Fiestival Bombarda

When: 6pm 21 Nov – 3am 22 Nov

Where: Venues TBA across Baltic Triangle

Fiesta Bombarda is another of my all-time favourite events, a carnival of colour which rolls into town roughly every couple of months. My friends and I always scramble for tickets, and even if you end up alone you’ll constantly bump into familiar faces.

What sets Bombarda apart is its taking place at the city’s most inspiring spaces, including the Sefton Palm House, Williamson Tunnels and St George’s Hall.

Though a more modest venue, my personal favourite was the UV party at Constellations, whilst founder Sam Garlick says, ‘Personally I enjoyed the [Anglican] cathedral the most as it was our second birthday party and hearing ‘Sexual Healing’ by the Hot 8 Brass Band in Europe’s 5th biggest cathedral isn’t something that happens every day.’

So what inspired the Bombarda crew to challenge countless mainstream party hangouts? ‘Since our founding, the mantra of Bombarda has been to cultivate the appeal of culturally-rich genres such as afrobeat and reggae, and world cultures, for audiences previously unfamiliar by utilising unique and inspiring spaces. Our first event was a one-off in the Bombed Out Church, however due to the unexpected success we knew we couldn’t leave it there… We’ve always made sure to using interesting, varied and constantly changing venues, which is probably the biggest appeal of the event, as each night offers something hugely unique and different.’

Bombarda has had an incredible year so far, returning to where it all started for its third birthday at the Bombed Out Church. They’ve also brought the carnival to cities like Leeds, Sheffield and Bristol.

Bombarda has outdone itself with the Fiestival, having just released a fourth wave of tickets. Originally booked for the Camp and Furnace, they relocated due to overwhelming demand. Having expanded to several incredible warehouse spaces, four stages of reggae, afrobeat, brass and carnival sounds will engulf an entire area of the Baltic Triangle for just one day and night.

King of the Jungle Congo Natty will headline, and returning all the way from Chicago will be the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. There’ll also be another 15 live acts and seven DJs. If that isn’t enough to keep you entertained, there will be special performances from Hex, Katuma, Bring The Fire with more TBA.