What's On / Bristol Gigs

Bristol Gigs

— All Bristol's Live Music

Buy tickets for Bristol's best gigs and live music.

Live music gig with great Bristol bands.

Bristol’s best gigs

Every week, the Headfirst editors trawl through all of the live music listings on the website and pick the best gigs for you to go to. Our event selections range from classical music concerts at St George’s Hall to smaller, local musician’s gigs at The Canteen or the Exchange.

Check out this week’s Bristol gig selections over on the Headfirst Facebook page and don’t forget to join our weekly email list for ticket alerts and announcements about interesting bands coming to Bristol including our biggest venues like SWX.

All tickets for this concert were sold through Headfirst Ticket Shop.

Tickets for Bristol gigs

In 2016, Headfirst Bristol launched an online ticket shop for live music events. Inspired by local cooperatives and community interest companies like the Bristol Cable and The Island, Headfirst provides an ethical and respectful place to buy tickets for gigs in Bristol. Our booking fees are low (usually 65p per ticket) and we strive to help support independent live music events as much as large concerts at venues like Bristol Beacon or Marble Factory.

Upcoming gigs in Bristol

Fri 20th March
From The Jam at The Trinity Centre
— The Trinity Centre

From The Jam in Bristol Tickets

Sun 27th July
Downbeat Melody Day Party at Lost Horizon
Fri 7th November
Daniel Avery  plus special guests at Bristol Beacon
Sat 30th August
REGGAE REGGAE .PT2 at Lost Horizon

Live music venues in Bristol

Bristol’s gig venues play an essential and often overlooked role in the city’s music scene. A spectrum of venues provides a ladder for new bands and musical talent to ascend. DIY spaces like Lost Horizon and Strangebrew provide a testbed for the screaming synthesisers and the guitars that will undoubtedly become part of Bristol’s future. Check out Headfirst’s Bristol venues page to discover which kind of performances and concerts you can expect from each gig venue.

First live gig for one of Bristol's best guitarists.

Our editor's top live music recommendation

Sell out warning! The lushest triple harmonies in all of alt-folk mixed with delicate pluckings of harp, banjo and viola. Lady Maisery’s triumphant paeans for joy are utterly captivating FFO: Bella Hardy, Jackie Oates, The Rheingans Sisters. Lady Maisery at The Mount Without.

One of the most underrated UK bands of the 90s, Prolapse revisit their signature spikey compound of driving post-punk, janky krautrock, and sweeping shoegaze, existing in a hallowed space somewhere between The Delgados and The Fall. A big deal in our world, and FFO: Life Without Buildings, Arab Strap, Beta Band. PROLAPSE at The Golden Lion.

Calling all fuzz-fiends! On Mono returns with a second full-frontal blast of post-punk, shoegaze, and alt chaos. Noir-punk wrecking crew Grandma’s House headline the two-stage Exchange takeover - a wall-to-wall delirium featuring Bureau De Change, DYE, WYR, and more TBA. Buy-on-sight FFO: Witching Waves, Dry Cleaning, Enola Gay, Just Mustard. On Mono at Exchange.

Sell out warning! Not jazz nor rock nor film music, fans just call it ‘Necks music’: that spine-tingling unwinding of instrumental textures and improvised magic. A once in a lifetime gig for those who’ve never witnessed; for those that have, you can never see the same set twice…. The Necks at Strange Brew.

Recommended Gigs

Mon 10th November
Luvcat at The Trinity Centre
— The Trinity Centre

Luvcat in Bristol Tickets

Thu 4th September
GANS at The Louisiana
— The Louisiana

GANS in Bristol Tickets

Sat 22nd November
Panjabi Hit Squad at Strange Brew
Thu 11th September
Mid Nite Life at The Louisiana
Fri 17th October
Erotic Secrets of Pompeii at Rough Trade Bristol

Gigs in Bristol today

Most of Headfirst’s visitors come to discover new bands and live music in Bristol. We’re proud to be Bristol’s most complete gig listings resource, complete with a full breakdown of gigs in Bristol today and tour dates for the next six months. A sterling selection of open mic nights (particularly along Gloucester Road), provide ample midweek entertainment for would-be talent scouts.

Sell out warning - buy tickets while you can!

Sell out warning! Mali blues master, electrifying the Saharan desert like his father before him. Vieux Farka Touré’s blistering guitar-funk-roots-rock fusion and wizened vocals are the sound of a star being born. Outstanding musical wonder to behold FFO: Tinariwen, Tamikrest, Ali Farka Touré, Oumou Sangare, Bombino. Vieux Farka Toure at The Lantern.

Sell out warning! Inventive jazz fusion ensemble melding afrofunk, afrobeat, gnawa and rumba into a fire-breathing 9-headed psychedelic beast. Muito Kaballa are a force to be reckoned with FFO: Fela Kuti, Tenderlonious, L'éclair, Surprise Chef, the Pyramids. Muito Kaballa at The Jam Jar.

Rapper announces our new Bristol gig guide on the microphone!
Marla Kether graces us with her beautiful live performance in full band formation. With lashings of Theo Parrish-style house, layered percussion and spiritual Afro‑Brazilian rhythms, this is music that drifts perfectly between live gig intimacy and club-ready flow. Unmissable vibes FFO: Yazmin Lacey, Shy One, Oscar Jerome. Marla Kether + Aisha Kigs at The Jam Jar.

Sell out warning! Enthralling Cornish folkie Martha Tilston returns for yet another standout date, with sublime vocals and aching melancholy that's 100% essential FFO: Lisa Hannigan, Kate Bush, Heidi Talbot, Emily Smith. Martha Tilston + special guests at Strange Brew.


Local bands and musicians

Local musicians are the lifeblood and new energy that constantly rejuvenates Bristol’s venues and performance spaces. Graduates from Bristol University’s Music course and BIMM provide regular injections of talent ranging from electronic music producers to classically trained pianists and orchestral musicians. Some of Bristol’s most successful bands are the first to point out that their inspiration comes from other local bands and gigs they’ve attended; with this in mind Headfirst is careful to include as much local talent as possible in it’s gig guide.

In addition to attending gigs you can also support Bristol’s musicians by buying their records from independent stores like Idle Hands Records, Shall Not Fade and Christmas Steps Records.