Summer of uncertainty for Bristol festivals and live music

After rethinking one of Bristol’s biggest events last year, St Paul’s Carnival organisers face another difficult decision.

Having 100,000 people celebrating together on the streets in July seems at this point unlikely to happen, but another summer of cancellations could have catastrophic consequences for the entire live music and festival sector.

“Planning should start immediately yet it’s really difficult to plan because things are shifting so fast,” says Carnival director LaToyah McAllister-Jones.

“There are lots of conversations to be had around what is possible and also what’s responsible.

“As an organisation, we have to think very carefully about how we best serve our community this year and how we best serve the city.”

It’s a dilemma facing festival, event and live music organisers across Bristol and beyond as we journey into 2021 under a cloud of uncertainty.

A recent report by UK Music outlined recommendations on how to restart the live music scene, saying that, with the right support, the “industry could be at the forefront of the post-pandemic recovery and play a key role in our country’s economic and cultural revival”.

The Let Our Music Play: Save Our Summer report warns a lack of Covid cancellation insurance is the “biggest barrier to major events happening in 2021” and calls on the government to implement an insurance scheme as it has the film and TV sector.

This is certainly a huge consideration for LaToyah.

“We can plan to do some live activities, but we don’t know if that’s going to be possible. It makes it a gamble and community organisations cannot gamble with money,” says the Carnival director.

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Read more: Bringing St Paul’s Carnival spirit to homes across the city

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While no final decisions have yet been made, the most likely outcome is a hybrid programme, building on the successful online Carnival offering of 2020 and also including some live events if they are able to go ahead by then. It’s a model many organisers are expected to adopt this summer.

The pandemic continues to challenge this sector perhaps more than any other but from these difficulties, a strong legacy of collaboration and innovation has been built.

“We are lucky that festivals have this really strong network so no one is working in isolation and everyone is really generous,” says Liz Harkman, the director of Bristol Festivals Network.

She continues: “The impact of Covid has been devastating for the festival sector in the city. Not only on the festivals themselves but we’ve also lost a vital resource with the closure of the Festivals Hub, which was home to a number of festivals including St Paul’s Carnival, Encounters, In Between Time and May Fest.”

Despite the setbacks, Liz is cautiously optimistic about the summer but says timing is crucial with some clarity needed at least by the February half term to enable organisers to plan accordingly.

She believes a full-scale return to normal is unlikely in 2021 but warns another year of no activities could be the final nail in the coffin for some events organisations.

“If we are looking at a summer of social distancing and restrictions then festivals have enough learning and shared knowledge to still deliver activities and I know most of them will need to do that,” Liz tells Bristol24/7.

Breaking Bread on The Downs was an example of different venues collaborating to seek a solution to the challenges faced – photo by Martin Booth

And on the positive side, the challenges posed by the pandemic have forced many organisations to rethink how they do things, seizing the opportunity to broaden their audience base and make events and festivals more diverse, inclusive and representative of the city they are in.

There is also a renewed focus on sustainability and mental health and the positive changes that could be made in these areas.

Liz adds that public support is vital if we are to see Bristol’s festival scene continue to survive and thrive.

Recovery of the city’s nighttime economy and cultural sector is set to be boosted by the appointment of a new dedicated ‘night czar’ to champion the existing offer and build on opportunities to see it grow and diversify.

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Read more: Bristol to appoint new ‘night czar’ to champion venues

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Marti Burgess, the co-owner of Lakota and chair of the Bristol @ Night panel that will be recruiting for the role, says this new advisor will play a vital part in spearheading efforts to rebuild in the wake of the pandemic.

In the meantime, the panel is working to support organisations and businesses struggling to access funding at a time they would usually be planning for a busy summer ahead.

Some organisers, including the team behind Love Saves the Day, are pinning their hopes to a late summer-early autumn return to some kind of normality.

Others will seek to build on successful setups from last summer, with Marti saying the socially-distanced events held in Lakota Gardens enabled the venue to collaborate with more partners and diversify its audience.

In a recent announcement, Team Love, who would usually put on the festival in Eastville Park in May, said: “Plans are underway to hold Love Saves The Day in early September, at the end of the summer.”

“Due to the initial success of the vaccine programme and recent announcements from the government, we are feeling positive that well-organised and managed outdoor events will be able to take place later this summer.”

They added that the festival is not expected to go ahead in the same capacity as in previous years, but one with strictly limited attendance that allows for much more space.

Bristol City Council says it is as much in the dark as organisers as to what the summer holds amid a reluctance to either cancel major events, such as the Harbour Festival and Balloon Fiesta, or push ahead with full-scale plans.

Deputy mayor Asher Craig is seeking to support and understand the issues, outline the government guidance and highlight the financial support available through grants and loans.

But beyond that, the tense wait for clarity continues. A council spokesperson told Bristol24/7 “the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic means that the outlook for Bristol’s events and festivals in 2021 continues to be uncertain”.

Conal Dodds, of Crosstown Concerts which puts on the Bristol Sounds series, says one of the most frustrating things is how fast government guidelines change.

“That in itself is one of the biggest frustrations when we’ve got an entire industry effectively lying dormant, waiting for the go-ahead, but it’s clearly understandable as public health is the total priority right now,” says Conal.

He adds: “The effects of Covid have been catastrophic on the music and events industry. We need continued financial support from government until we are back to full capacity events, otherwise most of our businesses are unsustainable.”

For the city’s venues – many of whom have been forced to remain shut for the best part of a year due to coronavirus restrictions – things are just as up in the air, but the spirit of collaboration is stronger than ever.

Matt Otridge, manager of the Exchange and a representative of the Music Venue Trust, says the immediate focus for him is applying for the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund and overseeing the ongoing process of rescheduling dates.

But there is a spark of optimism as he envisions gigs happening again by the summer – with appropriate risk mitigation in place – and promises the Music Venue Trust will be at the forefront of seeking solutions to ensure this can happen safely.

Todd Wills, the artistic director at Bristol Beacon agrees live music is likely to be back on the agenda soon.

“There are few industries better able to deal with stringent health and safety measures and many in the sector have already proven that we are able to put on capacity-controlled, safe events,” says Todd.

“We are hopeful that with the vaccination, rapid testing and covid control measures in place, we will be able to start helping musicians, techs and the wider industry get back to work as soon as possible.

“The Beacon programming team is busy rescheduling our January and February events and we think it is vital for the survival of our industry to work together to stage these as soon as we can, as laid out by the plans from UK music in their recent report.”

Main photo courtesy of St Paul’s Carnival

Read more: Devastating impact of cancelled music events on Bristol’s economy