From humble beginnings back in 2012, Bristol’s iconic Love Saves The Day Festival has come a long way from a one-day event to an expansive multi-stage, multi-day festival at one of Bristol’s heritage locations, the beautiful Ashton Court Estate.
As a proud Bristolian in my 30’s who loves music and festivals, 2023 was my first experience of LSTD, and WOW, had I been missing out all these years! From start to finish, the weekend was a memorable one and a festival experience I’ll always remember.
Here are some of my highlights from the Best Bristol Bank Holiday knees-up at Love Saves The Day!
1. An Eclectic Line-up:
LSTD centres its main offerings in dance music – which makes sense with some of Bristol’s biggest musical exports having started in the underground clubs of the city.
The exquisite LSTD 2023 line-up spanned a plethora of genres; from two stepping with DNB newcomer A Little Sound and DNB royalty Andy C, singing our hearts out to songs of our youth with pop powerhouses Sugababes, singing loud and proud at the start of Pride month with LGBT+ icon Years & Years, milkshakes and millionaires with RnB’s own Kelis, and booty shaking with key players on the house, techno and disco scene, including Groove Armada, Folamour, Romy, Bristol’s own Eats Everything, and the one and only ‘housemaster’ himself, Fatboy Slim.
It was great to see big names in music performing on home turf, alongside new local talent, including Bristol names like the wonderful Ellie Stokes. If someone you know has come away from LSTD saying they didn’t like any of the music, they’re lying! The eclectic line-up is what makes LSTD so truly unique, bridging wide communities of music lovers, and offering something for everyone, and introducing a lot of new talent to the ears of eager music fans.
2. Exciting Stages:
As the festival has grown over the years, so have the stages and the wider offerings across the site. The stages are some of the most unique and fun to dance in front of across any of the festivals I’ve been too. The sound and lighting were also exceptional for a mid-sized festival, dialling the experience up to 11!
Two standouts were the main stage, dubbed ‘The Love Stage’, for it’s quite literal towering heart shape cutting into the Bristol skyline, plastered in reds and golds, giving an old Hollywood vibe. Another standout stage was the largescale set of Brouhaha, think Futuristic Taverna meets the discotheque with a DJ booth under a tin roof, gold turrets with flames pumping to the beats and platforms of glittering dancers sporting their bank holiday best!
It was amazing dancing under the iconic LSTD transmission tower atop the Ashton Court estate looking out over the festival site and across to Bristol. There was also a ‘Love Saves’ oversized letter wall for those Insta-worthy shots with your mates, and as it was a scorcher of a weekend, plenty of covered areas to retreat under for shade (or rain, although we saw none this year!)
3. Everything under one roof (sort of!):
I think it’s always important to consider the wider infrastructure of the festival site, particularly with reports of other festivals that took place over the same weekend. LSTD offered a stellar selection of food vendors, a selection of well organised and large bars with flow systems meaning minimal waits, and a decent range of drinks too, ranging from alcohol free offerings, local ciders and brews to the ever-popular hard seltzers, and all reasonably priced, with change from £20 for a few drinks. It was also great to see lots of medical support, earplugs and free drinking water on offer, also allowing us to bring a reusable water bottle into the site.
4. The Love Bus:
The shuttle to and from the festival site, creatively named the ‘Love Bus’, was frequent and well organised. There were plenty of double decker buses taking the hordes of festival goers up to the event site from Bristol City Centre and the main train station, Bristol Temple Meads, for just £7 return (pre-booked), even at peak arrival times. I did buy myself some time leaving the site fractionally early each night to make my onward journey home and would recommend doing so for anyone wanting a less busy exit from the Ashton Court Estate, as it isn’t close in proximity to the main city centre with limited access for taxis. Also ensure you have comfy shoes as the site is a 15/20-minute walk to and from the shuttle drop off point.
5. Bristolian’s Do It Best:
Having previously been voted the happiest city in the UK, this ‘proper’ shines through at Love Saves The Day! The demographic – also a mixture of ages, slightly skewed to a younger crowd, but this honestly didn’t bother me at all with everything else going on. But the clue to its success really is in the name, LSTD was a buzzing atmosphere with everyone happy to be there, and fun being the priority of the day. Lots of fun conversations with random people, which always makes my day, and the feeling of a real sense of belonging, everyone was there having the best time.
Overall, it’s a wonderful festival experience with so much to offer. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to experience their first festival, and to those seasoned festival goers who want to add it as the starter to their summer line up of music. A big thank you to Kellie, Natalie and Sophie from Plaster PR, and to the entire team at Love Saves The Day for making the weekend extra special and I know us at Where’s My Tent are already counting down to May 2024!
[thanks to Josh for this lush review of the fabulous review of LSTD 2023!]
Hi – im interested in the age demographic. I’m 41 and love festivals, would I stand out at LSTD? Bit hesitant to be ‘the old ones’.
Cheers
Hi there! Look I’ll be honest, most of the crowd is 18-25, but that doesn’t mean you will ‘stand out’. There are still lots of us over 35 that go! We just might not be at the front for Hedex 😂 You’ll have a great time for sure.