Headfirst Bristol What's On
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What's On in Bristol
Gig guide & event listingsBristol's local and trusted what's on guide.
Events in Bristol
Headfirst is Bristol's leading gig guide with a freshly launched online ticket shop. We work directly with the city's promoters to provide the most up-to-date guide what's on in Bristol you'll find. The events calendar includes all events happening in Bristol tonight and for the forthcoming weekend. If you're a musician, band member or club night organiser be sure to add your event to the Headfirst Bristol calendar.
Made famous by the legendary Lakota, Bristol's warehouse events are the keystone to the city's clubbing culture. These no-frills venues are the place to see Bristol's house and techno at it's best. If you need addmission to forthcoming warehouse parties, you can buy Blue Mountain tickets here.
Made famous by the legendary Lakota, Bristol's warehouse events are the keystone to the city's clubbing culture. These no-frills venues are the place to see Bristol's house and techno at it's best. If you need addmission to forthcoming warehouse parties, you can buy Blue Mountain tickets here.
Gig Tickets
Bristol has always had it's fair share of what's on resources. While paper-based listings magazines like Venue and forums like Hijack Bristol favoured certain musical niches, Headfirst was Bristol's first truely comprehensive what's on resource. Our listings not only go far into the future (click on a date in the calendar) but also provide some great last minute resources. If you're planning a night out at short notice please see our list of live music tonight and events listings for this weekend.
Venues like Colston Hall and Thekla usually get most of the attention when Bristol's gigs are discussed online. Headfirst aims to put the focus on Bristols smaller live music venues. Here, you can buy tickets for concerts at Bristol's Louisiana and Exchange or browse our entire Bristol gig list.
Venues like Colston Hall and Thekla usually get most of the attention when Bristol's gigs are discussed online. Headfirst aims to put the focus on Bristols smaller live music venues. Here, you can buy tickets for concerts at Bristol's Louisiana and Exchange or browse our entire Bristol gig list.
Gig Of The Week
Wed 1st/11/2017
Sleeping States
— The Cube
£8.00 + £0.50
tickets
What's On: Featured Bristol Events
The Island, Restless Nights If her recent mix for Resident Advisor is anything to go by, Saoirse is a DJ capable of covering serious ground. Spanning 40 tracks in 90 minutes, from artists as far-flung as Shackleton, Arca, Bjarki and Calibre Dnb, the mix moves deftly between eras, genres and time-zones at breakneck speed. Cybernetic oddities are deployed seamlessly amongst glitching breakbeats and uptempo techno rollers. If she can cram this much into an hour and a half, how much can we expect from 5? Tickets: hdfst.uk/E40294 £7 + 50p.
Swerve the club and head to The Cube Microplex for an intimate screening of 'Lunar Orbit', the award winning documentary about pioneering ambient house group The Orb. The screening will be followed by a rare, intimate DJ set by founding member Dr. Alex Paterson, who is joined by acclaimed journalist Joe Muggs (The Wire: Adventures In Modern Music/The Guardian/The Arts Desk). Meditative live electronics and multimedia AV oddities from Spaces Between, TR13E Collective’s 13.2 and Hen~dø A.V Solutions complete the bill. Tickets: hdfst.uk/E40195
Having already produced installations for Tate Britain, The Architecture Foundation and Spike Island, explorative production duo Emptyset now head to Bristol’s Arnolfini for an A/V evening of immersive electronics exploring the physical and architectural potentials of sound. Support comes from Kangding Ray, Sophia Loizou, Mr Spoon and Black Amiga, each of whom in their own way explores the fertile, incandescent merging point between live techno and experimental sound design. Tickets: hdfst.uk/E40485
In a city where good club spaces are in limited supply, Continuous Movement become one of Bristol’s first club promoters to take over The Loco Klub - a network of tunnels hidden beneath Temple Meads. Alongside fellow Aussies Tornado Wallace and Francis Inferno Orchestra, Fantastic Man has the rare ability of whipping obscure slow-mo house, frenzied percussive workouts and esoteric peculiarities into a dancefloor furnace. Check his recent mixes for Dekmantel and Boiler Room for proof. Tickets: hdfst.uk/E40375 £6-8)
Peckham’s anu is a force to be reckoned with. Alongside holding down regular shows on NTS Radio, Rinse FM, Berlin Community Radio and Balamii Radio, she works as label manager for Bradley Zero’s world-trodding Rhythm Section label, as well as providing in-house illustrations for gal-dem.com. Her eclectic sets draw on everything from vintage Bollywood to new age ambient, tripping house and Japanese disco. Catch her this Friday at The Crofters Rights alongside Supersmash residents Kraymon, Waxmouse and co. Tickets £4): hdfst.uk/E39014
Experimental folk, avant-metal & cosmic drone in a church. Cacophonous Sarcophagus welcomes back Java’s Senyawa - Rully Shabara & Wukir Suryadi to Bristol. The mix of Wukir’s hand-made instruments (such as the 'bambu-wukir', seen here) and Rully’s unparalleled vocal technique (often traversing from guttural grunts to birdsong chirp in the same track), makes them one of the most idiosyncratic bands in the world. They are joined by ex-Coill alumni, Teleplasmiste. Venue: Church of St. Thomas the Martyr. Tickets: www.hdfst.uk/E40619 £7+50p.
