Hoyle’s Guide To Bristol & the Music Scene

Or for those people google searching – a local’s guide to discovering Bristol’s live music scene, the best things to do in Bristol, or the top music venues in Britain’s best city for live music…

This page might be useful for the following folk:

Those new to Bristol or Bath or environs as students or people with jobs;
Those that live nearby and want to get into the live music scene;
Those planning a stag or hen do / romantic getaway;
Other tourists that want something to do in the evening.

Google Maps and Trip Adviser tend to be gamed in my experience and are difficult to trust. This guide sets out all the information from my head that can be trusted because it has been lived and isn’t a for-profit optimisation game.

If you have any edits, suggestions, or recommendations please get in touch so I can add it to the guide!

Information correct as of November 2025.

See the Google Maps list here – https://maps.app.goo.gl/k9t3FYmkaMyScuw49

Music Venues

The Exchange – https://exchangebristol.com/whats-on/ – Old Market Street – something every night – ~200-300 capacity – normally cheap (£10-15) – post-punk/rock, punk/rock, experimental, often has great all dayers/afternoons. Community owned. Decent club nights. Example bands: Grandma’s House, Bureau de Change, Gallops, Wyatt E.
Strange Brew – https://www.strangebrewbristol.com/whats-on – in the centre down from Lidl/near Rough Trade – ~200-300 capacity – one of my favourites for curated good stuff – again cheaper (£10-15-20?) – indie, world, electronica, experimental. Good beer range. Community owned. Nearly everything I go to here is great. Recent bands seen here: Public Service Broadcasting, Samana, Jembaa Groove, KOG, Chalk, Yard (going to see Wave Pictures and The Antlers here next year).
Fleece – https://thefleece.co.uk/whats-on/ – across the bridge near Queen’s Square – 450 capacity. Strange mix of heavier stuff, hard rock, post rock, tribute bands and genre student club nights (emo, 90s, metal). Enjoy the tribute band names when waiting for the band to start. Has a load of pillars holding up the roof. Can bar, shots. Student-y. Recent bands seen here: Sex Mask, Mono.
Trinity Centre – https://www.trinitybristol.org.uk/whats-on – keep walking along Old Market Street pass the Exchange and you get there – it’s an old church! Community owned – 600 capacity. Lots of dub and world music and dance and “hippy” style bands. Recent bands seen here: Gong, Henge, Wet Leg.
Prospect Building – https://www.theprospectbuilding.com/events – lots of slightly bigger dance and rock names play here – ~3500-5000 capacity (is it really that big?). There used to be a great venue called The Marble Factory nearby but that closed down to be developed into shitty new boxy flats and offices (RIP MF!), so many of the acts that used to play there are now playing Prospect. They have a decent all dayer (Gigantic) in May.
Thekla – https://www.theklabristol.co.uk/live/ – it’s a boat! Every time I go here I’m like a small child in my excitment. Smallish capacity. Cosy. Good sound. ~400-600 capacity. Has a wide variety of smaller touring artists with a slant to independent artists. Also does club nights later on but I’ve haven’t been to these. For festivals they open up the top deck as well. Recent bands seen here: Songhoy Blues, Du Blonde.
Louisiana – https://www.thelouisiana.net/events – behind the M-Shed / Thekla. Smaller venue – ~150 capacity. Has many bands that will subsequently hit the charts. Bands I’m going to see here in a bit: Good Health, Good Wealth (should have seen The Pill but had a clash).
Bristol Beacon – https://bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/ – a bit like London’s Barbican but has more well-known touring bands. The larger hall has a ~2000 person capacity. The smaller Lantern Hall (~500 capacity) often has more affordable gigs. All genres – folk, electronic, indie, classical-cross-over. Top class sound quality. Pro-tips – beer is nicer from the downstairs Loaf bar; take the lifts with pints and to skip stair congestion; use the toilets out of the halls in the right-hand corner on the first floor. Also does comedy. Recent bands seen here: Magnetic Fields, Moin, Tom Hickox, Dustin O’ Halloran, Tunng.
St George’s Hall – https://www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/whats-on/ – an old church on the hill. Around 500 capacity. Does cool jazz, classical, and acoustic gigs. Pretend you are a posh person that lives in Clifton for a few hours (or a 1900s Methodist). Also does poetry, talks, and things. Think Radio 3/4. Recent bands seen here: King Creosote.
Jam Jar – https://www.thejamjarbristol.com/events – small community venue upstairs in a trading estate (~200 capacity). A cool affordable place for late night dance stuff. Lots of smaller global bands and DJs. Funk and jazz. Recent bands seen here: Joshua Idehen.
Rough Trade – https://www.roughtrade.com/en-gb/events – not just an overpriced shop for new vinyl – it has a sweaty back room that often has gigs or album launch parties (~200 capacity).
O2 Academy (~1500 capacity) / Electric Bristol (~1000 capacity) – crap venues – I try to avoid unless a touring band I like is only playing here. Commercialised. Electric turns into a chavvy club past 10 on the weekends. Recent bands seen at Electric: Maruja, Blood Orange.

