House Nights in Bristol
upcoming clubnightBristol's House Scene
Bristol House Music: A Recent HistoryIt’s a Bristol Thing…. For Headfirst Bristol House music is all about Shanti Celeste, Eats Everything, Peach Discs, Idle Hands, Dirty Talk (who recently opened Strange Brew) and classic ‘chugging house’ from acts like Outboxx on BRSTL and Futureboogie Recordings. Futurboogie have built a Bristol house empire and venues like Motion with regular nights feature Julio Bashmore, Waifs and Strays and Christophe. House music is closely linked to the yearly influx of students to the city who make up a large audience for the House/Techno Music Scene. Many stick around after they graduate to become house music recording artists in their own right!
What we said in 2015...
House music is undoubtedly the star in Bristol’s crown. After decades of lurking in the shadows, a new generation of promoters are giving Bristol’s club scene something unrivalled elsewhere in the UK - nights to be proud of one off and parties that will never be forgotten. It’s taken 20 years, but the tired “Bristol Sound” catch-all has finally been laid to rest, by an unlikely candidate - house music.
Incubated in the basements of Take 5 and Cosies where the likes of Shanti Celeste, Steve Farrell and Hodge played intimate sets, a new approach to house music in Bristol began to blossom. This, coupled with nights like Futureboogie in the city centre, the stage was set for wide-eyed new promoters to take house music out of Bristol’s nightclubs and elevate things to the next level. Drawing inspiration from the unrivalled Alfresco Disco parties and the spectacular Carnyville events, promoters stopped putting on club nights and started throwing parties.
The quest by Bristol’s house promoters to find new spaces to throw parties had led to some of the most spectacular club nights Bristol has ever seen. There was a time when it was just Alfresco Disco tickets that sold out without announcing the venue (or headliners), but amongst Bristol’s innovative house promoters secret locations are becoming commonplace. The Island complex has seen raves thrown in prison cells, courtrooms and the fire station hall where Simple Things became the first to use the entire complex for a single clubnight. Since then, the journey through Bristol’s potential venues has been a joyous one, seeing bank vaults, churches, motorcycle showrooms, wood yards and even basketball courts used as venues for ticketed events.
Shapes are without doubt the runaway success in Bristol’s house story. 2011’s sweaty hedonistic parties showed the Blue Mountain club at it’s best since the Monkey!Knife!Fight! nights of yesteryear. Shapes strike the balance between big-room affairs at Motion, secret location events and inventive one-offs like their Final Frontier party living-up to it’s £40 ticket price.
While the bigger budget promoters like Shapes collaborate with veterans Just Jack and Futureboogie for some truly huge events, Bristol still has a broad spectrum of medium sized events. Dirty Talk continue to draw one of the best party crowds and newcomers like Banoffee Pies and Come Down With Me continue to explore new views. For those who like their club nights intimate - The Doghouse, Cosies and Take 5 are home to some great music-first promoters and Shambarber provides the ultimate soundtrack to any haircut.
what we said in 2010 (then classified as house & techno):
While not known as an international hotspot for house and techno clubbing, Bristol has a thriving scene that's looking its healthiest in years. Promoters such as Empathy and Digital are persuing forward-thinking, deep, tech-house in the smaller venues like Dojo's, Timbuk2 and more recently Crash Mansion.
Larger house nights in Bristol include Play! and Monkey Knife Fight, both at The Thekla. Arguably the biggest house nights are found at Motion. Bugged Out! and Just Jack book some seriously big house names with past guests including Claude Von Stroke, Tiefschwarz and Steve Bug..
After the short-lived but glorious Cuisine club nights in 2006-2007 minimal techno in Bristol has, until recently taken a back seat. Morph and Headrush (both at Timbuk2) are the new blood for driving minimal techno in Bristol, refreshingly booking British techno producers (Perc, Bigger Than Jesus, Nathan Fake) but still catching Berlin's smaller names on occasion (Format B, Mark Henning).
Another welcome twist to techno in Bristol has come from an unlikely source. Bristol's take on dub-step has supplied an unexpected vent for cutting edge techno with the success of established nights like Appleblim's Apple Pips the significance of techno's influence on Bristol. Artists such as Pinch, Peverelist and Appleblim are routinely billed alongside dub-techno purveyors Scuba, 2562 and T++.
While few clubs in Bristol are genre exclusive, at certain Bristol venues you're more likely to find house, techno and minimal than others. Timbuk2 and Dojos are your most likely bet, while the Thekla (a boat) and Motion (a skatepark turned club) are always worth checking for the occasional big house and techno event.
Larger house nights in Bristol include Play! and Monkey Knife Fight, both at The Thekla. Arguably the biggest house nights are found at Motion. Bugged Out! and Just Jack book some seriously big house names with past guests including Claude Von Stroke, Tiefschwarz and Steve Bug..
