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

Diverse subterranean club session raising money for Ricky Retox’s medical bills. Anna Prank will get you raving with only the smiliest slices of breakbeat ardkore and pure junglist NRG, plus there’s Millicent’s neck-snapping 140, ice-cold electro retro-futurism from Crappa T, and many many more selectors to keep you sweating til 3am. Leisure Centre, Hyperactive Breakbeat, Retox and Kaotik Kartel combine for a fundraiser for the one and only Ricky Retox

The undisputed god of new skool hardcore junglism, N4’s Pete Cannon lands at Vinyl Destination for a dubplate showcase alongside Mined’s ragga rudbeoy T-Cuts. Another vital Dare2 day party for all the dedicated ravers, old and new. Our first outdoor event of the eyar!

Mercy! Hardcore junglism’s ultimate brain scrambler lights up the Elysium with a hands-in-the-air, feet-flailing interrogation of the ‘93 - ‘95 golden era. Dedicated ravers go full mentasm at the mere mention of Bizzy B, and so should you, with a whole host of acid / darkcore / tekno treats topping this unmissable slice of nostalgic club cake. A night of Oldschool Rave from legend of the scene Bizzy B and some of it's newest pioneers

Impeccable piano-laced breakbeat hardcore euphoria from Miltant Music’s Aerbreak, who’s launched the rave LP of the decade FFO: Prodigy, Altern8, Dreamscape, Nookie etc. He’s backed by Deselecta and Krash Dubz slinging ruff techstep and Memphis-inspired jungle. Massive! First Dozen brings a Militant Music for a night of hardcore and more - mixing classics and the newest sounds

More Photos of Bristol Rave Events

What our editors say

“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

“Reactor 4 make their return to the Crown, following a sold out event in January, bringing another night of slamming old skool rave music.”
From: Reactor 4 - Jungle, Hardcore, Rave