By Rafe Llewellyn, Second Year History and Benji Chapman, Music Editor
The billboard proudly displaying a star-studded Love Saves The Day lineup including Ghetts, Overmono, Nia Archives, and the highly anticipated return of Groove Armada, was replaced this week by a mysterious billboard for Love Saves' sister summer festival.
Many will remember posters that were put up in late February 2024 which teased the FORWARDS headliners that year, featuring lyrics from LCD Soundsystem and Loyle Carner, who later co-headlined the festival that year.
Now, the newest instalment of the festival's advertisements may be seeking to gather hype surrounding the 2025 lineup with a more cryptic visual clue, which seems to be a clear nod to the debut album of rising star Doechii.
Doechii, who recently broke headlines for taking home a Grammy, plays at the London-based All Points East festival only a day before a potential slot on the prized Sunday night of the festival, suggesting a relatively short trip to the nearby Bristol could be on the cards.
Since the festival lineup hasn't been released yet, the billboard has no names plastered across it, in contrast to its rave counterpart Love Saves The Day. It does, however, have a rather pale alligator curled menacingly around the FORWARDS logo.
The strange iconography has left passers-by curious as to what this could mean for the festival: could it be a hint to our headliner this year?
The main suspect at Epigram has emerged as Doechii, who exploded into the limelight off the back end of 2024 with the release of her August mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal, which features a front cover with Doechii sat down, cradling a strikingly similar pale alligator.
Doechii's refusal to be bound by genres and her masterful lyricism alongside the best hooks in the game have led her to soar dramatically in popularity, seemingly overnight, into a global superstar with hits like 'DENIAL IS A RIVER'.
Her hit mixtape was also released in August of last year, coming right after FORWARDS festival 2024. It's therefore highly possible - chronologically speaking - that it would have been recognised by festival organisers shortly after, who booked the artist, keen to ride the enormous tidal wave of success.
While this theory seems likely, the students of Bristol anxiously saving to afford tickets this year will not know for sure until the lineup is officially released: we are still waiting for a date that we can expect to see the lineup. If the poster indicates anything however, it's that this will certainly be coming shortly.
Featured Image: Caolan McHughDo you think the poster confirms that Doechii will be headlining?