After the short-lived but glorious Cuisine club nights in 2006-2007 minimal techno in Bristol has, until recently taken a back seat. Morph and Headrush (both at Timbuk2) are the new blood for driving minimal techno in Bristol, refreshingly booking British techno producers (Perc, Bigger Than Jesus, Nathan Fake) but still catching Berlin's smaller names on occasion (Format B, Mark Henning).
Another welcome twist to techno in Bristol has come from an unlikely source. Bristol's take on dub-step has supplied an unexpected vent for cutting edge techno with the success of established nights like Appleblim's Apple Pips the significance of techno's influence on Bristol. Artists such as Pinch, Peverelist and Appleblim are routinely billed alongside dub-techno purveyors Scuba, 2562 and T++.
While few clubs in Bristol are genre exclusive, at certain Bristol venues you're more likely to find house, techno and minimal than others. Timbuk2 and Dojos are your most likely bet, while the Thekla (a boat) and Motion (a skatepark turned club) are always worth checking for the occasional big house and techno event.
Buy tickets for house events in Bristol
Our recent house recommendations
Sell out warning! Guts absolutely wiped the floor at Jam On The Horizon - we wouldn’t miss another education from the boom-bap troubadour! Not with Canton Mambo queen Gia Fu setting the ‘floor alight with Afro-Cuban discs and hip-swirling spins in this massive Sinai-powered session, bolstered by Pangaea hero Kesh + Popola bringing the finest in ass-shaking reggaeton, soca and afrobeats. POW!
Sinai Sound ft Guts / Kesh + Popola at The Boxing Gym.
Stroom's low-lit rockstar work his magic down at the Inn; he’s blessed us with some seriously memorable dances over the years, and we’re expecting another one here. Oddball dance revivals, wonky chug, sleazy new beat and trance-induced slo-mo melters incoming.
Nosedrip at The Love Inn.
For the initiated, only Willikens will do. The Salon GOAT gets real deep with a rare-opening set, stretching minimal synth slayers and acidic chug to psychedelic breaking point before Saskia fires up the subwise hardware explorations and Anina & Lynne absoultely wipe the floor with junglist domination. Secret Shade, we salute you.
The Secret Shade: Lena Willikens, Lynne b2b Anina, Saskia at Strange Brew.
Sell out warning! Absolute go-hard-or-go-home belter for Zone 1 and Bris-Tek’s big birthday bash! Storming The Boxing Gym: Barcelona tekno firecracker Amygdala, bassline boss Jenny Sparks and donk sommelier DJ Bax touching down in Bris + Grandma Wubplate’s hard-dance swag and jungle euphoria from Betsy Mae. And that’s not even half of it….
ZONE 1 x BRIS-TEK / AMYGDALA, DJ BAX, JENNY SPARKS, VANDAL at The Boxing Gym.
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What our editors say
“Joining him is Alex Figueira. Alex is a Venezuelan-Portuguese musician, producer, DJ and record collector currently based in Brussels. Known in the independent music circuit as "the hardest working man in Tropical music", he’s the founder of critically acclaimed tropical psych punk outfit Fumaça Preta, afro-caribbean psychedelic sensation Conjunto Papa Upa, legendary record shop Vintage Voudou Records and tropical experimental label Music With Soul Records.”From: Tim Garcia
“All About You presents their debut evening exploring the soulful and deeper side of dance music, alongside the sounds and influences that surround it. Expect a night of deep house, soulful grooves, garage and other sounds that have shaped the dance music scene.”
From: All About You
“Support comes from local icon Sticks, bringing the warm up heat with her delicious blend of deep house, wiggly electro and soulful cuts. Her Void Radio show Ordinary Things is a BIG fave in the Paradisco camp so make sure to give the shows a few spins to get you in the mood.”
From: Disco Isn't Dead with Stella Zekri
“Dèep Bristol head back underground at After Dark on Saturday 26th September, alongside Scottish deep house maestro CRAIG SMITH (6th Borough Project/Beyond Tomorrow) for what will be a sublime masterclass in refined, impossibly smooth mixing and the most deliciously classy deep house cuts.”
From: Dèep Bristol presents CRAIG SMITH
“Float Yer Boat is back once again on the good ship John Sebastian! We are so chuffed to have Hansolo back onboard, along side the Float Yer Boat residents, Blavster and Pedro. Expect a night of top shelf house music, no doubt meandering towards the techier side along the way. Full steam ahead!!”
From: Float Yer Boat
Trending House Clubnights
— The Trinity Centre
bassline
house
latin jazz
world
More Photos of House Nights in Bristol
— Lost Horizon
reggaeton
afrobeat
funk
house
— The Prospect Building
dubstep
electronic
house
jungle
uk garage
— DOCUMENT
electronic
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techno
— After Dark
disco
disco house
electronic
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— ClothingXChange
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uk garage
tech house