From legendary stages to intimate underground spaces, Bristol’s venues are the heartbeat of the city’s music scene. Explore the clubs, concert halls, and grassroots spots that host everything from emerging talent to world-class acts.

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Bristol Beacon

Formerly known as Colston Hall, it reopened in 2023 after major refurbishment and aims to become the UK’s first net-zero concert hall by 2030.Capacity: ~1,800 seated / 2,100 standing

2025 Highlights: Hosting a diverse programme of global acts, comedy, and special events such as wellness and fine dining experiences.

Thekla

A former German cargo ship turned iconic floating venue, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024.

2025 Highlight: Fresh from its 40th anniversary, continuing to host cutting-edge indie, drum & bass, and alternative gigs.

O2 Academy Bristol

One of the city’s main mid-large concert halls and part of the UK-wide O2 Academy chain. Capacity: ~1,600 main hall / 250 Academy 2.

2025 Highlights: Continues to book chart-topping international tours and major UK artists.

The Fleece

A cornerstone of Bristol’s independent music scene since the 1980s, renowned for its raw, intimate setting.Capacity: Mid-sized independent venue

2025 Highlight: Packed calendar of indie, punk, and rock gigs alongside themed club nights.

Motion

Motion was ranked among the world’s best nightclubs. Although closed in July 25 the owners have announced a new venue location on Victoria Terrace in St Phillips.

2025 Highlights: Cutting-edge electronic music festivals and immersive 360° stage productions.

The Trinity Centre

A Grade II-listed former church turned cultural venue, mixing heritage with a community-first music programme.Capacity: Flexible, mid-large capacity

2025 Highlight: Continues to support eclectic grassroots events, from reggae and hip hop to electronic and punk.

Exchange

Bristol’s first community-owned venue, known for grassroots gigs and a DIY ethos. Capacity: ~250. Supported early gigs from Idles, and countless emerging punk, indie, and dance acts.

2025 Highlights: Hosting underground dance nights and small-scale tours for rising UK talent.

St George's

A beautifully restored 19th-century church, famed for its near-perfect acoustics.Frequented by international classical soloists, chamber ensembles, and jazz greats.

2025 Highlight: Celebrated programming of classical, folk, and jazz, enhanced by its modern glass pavilion.

The Louisiana

A cosy pub-venue that has become legendary for launching big names such as Coldplay, Muse, Stereophonics, Dua Lipa.

2025 Highlights: Staying true to its grassroots legacy by booking breakthrough indie and alternative acts.

The Old Duke

A Grade II-listed pub dating back to 1775, it’s one of the UK’s most celebrated live jazz venues. Long-running residents like the Blue Notes and Severn Jazzmen.

2025 Highlight: Continues its tradition of free nightly jazz, open-mic sessions, and an annual Jazz Festival each August.

Electric

Electric Bristol is a multipurpose world known music venue that holds weekly in house club events and regular live shows.

2025 Highlights: Events including Sonique performing hits and her debut album, the iconic British metal band Nova Twins, and a special club night with the Glitterbox movement featuring Purple Disco Machine.

Lakota

Legendary club in St Paul’s, central to Bristol’s rave culture in the 1990s and a hub for jungle, drum & bass, and house. Capacity: ~1,000 across multiple rooms

2025 Highlight: Still a powerhouse of electronic culture, with club nights, festivals, and collaborations with local promoters.

Mr Wolfs

A lively city-centre bar/venue famous for late-night live bands and open mics. Hosted hundreds of up-and-coming Bristol bands, often first steps for acts later moving to The Louisiana or Fleece.

2025 Highlights: Continues to thrive as a grassroots hub with a vibrant mix of funk, soul, ska, and acoustic acts.

Rough Trade

A record shop and intimate live space hosting exclusive gigs and in-store appearances. Capacity: ~250

2025 Highlight: Hosting in-store album launches, DJ sets, and intimate showcases for Bristol and international indie acts.

The Croft

A popular Stokes Croft pub-venue with a focus on underground and experimental music. Capacity: ~120. Hosted early shows for Squid, Black Midi, and a stream of Bristol’s post-punk and DIY acts.

2025 Highlights: Re-opened on 12th Sept 25. Remains one of Bristol’s strongest DIY stages, tied into the city’s independent festival circuit.

