Headliners and acts for three of five planned Bristol Sounds concerts next summer at the amphitheatre on Bristol’s harbourside have been announced.

The Bristol Sounds event runs from Wednesday to Sunday, June 21-25 2023, and will see some of the biggest names in music perform in front of thousands by the waterside in the city centre.

Organisers have unveiled who is performing on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with more announcements to come. Manchester band James are headlining on the Friday evening, June 23, with an all-day festival on the Saturday headlined by The Levellers, and on the Thursday, singer-songwriter Jacob Collier is performing.

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The Bristol Sounds week of gigs has become a staple of the summer events calendar in the city, traditionally falling on the week of Glastonbury, as a city-based alternative to the festival down the road.

In the past the likes of Noel Gallagher, Elbow and The Kaiser Chiefs have performed in the amphitheatre, and this year an all-day festival event on the Saturday will see many more big names take part.

The Levellers’ Beautiful Day Out will be headlined by the indie-rock band, but will also feature ska legends The Selecter, Shaun Ryder and Kermit’s Black Grape, Newport rappers Goldie Lookin’ Chain and Peat & Diesel. There’ll be a significant Bristol representation too with singer-songwriters Gaz Brookfield and Emily Breeze also performing on the main stage.

On the Thursday, 28-year-old Londoner Jacob Collier, who shot to fame as a teenager on YouTube and became a Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, is performing.

On the Friday, Manchester band James, whose hits like Sit Down and Born Of Frustration brought them global success in the early 1990s, will take over the stage as part of their 40th anniversary tour.

The remaining two headliners for the Bristol Sounds series are yet to be announced, but event promoter Conal Dodds, from Crosstown Concerts, said the amphitheatre would once again be a great setting for the concerts.

The Selecter
The Selecter

“There is nowhere better to experience a great gig than Bristol’s harbourside,” he said. “The cranes and ships provide the perfect backdrop to this festival and we’re pleased to be bringing some international talent to the city for five nights. We have some great support acts lined up to announce in the coming months so watch this space.”

Tickets will go on sale at 9am on Friday December 9th on the SeeTickets website.

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