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Bristol's Drum & Bass Events

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Bristol's Drum And Bass Scene

Is Stokes Croft a drum and bass Mecca?

Drum and bass in Bristol needs no bigger homes than Lakota and Blue Mountain. Both on the same street in Stokes Croft - they’ve continued Bristol’s drum n bass lineage from DJ Krust and Roni Size through to Intrigue Music and the more experimental UVB76 crew. Bristol’s place in the history of drum n bass is assured. Figureheads like DJ Die draw the line between the jungle and drum n bass scenes, jungle is key in Bristol - a city with so much Caribbean heritage, roots reggae’s influence on drum n bass comes through the language of jungle. But with both Lakota and Blue Mountain closing their doors soon to developers, is Bristol in a drum n bass crisis?

Drum and bass in Bristol encapsulates the genre in the wider world. Big venues play host to big acts with nights such as Bedlam, One Nation and Shit the Bed offering International stars including Pendulum, Chase and Status, Andy C and Noisia on a regular basis. In addition to this, alternative venues like the Dojo Lounge, Basement 45 and the Black Swan foster the rarefied sounds of dnb's many sub genres offering the city a unique depth to its plethora of drum and bass music. New years eve in Bristol clubs sees the city's venues rammed to the brim with all of the drum and bass's big players djing somewhere in Bristol.

Agro, Dissident and Mongrel offer dnb of a techy, dark variety while the bastion of the deeper sound, Intrigue, continues to push artists such as Marcus Intalex, Calibre and Fabio. Torque, straddling the line between dark and deep is a drum and bass monthly of significant recognition, hosting label nights and affiliated artists from Club Autonomic to Critical and Shogun Audio.

With drum and bass such a popular genre in Bristol, most clubs present dnb of some description at least once per month. Basement 45 has emerged as a consistent venue, with Torque, Abstraction and Nine Tree all on regular rotation at the club. Dojos plays host to the aforementioned Intrigue while Lab is home to Signal which runs as a bi-monthly event.

Of the larger venues Motion has a throng of events that are less frequent but larger in scale. Although many of these nights are multi-genre affairs, Run and Shit The Bed routinely promote dnb artists as their headline acts.

Lakota is another important dnb venue, housing Concrete Beat, Agro and since September 2010, Bedlam. Hospitality's residency at the Thekla ensures dnb is consistent fixture on the ship, while the rave-ready Black Swan is the spearhead for the harder jungle-tek sounds of the dnb genre.

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Our recent drum and bass recommendations

The St Philips psychedelic outerverse throws its day-glo doors open for a night like no other. If you’ve been, you know Wake The Tiger is about as deep as the rabbit hole goes. If not, The Dream Factory is plying you with the sassiest DJ crew in town’s dancehall / baile / afrobeats / Latinx wile out anthems + Jam Jar fav DJ Hiphoppapotamus’ homespun tropical bangers. No excuses now! The Dream Factory featuring Booty Bass & DJ Hiphoppapotamus at Wake the Tiger.

Kilengi is a seriously hi-NRG dance party from Saffron's Marla Kether – and you should really know it by now! This round, she’s inviting Club Djembe heroine Josephine Gyasi and Foundation FM’s Vigilante to explore the Afro-diaspora on an ecstatic dance floor, with wile-out riddims rough riding through the dancehall / amapiano / UKF / global bass continuum. Marla Kether Presents: Kilengi Dance Party at The Jam Jar.

Sell out warning! Tokio Station strike gold again with a mahoooosive three-stage jazz junglism frenzy at the Boxing Gym. Calling on the immortal Valve / Reinforced breakbeat prowess of Lemon D, alongside Kool FM’s Chinese Daughter, they serve out a platter of pure ruffage, totally blurring the lines between live jazz and vinyl DJs inna total renaissance moment FFO: Krust, Bukem, Photek, Roni Size etc. Tokio Station: Jungle Jazz Mini-Festival at The Boxing Gym.

Thee industrial techno steppas titans cometh! Gonz and Pack’s SELN mini-verse finally aligns with the cosmically-predestined Bristol nexus. The collision will be seismic, with live sets and DJs joining dots between doomcore dub and brutalist tekno propulsion in a totally unfuckwithable offering FFO: John T Gast, TNT Roots, T++, Chain Reaction. Essential London underground label SELN present a full throttle techno set from Akua (USA), whose old-school sound also keeps the pulse of the contemporary milieu. Label bosses Conrad Pack & Gonz each play a live set of deep and dubby techno & steppers mutations. Plus atmospheric and technically refined d&b and techno from Vega

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Crowd at a drum and bass night in Bristol 2026

What our editors say

“We’re back at Clock Factory Bristol for our FREE RAVE Summer Series. All summer long we’re dedicating Friday nights showcasing some of the finest bass music talent around - completely FREE. Stressing over festival and day-party prices? Don’t fear - we’ve got you covered. Friday 7th August, we bring together a mixed drum & bass curation taking you through the raw sounds of jungle, minimal and dancefloor, featuring Bladerunner + MC Felon, VISLA & Siren.”
From: Rave • Bladerunner + MC Felon, VISLA & Siren

“We’re back at Clock Factory Bristol for our FREE RAVE Summer Series. All summer long we’re dedicating Friday nights showcasing some of the finest bass music talent around - completely FREE. Stressing over festival and day-party prices? Don’t fear - we’ve got you covered. Friday 31st July, we welcome the legendary Congo Natty back to the club for a live show. Renowned for blending Rastafarian culture, reggae vocals, and heavy basslines, he is a foundational figure in ragga-jungle.”
From: Rave

“30 Years of Fatman D comes to Bristol. The first two events have blown up massively and now it’s time for Lakota gardens. We’ve got a full stack of headliners giving you the full range of jump up, Old school and heavy hitters.”
From: Blurred: 30 Yrs Fatman D | Lakota XL Day Rave

“We’re back at Clock Factory Bristol for our FREE RAVE Summer Series. All summer long we’re dedicating Friday nights showcasing some of the finest bass music talent around - completely FREE. Stressing over festival and day-party prices? Don’t fear - we’ve got you covered. Friday 3rd July, we welcome pioneers Ray Keith & Nicky Blackmarket for a 90 minute B2B with Trafic MC, a deep dive into jungle foundations. Expect break-led pressure, heavy basslines, and that timeless energy that keeps the dance moving from start to finish.”
From: Rave • Ray Keith B2B Nicky Blackmarket + Traffic

“A full throttle Jungle session incoming at our Open Air: Loading Bay stage this summer! For lovers of atmospheric breaks, deep cutting jungle & other hardcore electronic sounds we're bringing the pressure with SIMMS, Jolie P, VXRGO, and a very special guest plus many more! TICKETS ON SALE NOW! LAST ENTRY IS 19:30. This event is STRICTLY 18+, Entry without valid physical ID (Driving Licence or Passport) will be refused. No photos of IDs will be accepted. Searches will be in operation and this is a condition of entry to the venue. Keeping Bristol Moving. document-bristol.com”
From: Document Open Air: Jungle Party w/ SIMMS, Jolie P, VXRGO ++