By Sophie Scannell, Music Editor
Still reeling off the announcement that Lorde and Djo will headline FORWARDS Presents, the first clues as to who will be headlining the Bristol-beloved two-day August weekender have been revealed with lyrics plastered across the city.
The first billboard to catch the eye of Gloucester Road frequenters reads ‘FORWARDS should not be doing that’, a hopeful nod to Australian punk four-piece Amyl and The Sniffers and their 2024 hit ‘U Should Not Be Doing That’.
The band are notorious for their perfectly punky live show. Vocalist Amy Taylor has carved herself out as one of the most influential artists of the decade, her in-show speeches always seat her on the right side of history, making the band the ideal accomplices for the ‘forward’-facing ethos of the festival.
A second board, reading ‘The rapper that came to FORWARDS’ is likely to be a reference to the interlude track of Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, the mammoth 2021 album from British rap royalty Little Simz.
The ‘Gorilla’ and ‘Woman’ rapper has been making waves across the UK rap scene for years now, picking up Mercury Prizes and BRIT awards as she soared. Polishing off a US tour at the end of last year, Simz is primed for a festival performance in August that we certainly won’t forget.
Jake Paterson
Benji Chapman
And if that wasn’t enough, indie rockers will be pleased to come across the final billboard quoting Wet Leg’s ‘catch these fists’ with ‘Catch these FORWARDS’ – perhaps not as seamless a pun as the first two, but still thrilling nonetheless.
Wet Leg are enjoying a hugely successful year, avoiding the sophomore curse with their strident second album, moisturizer, and raising a few eyebrows with frontwoman Rhian Teasdale’s bloodied knees on the BRITS red carpet just last week.
Although I cant quite place my finger on this one for certain, a board reading simply ‘Me & FORWARDS’ could be referencing Nigerian R&B, Afrobeats and dancehall sensation Tems, whose 2024 album Born in the Wild features leading track ‘Me & U’.
FORWARDS Festival, taking place on the 28th and 29th August, have always delivered when it comes to lineups, hosting the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Loyle Carner in 2024, and Olivia Dean and Barry Can’t Swim last summer. This year looks to be no different with this star-studded, possibly-all-female lineup teased today: safe to say that the last festival of the summer is set to be a belter.
Featured image: Epigram / Olivia HuntThese are just our predictions, but who do you think is being teased as the headliners of 2026 FORWARDS?!