FRESHERS WEEK PICK: DEEP DISCS Once home to the city’s judges and magistrates, The Old Crown Court is now home to Bristol’s sleaziest, most surreal club space. Rave in the stands with house music vets Mood II Swing and Montreal newcomer Project Pablo, whose hook-driven take on the bumping Canadian house sound landed him an extended ‘Breaking Through’ feature on Resident Advisor and highly rated releases on 1080p and Church. Tickets: hdfst.uk/E39743 £11)
Tim Sweeney’s Beats In Space radio show is one of the longest running and best respected dance music shows on the planet, having hosted everyone from Ben UFO to Todd Terje, Prosumer and Hieroglyphic Being. His reputation as a digger and taste maker has made him one of the most in demand DJs on the circuit, with a record bag packed full of disco rarities and cosmic house gems. He plays Dropout Disco at The Old Crown Court alongside Nancy Noise, Red Rack'em and Folamour. Tickets On Sale:
Buy Bristol Gig Tickets
Headfirst is the most objective Bristol gig guide on the internet. With no editorial to write, bands to interview or advertisers to please, we can focus on creating the best music listings & ticket shop this side of the Avon. From Bristol University’s music graduates playing a concert at St Georges Hall to an intimate gig at The Louisiana - we believe these events are what make Bristol special.
Bristol Nightlife & Nightclubs
Electronic music produced in Bristol has a knack of rewriting the rules and penetrating the international club scene. From Tectonic to Apple Pips to Eats Everything & Arkist - Headfirst has seen Bristol’s music scene grow and evolve since our humble beginnings in 2008. Now Headfirst is working with Bristol’s best dance music promoters and providing a secure place to buy tickets for Bristol club nights. While Motion may catch most of the attention, Headfirst is the place to buy tickets for all Bristol's clubnights and maybe even the next Alfresco Disco party. Over the coming months we'll be adding buy tickets buttons to many of our what's on listings.
From Headfirst's Ticket Shop
Psyched > Roni Size, Dj Guv, Logan D b2bMajistrate in Bristol Tickets
PSYCHED 4TH BIRTHDAY
ESDR presents Sasha Velour in Bristol Tickets
Eat Sleep Drag Repeat present SASHA VELOUR
Boogie Nights: Dance Ritual in Bristol Tickets
Appreciating sounds from across the globe's radius..
Dropout Disco // Day & Night in Bristol Tickets
Dropout Disco's first Day&Night party
Mi Casu Su Casa's 2 year celebration! in Bristol Tickets
We are kicking off the new season with a birthday bang, Mi Casa Su Casa Style!
Insight Ensemble goes Outer-Space! in Bristol Tickets
An underground orchestral journey through space and time...
Tank and the Bangas in Bristol Tickets
Live and direct from New Orleans
Jungle Book - Chapter One in Bristol Tickets
Tokyo World Unofficial After Party
Sleazy Sessions - The Future Was Disco in Bristol Tickets
The Future Was Disco
COIL 2: Imma Asher / Elysia Crampton / Colin Self in Bristol Tickets
A happening where outsiders re-seize soylent space within the oozing heart of Bristol
Bristol Gig Venues
Nightclubs & Warehouses
Upcoming Events
Never been to Freerotation? Here’s the next best thing: seven of its world-renowned residents spread across two venues, for a day and night double header courtesy of Set It Out and Teulu. Operating in a sonic world of their own, Steevio, Leif, Duckett et al use minimal, modular techno as a framework for exploring far-out, psychedelic melodies and loopy, off-kilter rhythms. In our books, this is one of the best house and techno line ups of 2017 so far. Tickets: hdfst.uk/E40209 £10 day / £6 night)
Local boy Batu_music has had a remarkable 12 months. His Timedance imprint is regarded as one of the UK’s most vital electronic labels, receiving Best Label props from Resident Advisor, FACT Magazine and Mixmag. His signature of broken, heads-down techno and ultra-precise sub work has lead him ahead of the pack - while his tracks are rinsed by everyone from Ben UFO to Avalon Emerson, his inimitable dj sets have earned bookings throughout Europe, America & Japan. Re:ni and Sybil (SIREN) and residents from Dialogue and Let's Go Swimming warm up The Crofters Rights. Tickets: hdfst.uk/E40382
EDITOR’S PICK: SUN ARAW Obsessed by stringed instruments, Araw’s music is a tangle of weightless staccato plucks, gated percussion and deliciously clumsy mechanical rhythm. Following collaborations with Laraaji and The Congos, Sun Araw’s current 3 piece ensemble brings “cowboy poetry” to his sonic playground. Vocals bound in tape delay drip with mescaline while arrhythmic samples pan hard into the corners of the desert sky. The gig is this Tuesday at The Crofters Rights, presented by Qu Junktions. Tickets: £8 +50p.
Like a delightfully broken Ben Webster, Alabaster dePlume's fragile, breathy saxophone playing is as immediately captivating as it is extraordinary. Performing with the Bloom musicians (Yama Warashi, The Evil Usses et al), expect delicate solo work, warm ensemble and spoken word in turmoil from the Mancunian's bitter tongue. DePlume joins Daniel Inzani's Spindle Ensemble and diy instrument maker ICHI for an afternoon of unconventional jazz/folk/classical music at The Wardrobe Theatre. Next Sunday, 10th September, 4pm. Tickets: £10 +50p.
Few artists have garnered as much praise within underground techno recently as Skee Mask. His debut album on Ilian Tape came as a deafening statement of intent: thunderous junglist breakbeats and rolling electro rhythms cut through thick smoggy clouds of eerie ambience. Catch his Bristol debut at The Island courtesy of Loose Lips for a night of deep rhythms, breaks and clanging electronics. Tickets: hdfst.uk/E40566 £8)
Musu continues its streak of flawless bookings spanning the dreamier outreaches of house and techno with Huerco S. – the much-adored Brooklyn resident responsible for one of the best albums of 2016, ‘For Those Of You Who Have Never’. As with his own productions, Huerco’s sets move between dilapidated house, hazy ambience and abstract techno. Catch him next month at The Island. Tickets: £8 +50p.
SHOW CALENDAR