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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

Sierpinski turns to the dark side for the latest Beaten Track emission: paranoid darkcore stylings with lashings of bad acid sampledelia and god-level amens. Celebrate with the best crew around, keeping arms a-flailing with their usual top-shelf old skool energy from jungle techno to pumping tribe to breakbeat hardcore. SIERPINSKI : DAMNATION : RELEASE PARTY at Green Works.

Free entry! Definitely squeeze this lil live radio session into your Saturday night warmup plans – Arc are hosting the Alexander Nut/Floating Points-championed broken future beat stylings of Sentinel 793 for a 3 hour spesh. Unsung local hero, 20 years in the making FFO: Donsurf, Bugz In The Attic, Funkineven, Kyle Hall. 3 hr set from Sentinel 793

Baile do Futuro and Breach launch Talk To Strangers with a warped brew of mutant bass, erratic drum freakouts and full-tilt breakbeat carnage. At the helm: Abadir’s twisted, sideways rhythms; Distant Planet shelling pure ’90s hardcore energy; and UVB-76’s half-step industrial noise-makers out in full force. Serious bizniz! Talk to Strangers goes to Loco Klub for a night of fast tunes and wobbly grooves.

As bossman of the beyond-legendary V Recordings, you’ve got Bryan Gee to thank for peerless slabs of jungle jazz and sci-fi dnb from the likes of Roni Size, Krust and DJ Die. Come show your respect on the ‘floor with a three-hour historical trip from classics of 90s junglism to 20s hybrid futurism w/ nu skool operator Zimma warming things up. Zimma Presents: 4 The Heads launches its very first event at Lost Horizon setting the tone with a true pioneer of the scene, Bryan Gee.

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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

“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

“Control Freak lands in Bristol once again, this time with Naarm-based DJ & producer Pugilist in tow. With a prolific output spanning all shades of bass music, dub, jungle & techno - don’t miss a rare chance to see this sub-pressure technician on UK soil, joined by label founders/residents Control Freak and local mainstay Monika Taneska.”
From: Control Freak Recordings: Pugilist & Monika Taneska

“Loughlin presents “Lough n Key” for their first show at The Crown, showcasing some of the freshest talent in the drum and bass and 140 scenes at this free entry Tuesday night bash! Free entry all night - don't miss out! [A-Z] Adastra Bosio JB Hain Loughlin Roc Free entry all night - no ticket needed.”
From: Lough N Key: Adastra, Bosio, JB Hain, Loughlin + Roc