAKING WORKSHOP ✦ Tales Of Becoming

“Strange things happen in dreams, but stranger things can happen in waking life, and Jaz Delorean has never shied away from baring his tattered soul to anyone willing to listen. He’ll pull at your heartstrings, and get you dancing to the rhythms of his fingers and forgetting your own worries for a time, before skulking off into the blackness behind the neon carnival lights again. Some things aren’t meant to be kept.”
From: JAZ DELOREAN

“Tickets: watershed.co.uk/whatson/12942/cartoon-carnival" target="_blank" >https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/12942/cartoon-carnival”
From: Cartoon Carnival + Q&A