Apps

Headfirst – https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#home – start here – has all the events at the cheaper end of the spectrum – there’s normally at least 5 things happening every night! Great for both look-ahead bookings (e.g. on the bus home) and “what do we do this evening?” last-minute ideas (but watch the sell-outs).
Dice – https://dice.fm/?lng=en – has many of the tickets for the venues below – it generally doesn’t have the “administrative charges” scalping of the major ticket providers (*cough* Live Nation cough £5-10 extra costs). It’s easier than dicking around with Gmail and PDFs in a queue where the door staff are looking at you with malice and exasperation.
Songkick / Bands in Town / Skiddle – these still feel fragmented and cruddy – with a “big music” feel and poor user experience. Still the idea is you can sync your Spotify or other streaming artists and get notified for upcoming bands. Dice is much better but doesn’t have all the artists.
WhatApp / Facebook / Facebook Messenger Groups – we set up some groups around COVID times where we (mostly me) post events we are going to. Joining one of these can get you exposed to the smaller acts you might miss. There are also several public access Facebook groups for Bristol Gigs (and the ArcTanGent group), including some for Solo attendees.
Instagram – yes unfortunately you have to sell your data soul to Zuckerberg these days. We all used to use Twitter but then that was bought with made-up money and turned into a Nazi-bot-bin-fire. Most music venues, festival organisers, promoters, independent labels, and bands are now primarily on Instagram. A good place to be notified of upcoming tours.
Big Jeff – Not an app but to go to decent stuff you can also just nicely stalk the Bristol legend that is Jeffrey Johns (“Big Jeff”) – https://www.instagram.com/jeffrecluse/?hl=en. He has exquisite taste. Get chatting to him about good bands to see at your next gig.
Bristol Reddit Group – https://www.reddit.com/r/bristol/ – like much of Reddit you aren’t sure whether most of the posts are AI or have an ulterior motive (like beef between businesses) but sometimes useful for a follow to be aware of things – and you can ask questions ahead of time for advice on stuff like where to eat.

City Music Festivals

Ritual Union – https://www.ritual-union.co.uk/- in March/April – lots of bands across a number of venues – £30ish early bird prices. Good value & a good way to explore. Mainly centred on Electric Bristol and Strange Brew.
Dot to Dot – https://www.dottodotfestival.co.uk/ – in May – even more venues all across the city all afternoon and evening. Great for catching some new music you don’t know and crawling around venues.
Simple Things – https://simplethingsfestival.co.uk/ – in Feb or November (was last week-ish this year) – an all day festival centred around the Bristol Beacon. Great for checking out new acts from around Bristol and beyond. Like Dot-to-Dot but you can be lazier and stay in the same building with four different stages.
En Masse – https://enmasse.dance/ – late Oct/Nov – electronica/dance/rave/MCs/experimental – the Americans would call it EDM – some top quality DJs & names you won’t have heard of. I’ve seen some top class A/V stuff and MCs and DJs at these events. Affordable and independent.
Bristol Sounds – https://www.bristolsounds.co.uk/ – Glastonbury weekend in the Canons Marsh Amphitheatre. Run as a Glastonbury consolation and because bands are often in the area.
Breakfast Records All Dayer – held at Strange Brew in September – a label that has raised some quality local bands.
ArcTanGent – https://arctangent.co.uk/ – Not officially in the city but in a farm 45 minutes south of Bristol ~ 3rd weekend in August. Has loads of cool heavy metal, doom, experimental, post-rock stuff (with a sprinkling of dance and electronica). It’s curated so don’t worry about the bands – buy blind, nearly everything is excellent. Perfect size/cost ratio (around 10k?).

Cinema

Cube – https://cubecinema.com/ – a cool community owned place that does brilliant things like live-scored films, weird foreign classics, and experimental dance A/V stuff. Just behind the bus station. Arty and much cooler than I am.
Watershed – https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson – the cinema in Bristol for independent films. Has a nice big cafe. Look at for special screenings and Q&As.

