Bristol Rave Events

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Bristol's Rave Scene

Bristol has long been the South West's rave mecca with bus loads of ravers coming to hardcore nights from lesser endowed cities like Bournemouth and Bath since the nineties. At the heart of Bristol's hardcore and old skool scene has always been Lakota, the only venue (until recently) large enough for huge, multi-room raves. The venue's industrial warehouse feel and non-central location also made it popular with Bristol's free party crews who's multi-rig 'linkups' (most notably the Gener8r parties) have also made Bristol a national attraction for oldskool, mash-up and breakcore nights.

The Black Swan in Easton is Bristol's other key rave venue, attracting promoters like Mongrel (formerly at the Croft), Tiki and Avalaf. Keep an eye on Lab's listings for occasional Wrong Music events and even check Whats on at Bristol's Motion for the odd large rave event like Battlegrounds.

Bristol Rave in the time of Covid
Bristol is easily the rave capital of the west, it’s clear from just the name of Rave on Avon - a multi-day multi-venue rave event where the streets of Bristol open themselves to fans of the whole spectrum of rave: drum n bass, hardcore, trance, techno house. Bristol never descriminates! But the only raves hitting the news recently was an illegal rave - the first of its kind in Bristol to receive a £10,000. Obviously no-one would condone raving in Bristol at this time, no matter how much we want it. The question on everyone’s lips is: what will raves look like after covid? Facemasks on entry? Dwindling crowds checking track and trace apps on their phones. Let’s hope Bristol can get its rave on, in the way remember, as soon as possible.

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Our recent rave recommendations

Bateman makes his debut headline set after a whomper appearance at Motion’s closing party (we're all still reeling). Prepare for dark-room DnB mechanics and pure hardcore junglism both old skool and new school from start to finish. Heavy! Drum & Bass all night long

Glitchgirl helms the next Bangers Without Borders monthly outing at Jam Jar, bringing her signature hot and heavy 140+ Latincore rave frenzy. Expect reggaeton, neoperreo and baile funk with a healthy dose of dnb, gabber and hard electro + the usual globe-trotting club rhythms from Terrain residents. Cutting-edge beats and rhythms from around the world brought to you every last Saturday of the month.

Free entry! Ear-to-ear twisted smileys radiating from the Reactor4 crew deep inside the Crown corridors. Preaching breakbeat hardcore excellence from the pulpit with stacked b2b madness from Bio-kem, Vanguard and the Beaten Track crewdem. This is amen worship done proper! 100% Old Skool Jungle, DnB and Hardcore!

Education Sessions expand their road-tested workouts in dnb/jungle excellence into rave-ready hoover hardcore and darkside jungle techno. The second edition of Pitch Shift is here to serve you unruly vinyl-only ruffage in a collaboration with Distant Planet’s hardcore historians Louise +1 and Hughesee. Hardcore Jungle Techno

More Photos of Bristol Rave Events

What our editors say

“vorem ipsum - a vorem ipsum track transforms within itself, never settling. As a producer, vorem ipsum incorporates everything from hardstyle, trance, EDM and deconstructed club, with a keen sensibility and affinity for the soaring capacities of pop music. As a DJ, their sets tend to be alike, multifarious, generically omnivorous, amalgamating everything from trap, breaks and hardcore in the same breath. vorem ipsum sets are equally ectstatic and caustic, it'll be a pleasure to witness them shred Exchange to the foundations.”
From: Realist A+ Double Take Records: optionlist, novasdemise, vorem ipsum

“Kick off your weekend early with OVERTIME, a Thursday night escape into rave. From 6 PM till late, our DJs will be spinning a mix of house, techno, disco, and electro—blending timeless acid house classics from the 1980s/1990s with fresh, feel-good tunes from every decade through to the latest cuts.”
From: Overtime

“Expect an all-night, improvised journey through textural ambience, acid house workouts and peak time techno, unfolding where the historic pub's maritime legacy meets Bristol's cutting-edge electronic underground.”
From: All Night Long: Thomas Ridley

“Crustacean maestros Ab Crab will send you spinning into a turbulent current of powerful euphoria. Hard, fast, relentless and genre-fluid, Ab Crab guides you on a swim through the seven seas of hyperpop, happy hardcore, jungle, nightcore, metal, trance and gabber. They are the music you love, but more. The duo’s last three sold-out shows in Bristol speak for themselves: they are more than a B2B; they are unstoppable evolution.”
From: TEMPLE CLOUD w/ qwerty-uiop B2B Dosage & dj osu

“Gary Spacepope is a UK underground legend with a knack for turning dance floors into intergalactic joyrides. Since the 80’s he’s been slinging psychedelic techno, acid house, and weirdo beats. A cosmic chef dishing out sonic goulash.”
From: Insieme Festival 2025