‘It was my dream to bring fest to Bristol’

Pat Connor is BBC England’s head of development and events

It has been a dream of mine for a while to bring a music event like the BBC 6Music Festival to Bristol. Over the past couple of years the Festival has been to Manchester and then on to Newcastle & Gateshead – both unique regions with their own distinctive musical heritage.

For me though Bristol has a special place in music history both for its original homegrown sound but also because it’s where my own career in music began as a radio presenter and producer.

Whenever I visit I love to see live music, most recently seeing RHAIN at The Louisiana, last month – an artist drawn to the city like so many others.  

Bristol is such a creative hub and as BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Mary Anne Hobbs told the press at the festival’s launch – it grows its own musicians, but other artists visit and simply stay because of its very special ambience.

Mary Ann and Steve Lamacq announced the first wave of the line up during a live broadcast at the Watershed. The festival will feature some of our city’s pivotal musicians including Roni Size, Tricky, Beak and DJ Pinch. As well as the Mercury prize winning Roni Size, Primal Scream will also play the festival. It’s a bit of a coup for Bristol as the gig will arrive ahead of their new album Chaosmosis which they’ll perform live for the first time at the festival. 

Also premiering new material is Tricky who debuts live tracks from his 2016 album, Skilled Mechanics, and art rock group the Blue Aeroplanes, who release their 11th studio album, Welcome. Stranger!, in September. Beak, also known as Billy Fuller and Matt Williams, and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, will debut new tracks, following the release of their recent EPs.

There are such a wealth of venues in the city it was difficult to whittle them down to five but I hope audiences will feel that there is an even spread across the city with gigs at Motion, Colston Hall, O2 Academy, Basement 45 and Trinity. There will also be pop-up events in venues throughout Bristol, big and small. 

As well as the evening gigs there is a full programme for “Festival by Day” featuring live music, interviews, discussions, spoken word, and we’ll be showcasing some of the city’s finest food culture at a special market during the weekend. 

The 6 Music Festival is one of many real gems we have to look forward to in Bristol in 2016. The city is equally famous for its food as its music and we’re excited that Bristol will again host the BBC Food & Farming Awards next year in April. 

For the BBC, like our other live events across the country we think that the 6 Music Festival is a key point in the year when we can connect with our audience. 

As shown with the previous two festivals, BBC Radio 6 Music exemplifies the BBC’s commitment to music and supporting new talent. It now reaches over two million listeners, always championing music with an alternative spirit which Bristol’s music scene also encapsulates so vividly. 

We will be announcing the full festival line up on January 19 so watch this space, you will be the first to know!

The 6Music Festival takes place next year on February 12 to 14 2016