What's On / Bristol Nightlife / drum and bass

Bristol's Drum & Bass Events

upcoming clubnight

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.

Buy tickets for drum and bass events in Bristol

Our recent drum and bass recommendations

Do you believe in life after donk? Expect 200bpm Cher, heart-racing happy hardcore and dnb wobblerz at this bass blowout for the hard dance luvvers, with a quintet of local donk enthusiasts going b2b2b2b2b all night long. Stoopid Events #001: For the Love of Donk at Basement 45.

Nothing says I love you like a ragga jungle burnout... the Morefire stacks will be running red hot with one of the true outsider treasures of 90s sound system culture. Zion Train blaze their own steppas trail straight to Trinity with Ray Keith delivering breakbeat terrorism, alongside LA junglism boss 6 BLOCC and Joe Peng nicing up the mic. Dreader than dread! Outernational Jungle Love - Morefiresoundsystem at The Trinity Centre.

Ear-to-ear twisted smileys radiating from the Reactor 4 crew deep inside the Crown corridors. Preaching amen excellence from the pulpit with Boca’s hella authentic, 2020s-futurism-laced hardcore stylings and Matzo’s breakcore-damaged brain-melters. No-brainer FFO: Sully, Bizzy B, Reinforced Recs, Denham Audio, Samurai Breaks REACTOR 4 at The Crown.

Elysium’s euphoric revisioning of classic rave utopia ruptures your Thursday night plans in a Fantazia smiley stylee. Inside: Distant Planet’s hardcore historians Louise +1 and Hughesee go b2b with in-house trio Interlude for a joyous romp through bleeps and breaks + immersive visuals to help you touch cloud9. Elysium : Louise Plus One B2B Hughesee B2B Interlude - All Night Long at The Croft.

More Photos of Bristol's Drum & Bass Events

Crowd at a drum and bass night in Bristol 2026

What our editors say

“The latest edition of 2 Bad Mice & Friends lands in Bristol and this time they invite some of the the scenes finest beat technicians for the ride!!! A multi genre night exploring Everything Rave - from acid house to old skool to jungle, DnB, and more!!!!!”
From: 2 Bad Mice & Friends

“Bristol-based duo DR01D have teamed up with Sain Audio Soundsystem to present a low light, pressure-led session, rooted in jungle, old-skool rollers and early techstep. This is a grassroots, community-driven night, created to support local talent and help keep the Bristol vinyl scene active. Expect only the deepest cuts and the finest selections from a stacked lineup.”
From: DEEP FIELD x SAIN AUDIO: Kazza b2b Deselecta, The Jungle Connoisseur..

“Pretty Patel (00.00-00.50): Pretty Patel, one of the deviant minds behind the Faggatoir, flexes her bass kink to play an experimental set influenced by UK sound system culture and the trans experience. Expect jungle, industrial, baile funk, halftime and more than a few surprises.”
From: Trans Pride Bristol 2026 - club night

“We return for our 2026 residency at the best pub In Bristol. We welcome Firefox & 4-Tree back to represent for the true jungle soldiers out there along with Dezzi Rankin on mic duties. Total Recall has been called from the Full Cycle ranks to do what he does best and provide the more technical side of things. Support comes from Siva Gold representing the BCFM crew as well as The Jungle Connoisseur who will be spinning a Bristol Classics Vinyl Set!”
From: Full Cycle Records

“Expect a mix of festival vibes and sounds, full of hoofin’ bass, global grooves, vintage remix, tropical mashups, dirty breaks, latin house, funky & soulful drum’n’bass & jungle, and even classic throwback Swing & Bass!”
From: 10 Years of Fizzy Gillespie