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

Sell out warning! PTS gifts us another heavyweight Halloween to remember! Taking the far-reaching club continuum to Brew with Hessle Audio longtimer Pearson Sound, Shannen SP’s Afro-diasporic bass explorations, a Bris debut from blown-out digi-club-rap queen Iced Lattina + PTS fam Meterman and Fig going bestie-to-bestie. PTS Halloween ϟ Pearson Sound, Shannen SP ++ at Strange Brew.

Sell out warning! The power of kink-witch Snorlax compels you toward the gayest garage night in town! Headset always goes all-out with proper profesh drag dancers strutting the place up and the usual 4x4 excellence / swung wobbles from GG residents and NasstyCity's Maze. Headset's Gay Garage - Halloween Special at Loco Klub.

Sybil opens an Island wormhole to the deepest realms of techno, trance, breakbeat, ambient and deep froggy proggy. in a truly mind-bending club catharsis from one of the best in the game. A total no brainer if you dig: Konduku, Kia, Vlada, DJ Nobu. Wormhole: Sybil, Plantera & Stefan Brown at The Island.

Deconstructed UK club shellers land on Church Road: Jay Carder steers through precision-tooled bass mechanics, while Sir Hiss serves up swagged-out, low-end sleaze with his raucous selections of OG grime edits, heavy dubstep and fiery electro-techno. Serious! Netham Trax w/ Jay Carder + Sir Hiss + Residents at The Red Church.

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What our editors say

“With an image of looking like a crusty chav punk love child lost down a trippy rabbit hole, this unique soundsystem collective crew will continue to further the evolution of rave music and events and cannot be missed.”
From: New age Collective Crusty Raver tour

“The rave music connoisseurs INTERLUDE are joined once more by DJ DOUBT for the tried-and-tested, all-vinyl B2B. The gang will be spinning wax from all chapters of the rave continuum, all night long. Expect pianos, acid, kick drums and amens galore (and everything in between).”
From: Elysium x Way Of The Future

“Formed from a shared passion for broken rhythms and a desire to express feelings of discontent through rave music, Bristol-based duo Disaffected are quickly establishing a formidable reputation for their high-energy, emotionally charged DJ sets.”
From: Disaffected & Friends: 2QUID + MINNIM + DISAFFECTED

“FLY FOX is a Bristol DJ, founder of Femmes on Decks and radio host known for her eclectic, groove-led sets. Drawing on 90s rave, acid house and techno, Detroit grooves, Chicago disco and soul, she blends sounds from around the world into playful, energetic journeys.A regular on local radios such as Noods Radio, SWU.FM and Crate Digs, she’s also played festivals including Glastonbury, We Out Here, Shambala and Shindig.”
From: FEMMES ON DECK ft. Fly Fox & Katie Novo

“Grace Wolfe hails from west wales and is part of the Wob Mob crew and Soundsystem. Grace’s music is a fusion of bassline, happy hardcore and jungle tekno, with the majority of the set being her own productions!”
From: Tunnel Vision