Squid, Shabaka and Cobrah open their record collections and Bristol plays along

Bristol is a better city than most for embracing the strange, the out-there, and the bold. In fact, in the pantheon of British cities it might just be the best. To get to Bristol this weekend, you had to navigate the year’s thickest greyest fog. We’re talking can’t-count-your-fingers fog. A real pea souper. The rolling hills that surround the South West’s biggest cities were blanketed by mist, covered by hazy brumes. Piercing this on the GWR stopping service was as close as you can get to riding the Stalker train that takes you to the zone – but, should you be heading towards Bristol’s Simple Things festival, this obscured journey is as normal as things get. Simple Things is something of an institution in the city, and compared to other festivals of its type, it oozes character. The main stages take over the Beacon, Bristol’s premier multi-venue arts centre, while other shows are homed by indie spots DIY haven Strange Brew, or disused police station The Island, or, perhaps most excitingly, the abandoned department-cum-skate park Shredenhams. The lineup welcomes a broad church, and treats everything with the same reverence – big avant-garde names rub shoulders with hyperpop disrupto...