Summer shows Idles geared up for Queen Square homecoming

THEY are the biggest act to come out of Bristol since the 1990s, and later this summer, Idles will headline and host not one, but two homecoming gigs in front of 15,000 people in Queen Square.

- Tristan CORK

The historic square in the heart of the Old City regularly hosts concerts and events like the Harbour Festival, but this is the first time a major one-off music event is being held there since the famous 2015 Arcadia show saw a giant spider produce pumping dance music.

The summer shows are billed as a Block Party, with the Bristol-based band bringing in a line-up of their favourite acts, and Idles frontman Joe Talbot said he's delighted to create such a huge event in the city. He told the Post he remembered the Arcadia show, and jumped at the chance to play Queen Square. "For us, it was about doing something special," he said.

That area of the city helped form Idles - band members worked in the Golden Lion and the Old Duke, and they once tried to put on a 'block party' music festival in nearby King Street. Veterans of the city's free party scene after he moved to Bristol from Devon, Joe said he's pleased to add to Bristol's musical scene.

"It was always just an amazing time, and we're always about that," he said. "It just makes sense to do something in the city, with our people, for our people. We're very grateful - it's gonna be amazing," he added. "It's the first time we've been able to put on a proper big big, or two, gigs," he said. The event will be over two nights with different support acts ahead of two Idles headliner sets. "In Bristol we wanted to kind of spread it out and show what and where our influences come from, and who's doing it at the moment that we love," Joe said.