LIVE: FORWARDS presents LORDE
Despite the downpours that were well overdue, the skies finally cleared just in time. But the drive over along the M4 was another story entirely - queue after queue, unexpected traffic and, eventually, the heavens opening once again. But somehow, it all felt like part of the occasion. What better way to kickstart the bank holiday weekend than with a celebration of live music? And, looking at it somewhat sadly, a final farewell to festival season. Forwards Festival has become known for bringing some of the biggest and most exciting names from across the world to the stage, with previous line-ups boasting the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Loyle Carner, Doechii and Olivia Dean. This year was no different, with Self Esteem, Wet Leg and Little Simz among the names taking centre stage for another weekend of music, mayhem and memories.
Before getting into the music itself, it’s worth taking a moment to look at the team behind it: Forwards Presents. More than simply another addition to the ever-growing festival calendar, FORWARDS has established itself as a future-facing city festival, combining an ambitious international line-up with a commitment to social change and a platform for important, sometimes urgent, conversations. That ethos extends beyond the stages, too. Sustainability remains one of the music industry’s biggest challenges, but Forwards has continued to push for meaningful change, with this year seeing the introduction of its Clean Power Pilot. Supported by Arts Council England and Bristol City Council, the initiative aims to bring cleaner power to major festivals and productions across Bristol and the wider region, helping to improve air quality for everyone involved; from festivalgoers and performers to staff and local residents. It’s an encouraging reminder that the future of festivals isn’t just about who takes to the stage, but how those stages are powered in the first place.
After battling the awful traffic, a late hotel check-in and the journey across Bristol, we finally made it over to the festival. Thankfully, Forwards’ incredibly useful shuttle bus service from Temple Meads made the final leg of the journey a breeze, and we arrived just in time to catch Audrey Hobert take to the stage. Lyrically humorous and effortlessly blending pop, indie and folk, Audrey kicked things off with her signature wit on ‘I Like To Touch People’. Breezy festival soundscapes were paired with a highly energetic, antic-fuelled performance, perfectly suited to the eclectic crowd gathered at Clifton Downs. There was a real sense of spontaneity to her set, with Audrey throwing herself into every moment and quickly winning over the crowd with her infectious energy and playful charm. Immersive from start to finish, it was a refreshing and fun-filled showcase that set the tone for the day ahead.
Australian singer-songwriter Esha Tewari took to the stage next with a smile that never seemed to leave her face, radiating a genuine sense of joy at simply being there. Her genre-bending sound accompanied a powerful performance that, on the surface, felt effortless, yet carried an undeniable depth. Exploring themes of authenticity, vulnerability and girlhood, Tewari created something that felt both intimate and quietly moving. There was a warmth to her presence that drew the crowd in, captivating the audience just as much as that unmistakable smile that lit up the stage.
Maisie Peters stepped onto the stage like a true pop princess, but one with enough indie edge and country charm to keep things delightfully unpredictable. Her set was a playful cocktail of polished pop melodies, indie sensibilities and a sprinkling of country, with Peters proving herself to be every bit the storyteller. With themes of reclaiming parts of yourself and finding the strength to move forward, her lyrics carried a depth that clearly resonated with the crowd. The set also marked the live debut of ‘Girl’s Just Flying’ from her latest album Florescence, while coinciding with the fifth anniversary weekend of her 2021 debut You Signed Up For This, which brought a particularly resonant performance of ‘Villain’. Paying homage to one of country music’s greats, Peters also treated the crowd to an ode to Dolly Parton with a charming cover of ‘Here You Come Again’. It was a set that proved there’s far more beneath the glittering pop exterior; wit, vulnerability, honesty and plenty of heart. A pop princess, certainly, but one who isn’t afraid to get her boots a little muddy.
Marking the final set before the headline, a sea of Stranger Things t-shirts filled the crowd as fans jostled for a front-row spot, creating arguably one of the loudest atmospheres of the day. Having personally waited a long time to see DJO live, the moment felt particularly special. Visually captivating and bursting with colourful energy, the performance carried an intensity that kept the crowd hooked throughout, as indie lovers and Stranger Things fans alike became one for a fun yet surprisingly intimate hour. In a set filled with psychedelia, distortion, and intricate musicianship, with tracks such as ‘Basic Being Basic’, ‘Roddy’, and ‘Charlie’s Garden’, playing across the open field, the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. After deep, resonant pulses of guitar rippled across the stage, the opening notes of ‘End of Beginning’ began to twinkle through the air. For a split second, there was almost a sense of stillness; that breath before thousands of voices became one. The response was deafening. The song seemed to belong as much to the crowd as it did to DJO, each lyric thrown back towards the stage with a force that turned the performance into something communal. What began with a few delicate notes quickly swelled into a wall of sound - euphoric, emotional and almost overwhelming. For a song steeped in nostalgia and the ache of looking back, hearing thousands of voices unite around it felt strangely fitting. A shared memory, a shared soundtrack, suddenly made very real.
DJO may have been the one on stage, but for those few minutes, the crowd was part of the band. It was the perfect prelude to the festival’s highly anticipated headline performance from Lorde.
Under the open Bristol sky, Lorde arrived at The Downs not simply to perform, but to inhabit the stage. Lorde has always had a knack for breaking the mould, but during her Bristol debut at The Downs, that instinct felt more potent than ever. Her presence was immense; magnetic, instinctive, impossible to look away from. She moved through the night with the confidence of an artist entirely at home inside her own world.
She opened with a reimagining of ‘Royals’; its familiar bones transformed into something sharper, stranger and more electric. It felt like a door opening between then and now: a reminder of the teenager who once rewrote pop on her own terms, and the woman who has spent the years since refusing to stand still. What followed was a kaleidoscope of sound - electronic pulses, glittering pop, sudden bursts of colour and darkness. Bold and brash one moment, intimate and fragile the next, the set constantly shifted shape. Nothing stayed fixed for long and that was pure magic.
Moments of exuberance gave way to vulnerability; electronic flourishes collided with raw emotion, reflecting an artist who has grown without losing sight of what made her distinctive in the first place. Bowie dubbed her ‘the future of music’ and tonight rang true to his words. There was an authenticity running beneath the spectacle, a sense that every song carried a piece of the person she had once been, the person she is now and perhaps the person she is still becoming. The music was alive with contradiction; joy beside melancholy, vulnerability beside defiance, nostalgia tangled with possibility.
Lorde has never seemed interested in following the obvious path. On The Downs, she broke the mould again, bending pop into something more expansive and emotionally intricate. Her performance was not simply a collection of songs, but a portrait of growth - all together messy, beautiful and unfinished. The past, present and future seemed to fold into one another beneath the night sky. By the end, The Downs had become its own universe: glittering, electronic, emotional and strange. A kaleidoscope of people, sounds, memories and feeling - with Lorde at its centre, pulling the pieces into new and unexpected patterns.
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You can listen to Lorde’s latest album ‘Virgin’ here
Words: Tate Powell (@tatepowellx)
Images: Giulia Spadafora (@giugliotto)
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