Tips and Tricks

Buy tickets early. See it, buy it. Stuff sells out fairly often. I’ve been burnt too many times that now if I see something I like I buy the ticket there and then. If you leave it you’ll forget and it will sell out.
Stick it in the calendar. Once you book your ticket make sure you put it in your calendar so you don’t forget about it. I have a special “Gigs” Google Calendar I can then also look at to see what I’ve been to. I also stick something in the family calendar so the family know I’ll be out.
Got to the festivals and all-dayers without knowing who will be playing. Just explore. You’ll find several bands you want to see again (and some you don’t).
6 Music and NTS Radio are good for discovering new bands. Some of the 6 Music names are on the bigger side but most will play Bristol on their national tours.
When bored scan the What’s On pages of venues for cool stuff a few months ahead that might sell out.

Breweries etc

I’ve been alcohol-free (well <0.5%) for nearly two years now so I don’t frequent the breweries and pubs as much as I used to

Wiper and True – big industrial estate brewery. Lovely beer. Does cool events on public holidays (I stumbled into a Northern Soul all-dayer on a bank holiday which I very much enjoyed).
Left-Handed Giant – another big industrial estate brewer with lovely beer. Often has street food trucks to get some food as well. Visit as part of an East Bristol brewery tour. Is just off the Bristol and Bath cycle path.
Moor Beer – used to be better until one of the business partners based in London made a pro-Israel-army post and then Bristol boycotted. Still the Bristol stuff are lovely and got caught in knee-jerk posturing cross-fire. A good place on the way to the Exchange or part of an East Bristol tour.
Cider Box – a cider place in the arches. The best place in Bristol for proper cider fans. Has cider and cheese nights, and the odd street party in the summer. Great for waiting for stuff in the Prospect Building.
Volunteer Tavern – always reminds me of pubs in Glastonbury – has a nice big covered garden that often has small DJs in the summer. Does a good Sunday Roast I’ve heard. Lovely atmosphere and great beers. Good for waiting for stuff to happen in the Exchange and the Trinity Centre.
Small Bar – King’s Street is a run of bars and pubs with outside seating that is busy in the summer. Small Bar is the best pub along this run. It does loads of IPAs and a good range of Korean Wings.
Left Handed Giant Brewpub – big and noisy venue that does a huge range of beers (think IPAs) and affordable pizzas. Great for stopping off for some food and a beer before stuff in Strange Brew, Bristol Beacon, Electric Bristol, or the Exchange.
Bag of Nails – cat bar!
Hillgrove Porter Stores – lovely old style boozer with a great view up the hill. A good spot for Japanese food and for waiting for stuff to happen in the Cube.
Little Martha Brewpub – a nice rotating brew pub with lots of cool beers and cans. Great if you are stuck around Temple Meads or waiting for stuff in the Exchange (ish) or Prospect Building.
Barley Mow – nice little boozer on the way to the Exchange or the Trinity Centre – does good food. Can get busy.

Art Spaces

Bristol is a little lacking in terms of art spaces compared to capital cities (plunder anyone?). There a few places to visit and I’ve still got to explore the smaller private galleries around town.

Arnolfini – https://arnolfini.org.uk/ – free to enter but I normally tap a fiver if the exhibition is decent. Fairly large, over several floors. Permanent exhibitions
Spike Island – https://www.spikeisland.org.uk/ – visited this for the first time a few weeks ago. Basically walk to the SS Great Britain then take a left. Has some cool artists and exhibitions on rotation. Like the Arnolfini free to enter but I normally tap a fiver for decent exhibitions.
Tobacco Factory – https://tobaccofactory.com/whats-on/category/art/ – a bit of a walk along the river (makes a good weekend activity) but is a good community hub. It often has events and food and sometimes art exhibitions. Also does comedy gigs and theatre.

Comedy

Hen and Chickens – https://www.henandchicken.com/events/ – a kind of Edinburgh Fringe style small venue that has a mix of comedy, shows, and talks. Around 200 capacity.
Bristol Beacon – bigger names and comedians tend to play here, which has a 1800 seated capacity in the main hall.
Old Vic – https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/comedy – has the bigger touring comedy names. Also a great theatre for plays etc.