Lost Horizon

Run by the Boomtown Festival team, this venue doubles as a live-music bar and art space. Capacity: ~350. Hosted secret sets by festival regulars, DJs, and Bristol’s underground collectives.

2025 Highlight: Mixing live music with immersive art installations, its 2025 programme keeps pushing experimental nightlife.

The Jam Jar

Independent venue in St Paul’s with a not-for-profit ethos, community-driven and eclectic programming. Capacity: ~200. Famous Artists: Hosted Gilles Peterson, Nubiyan Twist, and Bristol’s reggae and jazz collectives.

2025 Highlights: Hosting experimental world music nights and immersive cultural showcases.

The Thunderbolt

A Victorian pub turned grassroots music venue on Bath Road, South Bristol.Famous Artists: Pete Doherty, The Wurzels, and numerous indie touring bands.

2025 Highlight: Still programming a steady stream of indie, ska, and folk acts, beloved by locals.

King Street Brew House

King Street is home to multiple pubs that double as grassroots stages, including King Street Brew House and The Old Duke nearby. Capacity: Small (50–150 per pub space)

2025 Highlights: Remains a hub for casual, pub-based live music with riverside culture in the heart of Bristol.

The Canteen

Based in Hamilton House (Stokes Croft), this café-bar venue is famous for its free live music every night. Capacity: ~120.

2025 Highlight: Continues free nightly gigs, keeping grassroots music accessible in Bristol.

The Gallimaufry

A Gloucester Road bar/venue renowned for live jazz, funk, and experimental residencies. Capacity: ~100.

2025 Highlights: A regular stop on Bristol’s jazz circuit, with packed weekly residencies.

The Blue Lagoon

An independent landmark on the famous Gloucester Rd, situated in the very heart of Bishopston.Open mic nights and local bands in vibrant live music bar with big-screen sports.

2025 Highlight: Focused on its vibrant atmosphere and improved food offerings, particularly the new Sunday roasts and home-cooked dishes with local ingredients.

The Kingsdown Vaults

A friendly pub in Kingsdown with an intimate live-music room and garden stage. Capacity: ~80. Famous Artists: Features local singer-songwriters, folk groups, and acoustic collectives.

2025 Highlights: Keeping community folk nights and grassroots talent alive in North Bristol.

The Old Market Assembly

A café-theatre-venue hybrid in Old Market, known for sustainability and community-driven arts. Capacity: ~200

2025 Highlight: Showcasing eclectic touring acts and emerging local performers.

Zed Alley

A rock-and-metal friendly underground venue near the O2 Academy. Capacity: ~150. Famous Artists: Focuses on up-and-coming heavy bands, tribute nights, and alternative DJs.

2025 Highlights: Busy calendar of alternative gigs and rock showcases for Bristol’s heavy scene.

Southbank Club

A converted church hall in Southville offering community-led gigs, folk sessions, and ceilidhs. Capacity: ~150. Famous Artists: Hosted folk and roots artists, community ensembles, and spoken-word acts

2025 Highlight: Continues to anchor Bristol’s folk and grassroots circuit with inclusive events.

The Hen and Chicken

A long-standing Southville pub that doubles as a comedy and live music venue. Capacity: ~200 (studio theatre upstairs). Hosted stand-up legends plus folk and acoustic touring acts.

2025 Highlights: Regular comedy headliners alongside grassroots music nights and open mics.

No. 1 Harbourside

A central harbourside bar with nightly live music, often free, spanning jazz to funk. Capacity: ~100.

2025 Highlight: Continues its “free live music every night” ethos, a harbourside institution.

The Golden Lion

A Gloucester Road pub known for reggae, funk, and grassroots live shows. Capacity: ~120. Hosted Bristol reggae greats and funk bands; connected with St Paul’s Carnival acts.

2025 Highlights: Still one of Gloucester Road’s busiest music pubs, keeping live funk alive.

The Mothers Ruin

A city-centre bar/venue that’s a launchpad for indie and punk acts.Capacity: ~100. Royal Blood and Foals played early shows here.

2025 Highlight: Packed indie nights, punk shows, and student-driven gigs.

The Gryphon

A legendary rock and metal pub tucked behind Colston Street. Capacity: ~80. Hosted countless UK underground metal bands and cult touring acts.

