Festival Review: Love Saves The Day 2026 at Ashton Court
Credit: Giulia Spadafora
Walking through Ashton Court in Bristol on the most gloriously bright bank holiday Saturday could easily be the most wholesome activity imaginable. The sun beams down on rolling green hills and there are no cars in sight, but as you climb the impossibly long hill on this specific weekend, up and then down past the manor house, the twee sounds of nature get replaced by something a bit more fun: dance music.
Love Saves The Day is a force to be reckoned with: having run for over a decade in Bristol, the unofficial official city of the DJ, the festival continues to bring stacked line-ups to packed crowds. On Saturday, the first of two days of fun, the festival boasted names such as Eve, Sub Focus, Katy B, Confidence Man (DJs), and many, many more. Nestled amongst these big names are some of the city’s most promising and exciting new talents, such as Douvelle19, as well as amazing up-and-comers like Kylie Wears Berghuas (a set made up exclusively of Kylie Minogue remixes? Perfect).
Credit: Jessie Myers
The site was huge and amazingly structured, with an incredible number of food vendors lining stage edges and stages evenly spaced to combat the ever-overlapping sounds of dubstep, garage, and the aforementioned Kylie remixes, to name a few sub-genres. Not to mention the craftily placed shelters from the sun: this is a must! Heading in at just past midday, we were greeted with what seemed like a never-ending amusement park to explore, in the best way. Areas like the Dubtendo stage immediately drew big crowds with their Super Mario-themed props and dancers.
On the Loves Saves Stage, Katy B delivered a set of nostalgic bangers and fresh-sounding new material. This area felt wholesome, like I could have taken my younger siblings here for a no-drinking day out. Up at the Big Top, things got a bit heavier, with Bakey sending out devious sounds for the dark, jam-packed tent. Everywhere you went, you got something unexpected and loud, which is a win from me.
However, the real silliness seemed to be happening atop a hill, at an area named The Twisted Motel. Crew members dressed in hotel staff uniforms ushered attendees around, encouraging them to play games with strangers in order to head inside. Hula hoops were flung around, temporary tattoos were applied, many other things happened and I sang karaoke in a fake lift. I’m aware that this sounds like a hellish ordeal when it’s 28 degrees and you’re a few drinks deep, but I’ve never felt so invigorated to get to a small, hidden area at a festival. Also, there was a ball-pit, which is always fun in my opinion.
Credit: Giulia Spadafora
As the sun began to set over Love Saves The Day and the bright blue faded into swirls of pink and violet, the music only got louder. No time for relaxing here, dancing should always be your number one priority! MCR-T delivered a standout set in my opinion, carrying his Berlin techno with ease into the historic estate grounds. The Centre Stage (not to be confused with the main stage - something I did too many times) stood towering like a pop art brutalist sculpture, and by night it lit up (literally) into a stage built for clubbers. Catching Sub-Focus on our way out, before the journey back to civilisation became impossible to fathom as is the way with all day festivals, I was able to appreciate the power of LSTD. The crowd were a real mixed bag, and as someone who doesn’t often go to festivals of this kind, I was pleasantly surprised at the overall good vibes permeating the day. Everyone moved, everyone danced, everyone sang along to Lights On by Katy B. Love truly does Save The Day!
Written by Katie Coxall
Opinion