Aside on theatre: comedy tickets tend to be £15-30 depending on level of fame but theatre tickets in the Old Vic for “proper plays”, tend to start at ~£45 making it unaffordable for non-wealthy-pensioners. You can sometimes get back-wrecking seats for ~£20 in some places, but these tend to be few and not advertised, needing insider knowledge. It’s often too much effort for stuff I’m not amazingly interested in – many of the venues play to the wealthy-pensioner crowd and so do the soft traditionalist fare.

Places to Eat

St Nicks Market – https://www.stnicholasmarketbristol.com/index.php/food-drinks – the best place in Bristol for lunchtime food (it tends to shut down ~3pm).
Low and Slow – https://www.lowandslowbarbecue.co.uk/ – I’m mainly vegetarian but I take a pass to occasionally treat myself to a BBQ Ultimate Combo box with slow-cooked beef brisket and pulled pork, and chips and slaw and salad and jalapenos and the chipotle and habanero sauces. It’s so good it should be illegal and you don’t have to eat for days afterwards.
Pho – https://www.phocafe.co.uk/locations/bristol/ – Korean soup stuff chain – food is always great and quick and hearty ~£13-15. It tends to fill up so often advisable to book a table ahead of time if you know you need to eat in the evenings.
Gloucester Road – I haven’t really been up this way but my sister used to live and work around here and it has the best independent restaurants in Bristol. A bit of a walk out of the centre but not horrendous.

I often struggle with affordable but decent places to eat in the city centre in the evening. If anyone has any recommendations, please ping me a message and I can add here.

Places to Avoid

Park Street, Harbourside, Clare Street, Corn Street – this is basically the classic “city centre”. It tends to be a mix between folks from surrounding countryside getting plastered on a weekend and students getting ripped off. The eateries tend to be rather mediocre and expensive. Lots of chains. You need to walk through these areas to get to places, so you’ll soon pick up the feel.
Broadmead and the Galleries – this used to be where I came shopping as a teenager. It’s now a post-capitalist, zombie-apocalypse waste land. The Galleries are empty and they are trying to knock them down. Broadmead is a sad place – fall of homeless drug addicts in doorways.
Cabot Circus – the “newer” shopping area in Bristol but I normally come out of there feeling dirty and used. Lots of shiny Apple-style shops but no-one buying anything because the prices are sky high for normal folk. £50 for a shirt? No thank you. The “everything is fine in the modern world” lie that no-one is believing.
Castle Park – on a sunny summers day the grass overlooking the river is a nice place to sit. However, at night it’s one best to be avoided. The homeless and drug-afflicted tend to gather (see Broadmead above) and the lighting is poor with lots of dark secluded places. It would be nice if you could walk through but I generally walk around on the lit streets.

Useful Buses & Transport

X39/39 – if you are coming from Bath, Keynsham, Saltford or anywhere along the A4, the X39 or 39 is your friend. It runs every 15 minutes (supposedly) during the day (the X bit means it skips Keynsham centre and is slightly faster) then every 20-30 minutes until midnight, then one every hour until about 3am. It’s possibly moving to be 24 hours soon. At peak times they often get stuck in traffic – you can get “ghost” buses that don’t turn up, or nothing turns up for the first three buses then they all turn up at once. A day rider ticket is £7 (return + other buses in Bristol) or you can get two singles for £6. Great value.

Key bus stops for the venues above:

Wine Street – for Strange Brew / Electric Bristol / Bristol Beacon
Temple Meads – for Louisiana/Thekla/Arnolfini/Spike Island
Victoria Street / Bristol Bridge – for Fleece/Exchange (for the latter cut across the Counterslip – it’s a little less sketchy than the maze at the back of Temple Meads)

To reduce stress with First Buses I generally get an earlier bus than I need to then hang around in a bar/coffee shop/bench with a book if I’m early.

You can now mostly do tap on / tap off. If you forget to tap off it normally just charges you the fall fare for end-to-end on that route. Often that’s the same as a single ticket anyway so don’t stress it.

Normally I buy up a bundle of singles on the app before hand and use those for quick boarding. Remember you need to be in the “West” farezone to get tickets from outside Bristol to Bristol. It’s the £3 ones (as of 2025).

Trains are expensive and only go station to station. It’s £10+ for a single, ~£12 for a return. They are sometimes more unreliable than the buses. Another problem is Temple Meads is often a walk for some venues. Trains within Bristol are also pretty useless in my experience for getting place-to-place. All the places listed above are best visited on foot from a city-centre bus stop. The brave can rent a bike or a scooter.