Good Times Live Is Back In Bristol This May Bank Holiday – And It’s Reyt Loaded
If your end of May bank holiday plans currently involve sitting in a beer garden pretending the British weather isn’t about to betray you, allow us to offer a stronger option. Good Times Live returns to Chipping Sodbury with six nights of music, comedy and family chaos designed to kick summer off properly.
And fair play, this lineup isn’t phoning it in.
Opening the week are Sheffields The Human League, still armed with enough electronic bangers to make half the crowd remember they own a leather jacket. Then comes Jessie J, whose vocal range could probably power the national grid if used correctly. Tom Odell brings the emotional heavy lifting, likely sending at least three people into dramatic pint-holding reflection, while Madness are almost guaranteed to turn the place into a mass skank-along of joyous nonsense. Rounding things off is Emeli Sandé, a performer with the sort of voice that can shut a field up in seconds.
The undercard deserves attention too, and not in the patronising “support acts start at 2pm” way. Lemar brings polished R&B, The Ordinary Boys supply indie nostalgia with enough swagger to spill into the car park, and Elles Baileycontinues her rise as one of the UK’s most dependable live names. That’s a strong supporting cast by any standard.
There’s comedy too, because apparently they’ve decided sleep is optional. Russell Howard leads the Good Times Comedy Gala with Harriet Kemsley hosting, joined by Leigh Francis and other names ready to test how much laughter one crowd can manage before needing chips.
And for families? They’ve not forgotten you either. Andy Day headlines the daytime madness, while Dinomania, inflatables, rides and mini-raves make sure younger punters are equally over-stimulated and delighted.
What Good Times Live gets right is balance. Too many events try to be everything and end up being nothing. This one seems to understand its audience: music fans, families, comedy lovers and people who simply want a decent bank holiday without being fleeced by nonsense.
If we’re being critical, mixed-bag lineups can sometimes feel a bit playlist-on-shuffle if the site atmosphere doesn’t hold it together. The jump from synth-pop icons to kids entertainment to stand-up can be chaotic if not organised sharply. But if the logistics are tight, this could be one of those festivals that feels far bigger than it looks on paper.
Tickets are shifting quickly, which isn’t shocking. A bank holiday event with proper names, broad appeal and enough going on to justify the spend tends to do that.
So yes, you could spend the weekend queueing for a lukewarm pint elsewhere. Or you could head to Bristol and actually have some Good Times.
GET YOUR TICKETS HERE, HURRY UP
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