Simple Things review: a brilliantly eclectic day out in Bristol

Simple Things couldn’t have picked four more different guest curators for their 2026 edition if they tried. The Bristol event, a bastion of experimental sounds for over a decade now, welcomes in jazz supremo Shabaka, post-punks Squid, electronic boundary-pusher Cobrah and Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller to handpick sections of this year’s line-up, with the first three also all performing on the festival’s main stage at the Bristol Beacon.

While the music veers wildly between styles as a result, it’s all tied together by the artists’ experimental nature. After leaving his trademark saxophone behind to master the flute, Shabaka now incorporates both instruments into an atmospheric live show. Squid, who play the same room later on, manage to make incredibly complex and inventive music sound like the easiest thing in the world, moving from avant-garde soundscapes into mosh pit-inducing punk without blinking. A few days after the show, the band announce a new live album, showcasing how they became one of the UK’s most impressive live bands.

Across a number of venues across town, including an abandoned Debenhams department store now serving as a skate park and venue named Shredenhams, every artist Rolling Stone UK sees gives a forward-thinking twist to their genre of choice. Eight-piece caroline, who open the Beacon stage, make their post-rock and folk hybrid sound both blisteringly loud and unnervingly quiet across their set, while Melbourne’s Dumbhead endear themselves to the locals with a trip-hop-inspired sound led by the magnificent vocals of Billie Raffety, which are manipulated live on stage by another member.

Elsewhere, pop melodies are delivered with charming ease and an affable nature by Panda Bear and Sonic Boom, while New York-based songwriter Shane Lavers’ Chanel Beads project is the hottest ticket of the night. In the Beacon’s smaller Lantern room, the band showcase this year’s superb Your Day Will Come LP. On the album, Lavers sounds like a singer-songwriter in the Alex G mould, but on stage here he becomes an energetic and impassioned rock frontman.

Also bouncing around the stage with abandon are The Avalanches, who are now a decade into their comeback and thriving in their second age. With three albums under their belt in that time, including last month’s excellent No Bad Memories, the Australian duo remain masters of a kaleidoscopic, sample-heavy sound. In front of a knowledgeable and curious crowd, Simple Things once again proves itself a master of platforming the best and most forward-thinking music around.