2025 Highlights: Still the heart of Bristol’s metal scene, with weekly gigs and festivals.

Smoke and Mirrors

A speakeasy-style bar blending live music, comedy, and magic shows. Capacity: ~100 (theatre room). Known for jazz and swing residencies.

2025 Highlight: Continues eclectic programming with jazz quartets and themed music nights.

The Loco Club

The Loco Klub is Bristol's home for alternative arts. Rising from the ashes of the old social club and railway arches that stand on site. Capacity: ~400. Hosted immersive theatre troupes, plus secret rave lineups.

2025 Highlights: Still known for immersive parties and leftfield live experiences.

Stag & Hounds

A historic Old Market pub turned grassroots venue, especially for jazz and alternative nights. Capacity: ~120. Hosted Bristol jazz collectives, metal bands, and DIY nights.

2025 Highlight: Remains a hub for eclectic local talent across multiple genres.

Strange Brew

Independent multi-room club and art space near Broadmead, opened in 2020. Capacity: ~250 main space. Played host to Objekt, Black Midi DJ sets, Giant Swan, and experimental Bristol acts.

2025 Highlights: Still one of Bristol’s most cutting-edge venues for underground electronic and live crossover shows.

The Old England

Montpelier pub-venue, famed for late-night experimental gigs and DIY culture. Capacity: ~100.Famous Artists: Hosted experimental collectives, free jazz groups, and underground electronic producers.

2025 Highlight: Continues to be one of the city’s most alternative grassroots venues.

Fiddlers

A South Bristol institution since the 1990s, converted from a former prison into a live music hall. Capacity: ~450. Famous Artists: David Gray, Kasabian, and the Levellers all played here.

2025 Highlights: Still going strong with rock, blues, and tribute acts filling its calendar.

Revolution

A popular bar-club hybrid on the Harbourside that hosts live DJs and acoustic sets.Capacity: ~300. Famous Artists: Featured local DJs and bands across commercial and pop genres

2025 Highlight: Continues to thrive as a Harbourside nightlife destination.

The Orchard Inn

The multi award winning Orchard Inn is best known for its extensive range of West Country ciders and real ales, weekly blues jam and doorstop sandwiches. Popular with sea shanty collectives like The Longest Johns (early gigs).

2025 Highlights: Still hosting shanty nights and local acoustic performers.

The Love Inn

tokes Croft’s intimate club run by Team Love. Known for cutting-edge house, garage, and techno, it’s hosted names like Joy Orbison while championing Bristol talent.

2025 Highlight: Packed schedule of breakbeat, garage, and collaborative nights with top local promoters.

Walkabout

Corn Street’s Aussie-themed bar mixing live sport, DJs, and big party nights. Less about headline acts, more about themed events and late-night energy.

2025 Highlights: Chart nights, lip-sync battles, and student-friendly club programming.

The Full Moon and Attic Bar

Above the Full Moon in Stokes Croft, this 240-cap room is a grassroots hub for live gigs and DJs. Past sets span Bristol bass staples to rap anniversaries.

2025 Highlight: Regular drum & bass, UK bass and hip hop showcases.

Dareshack

Broadmead’s creative studio-café turned venue (200 cap) with eclectic, experimental bookings. Acts include Twin Tribes and Drahla.

2025 Highlights: live gigs across psych, ambient and post-punk, plus city festival tie-ins.

The Chelsea Inn

Easton’s community-driven pub and venue with a DIY spirit. A cornerstone of Bristol’s punk, ska and grassroots scenes, it’s hosted everything from open mics to underground tours.

2025 Highlight: Expect raw live gigs, local band nights, and activist fundraisers keeping the independent ethos alive.

The Crown

Old City pub (1741) with a famed basement club. Known for free/cheap underground nights across D&B, garage, and techno.

2025 Highlights: open decks and headline sets from names like Riz La Teef.

Basement 45

Two-room club under Park Street, central to Bristol’s bass scene. D&B, dubstep and techno dominate

2025 Highlight: Friday D&B residencies, Saturday rotating promoters, big bookings in the pipeline.

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Bristol Music Weekly brings you the freshest tracks from the city’s scene, updated every week from August 2025. From basement basslines to indie anthems, stay ahead with Bristol’s best new music.