St Pauls Carnival announces stage lineup for 2023 event

The iconic celebration of Bristol’s African-Caribbean culture the St Pauls Carnival will return in three weeks taking place Saturday, July 1st, celebrating the theme of Learning from Legends. Following tradition, the carnival will host a stellar line-up of musical and creative talent from Bristol to capture the carnival vibes. At the 55th edition of the event, carnival attendees can expect Afro-Caribbean-inspired rhythms, world music, and contemporary dance tracks.

The Roy Hackett Memorial Stage

The Roy Hackett Memorial Stage will be this year’s main stage located in St Pauls Learning Centre Green, celebrating the legacy of Bristol activist, community elder and civil rights pioneer Roy Hackett. This stage will feature many of Bristol's greats spanning across genres such as Reggae, Dub, Hip Hop, Spoken Word, Afrobeats, UK Funky, and more.

The artists announced to perform on this stage include The Horseman and The Uppercut Band, Talisman, Laid Blak, Dallas, Moyah, Da Fuchaman and his Fire Blaze Band, Josephine Gyasi, Zed Regal.

Raising Legends

Situated in St Pauls Park the Raising Legends stage curated by Aspiration Creation Elevation will offer carnival attendees the opportunity to enjoy the fresh emerging talent straight out of Bristol.

Celebrating the future Bristol legends, headline artists for this stage include DJ McCoy Sway, DJ Eazy, DJ Chloe Sage, BORN2BE Records, and Creative Power Town.

Radical Roots

Radical Roots is the carnival’s newest stage and can be found Brunswick Square. This new stage welcomes a blend of activist-led cultural arts featuring some of Bristol's best artists performing music, spoken word, dance and more.

Headline artists include Lawrence Hoo, Solomon O.B, Bristol Windrush Reggae Choir, Malizah, Foli - Bristol Djembe Players and The Golden Guild.

Radical Roots - Booty Bass Takeover

The Radical Roots stage will be taken over by Booty Bass from 16:45 – 22:00. Booty Bass are a collective of female and non-binary DJ’s taking over for an evening of big, bad, unapologetic bangers from around the globe.

Headline artists for this takeover include Booty Bass, GROVE (dancehall set), NGAIO, Bungzo, Hannza, Kofo and Garoëss.

Mandela's Hideaway

Returning this year is the official family and children's stage Mandela’s Hideaway. Performances on this stage will showcase local youth talent & grassroots artists, African and Caribbean workshops including arts & crafts, dance, drumming, storytelling, wooden play, sensory spaces and more. Located in St Agnes park, this stage will feature headline acts perfect for the whole family including Whiske XMP, Lorna Da Angel, Jethro Sherran, Texxus Redmoney, YBGT showcase & Krush Landing.

Commenting on the artist announcements St Pauls Carnival Chairman Levi Roots said “We are so excited to unveil the amazing diverse carnival line up, featuring talent from Bristol and all over the world. The arts are what make the true carnival experience, celebrating and sharing of our diverse cultures and delivering excellence through music, words and more. As we continue to learn from our legends, we cannot wait to deliver carnival excitement, happy high energy tunes, heavy beats this year."

The full artist line-up and schedule can be found on the St Pauls Carnival website here.