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 26th September
Eat Static at Lost Horizon
— Lost Horizon

Eat Static in Bristol Tickets

Mon 23rd March
Bar Italia at The Trinity Centre
— The Trinity Centre

Bar Italia in Bristol Tickets

Thu 12th March
Jens Lekman at Strange Brew
— Strange Brew

Jens Lekman in Bristol Tickets

Tue 21st October
Mind Enterprises at Lost Horizon
— Lost Horizon

Mind Enterprises in Bristol Tickets

New Years Eve
Where it all Begins at The Trinity Centre
— The Trinity Centre

Where it all Begins in Bristol Tickets

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! Last chance to see the baroque existentialism of Porridge Radio! Fresh off a farewell tour announcement, the oft-transcendent Brighton band’s final Bristol show is unmissable. The formula is tried and true: Dana Margolin’s grimly combustible poetry of the everyday stacks up until set ablaze by her band’s serrated post-punk arrangements. Don’t miss the swan song of one of the UK’s most vital bands of the past decade. Porridge Radio at The Trinity Centre.

Indefatigable bard Andy Irvine returns to Bristol wielding mandolas, bouzoukis, and stories of worker’s struggles of bygone days. He threads personal tales with historical reckonings, quietly affirming his status as an Irish legend whose prophecies reverberate through modern folk. Andy Irvine at Bristol Folk House.

Wayne Snow’s Afrofuturist neo-soul and richly textured R&B are deeply shaped by icons like Marvin Gaye, Fela Kuti, Sade, Sun Ra, and King Sunny Adé. Expect glowing falsetto, cinematic atmospheres, and lulling club grooves that stir the spirit and soothe the spirit. Wayne Snow at The Jam Jar.

Sell out warning! RIP Weatherall, long live The Sabres. The impossibly influential 90s dance unit rides into battle once again peddling their patented haunted dancehall, sampledelic breaks and psychedelic techno squelch to readily Warp’d minds. An unmissable, historical happening for even the most casual electronica humans, or FFO: Screamadelica, The Orb, Nightmares on Wax, Massive Attack, Autechre, FSOL. The Sabres of Paradise + special guests at Strange Brew.

Recommended Gigs

Fri 10th October
Jazz in the Loft - Nigel Price Organ Trio at The Tobacco Factory
— The Tobacco Factory

Jazz in the Loft - Nigel Price Organ Trio in Bristol Tickets

Tue 14th October
Seedling Sessions at The Trinity Centre
— The Trinity Centre

Seedling Sessions in Bristol Tickets

Fri 20th March
Bruce Foxton and his all star band at The Trinity Centre
— The Trinity Centre

Bruce Foxton and his all star band in Bristol Tickets

Sat 4th October
Inland Knights + Marcus Waxx at Moon Cub
— Moon Cub

Inland Knights + Marcus Waxx in Bristol Tickets

Sun 23rd November
Tortoise at The Prospect Building
— The Prospect Building

Tortoise in Bristol Tickets

Fri 8th May
Toots and the Maytals ft Leba Hibbert at The Trinity Centre
— The Trinity Centre

Toots and the Maytals ft Leba Hibbert in Bristol Tickets

Sat 11th October
Oktoberfest - All You Can Drink Beer Festival | The Full Moon & Attic Bar at The Full Moon & Attic Bar
— The Full Moon & Attic Bar

Oktoberfest - All You Can Drink Beer Festival | The Full Moon & Attic Bar in Bristol Tickets

Fri 24th October
Pynch at Rough Trade Bristol
— Rough Trade Bristol

Pynch in Bristol Tickets

Sat 25th October
This Is The Kit at Stroud Valleys Artspace
— Stroud Valleys Artspace

This Is The Kit in Bristol Tickets

Sun 9th November
Late night drive home at Strange Brew
— Strange Brew

Late night drive home in Bristol Tickets

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!

Portland’s latest scathing hardcore attack on the human disease, with Dani’s raging raw banshee vocal delivery leading a full-on assault on all senses. Please get this upgraded to the main room!?!? Unmissable, undiluted fury FFO: Gimic, Paint It Black, Gel, Spy, Punitive Damage, Buggin. Dry Socket at Exchange.

Sell out warning! Border-burning avant-rock built from a landslide of ritualistic West African folk onto the flat planes of European industrial grot rock. Avalanche Kaito are a revolution: this is the band the future has demanded, and you must answer the call. Beyond unmissable FFO: Senyawa, black midi, early Gang Gang Dance, Nihiloxica, The Ex. Avalanche Kaito + Support at The Full Moon & Attic Bar.

Rapper announces our new Bristol gig guide on the microphone!
In an unmissable encounter of two souls, Senegalese griot Ablaye Cissoko’s kora weaves ancient echoes through French accordion virtuoso Cyrille Brotto’s haunting drones. Their delicate interplay crafts a storytelling journey through grief, crafting ancient narratives into contemporary soundscapes. Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto at The Jam Jar.

A true cult icon of global dance music, Ata Kak blends infectious Ghanaian highlife, hip-hop, with lo-fi electronic funk. His legendary live show is a high-energy celebration of rhythm, joy, and underground spirit... a rare chance to witness a pioneer in full force FFO: Ebo Taylor, Francis Bebey, Penny Penny. ATA KAK at The Jam Jar.

Gigs at Lost Horizon Gigs at Exchange Louisiana Tickets Bristol Beacon Tickets View All Gig Venues

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.