Gardna shares excitement for Time To Move Summer Day Party in Bristol this May

With the party kicking off summer in Bristol, we sat down with Gardna to chat all about Time To Move, his upcoming record of the same name, the curation of the lineup, and his A/V show on the night. Check it out below

Thomas Hirst

Date published: 26th Mar 2025

Bristol knows that when Gardna is about, things are about to get serious. But with the recent announcement of the ‘Time To Move ' summer day party he is curating, there's a collective agreement bubbling that this is the spot where summer starts in Bristol this year.

Happening on the first Saturday in May, Gardna and friends are talking over The Prospect Building and transforming the space into a dynamic, multi-genre celebration of all underground music that beats the drum of Bristol bass. And we caught up with the beloved MC to chat all about it.

Tickets for Gardna presents 'Time To Move' Summer Day Party are now live. Secure your spot by buying tickets at the bottom of this page.

Gardna’s vision for Time To Move is to create a space where fans can experience the breadth of underground UK music in one place. He said: “I feel like a multi-genre party in Bristol has been very missed. And bringing those vibes back to the city is going to be amazing.

“We’ve got so many amazing festivals nearby, but I wasn’t seeing that kind of multi-genre vibe in the clubs.

“I wanted to create something where no matter what genre you like, you can find something to enjoy. Whether it’s reggae, dub, drum and bass, or jungle, there’s something for everyone.”

The lineup is packed with a who’s who of Bristolian and bass-fuelled selectors. Both heroes and collaborators of Gardna’s alike.

From headliners, Gentleman's Dub Club, who will be bringing their signature live dub and reggae sounds; to a back to back to back from the Critical Sound System crew, featuring label boss Kasra, up and coming heads Waeys and SMG, and the mighty SP:MC on the mic; to some of Gardnas favourite new acts like Napes, Toby Ross, and JayaHadADream.

“It's the music that I love and the music that I feel a lot of people in my city of Bristol love as well,” Garnda explains. “It's also stuff that I’d want to see booting off at a summer day party. It's all pretty feel-good, energetic live acts and DJs that I think are just going to bring that vibe to Bristol on a nice hot, sunny day.

“That's the thought process behind the bookings… Who's going to kill it on a summer's day?”

One booking Gardna’s particularly excited about is the back-to-back-to-back from the Critical Soundsystem crew. “Kazra's the boss man there; he's been running Critical for nearly 20 years now, if not longer,” he says.

“It's nice to see him introduce a couple of new Bristol artists with him too, I know Waeys and SMG are both coming up in that more roller, heavier bass sound at the minute, and Critical is like the perfect home for that. With SP:MC on the mics beside them, it's just going to be hyped.”

Another set that’s got Gardna floating on air is Jeremiah Asiamah’s Carnival; “Jeremiah’s debut in Bristol will be massive,” he says. “He’s bringing exciting vocalists like Liam Bailey and L Zee.

“People are probably more aware of Liam Bailey by now. But L Zee, he’s been doing a stint with Toddla T recently, and he’s just this wicked MC out of London, super double time, like skitty lyrics, rolling over sort of like jungle beats. He's a nephew of Congo Natty as well, so he's got music in his blood.

“So that special carnival takeover, which will be in the middle of the afternoon, that'll really start like getting things rolling, and I know they're bringing out a few special guests too which will be super cool.”

Image: Khali Ackford

The choice of the Prospect Building as the venue was no accident either. It’s a space close to Gardna’s heart. One recently revitalised that feels like the perfect spot for an event of this calibre. “Prospect is just the place where people always congregate at the start of the summer.”

“It's that first spot where we're not quite in the fields yet, but we're outside, in the courtyards, the pints are flowing, and the sun's just starting to come out. That's the vibe.”

For his set at the party, Gardna is bringing the big guns with his Time To Move A/V Show, an immersive set that fuses art and music through on-stage visuals, creating an all-encompassing experience for the audience.

“I did the A/V at a few shows last year, one at Marble Factory, which was my last headline show in Bristol, and I did it at Love Saves The Day and Boomtown as well. So anybody who came to those shows will know that we have an audio-visual set, which is like visuals to match the tune.”

“I work with an artist called Holy Moly on all of my albums and single artworks, and we basically bring that art to life with the tune that's on the set,” Gardna continued.

“This is going to be a special one, though. We've got Lau.ra and JayaHadADream, and maybe a couple of other surprises as well, but we're going to be performing music off the Time To Move album, so it’ll be a first chance for people to hear those live.”

Titled under the same name as the party, Gardna's new record, ‘Time To Move,’ is due for release in June and is a natural extension of the event’s vibe. “It's definitely my most dance-driven album to date,” Gardna explains. “It covers most grounds of dance music, from U.K.G, to House, to Jungle, to all of those in between. Basically, everything I love in the club at the moment is all in the records.

“We finished the album a few weeks ago in London. I started the project exactly a year ago, so it's taken a year to get demos down, get the vocals recorded, work on the mixes, and master them.

The album is already rolling out with singles like Brightness, and the anticipation for the full release in June is building. “I'm super excited about it, and you’ll be able to work out a few of the features by who's on the only Time To Move line-up.”

Looking beyond the event, Gardna is gearing up for an exciting 2025, too, with a number of festival appearances already lined up. "I'm super buzzing to be back at Boomtown this year. We're debuting a brand new live band show on the main stage with four members of Gentleman's Dub Club. Everyone knows how tight they are live, and we have a good track record of working together on stage so I’m buzzing for that.

“I can't wait to come up north to see Beat Herder. Obviously, looking forward to Glastonbury Festival, and I can't say too much about that one just yet, but I'll be doing a whole stage takeover. I reckon we could give Skiddle a cheeky exclusive for that one.”

For fans looking to experience it all firsthand, the Time To Move Summer Day Party is a must-attend kickstart to Bristol’s summer calendar. To secure your spot, grab tickets below, or head to the event page on Skiddle for more information by clicking or tapping - HERE

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