Bristol's Blues Events

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Bristol's Blues Scene

Is blues music under-represented in Bristol?

While other American-originated music like funk and soul enjoy a huge number of acts and dedicated venues, where is the home of blues in Bristol? With its roots in the oppression of the black peoples of America, blues was transplanted over to the UK via white rock acts like the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. A quick browse of blues played on the BBC recently and tyhe Guardian’s list of the best blues festivals show some support for nearby Bath, but nothing for blues in Bristol. This begs the question: who will lead the new blues revival in Bristol?

Blues gigs in Bristol are found in pretty consistent venues with places like The Prom and the Thunderbolt popular live blues spots. Generally blues-rock seems more prominent in Bristol than traditional rhythm and blues bands or delta blues singers, although there is some really interesting stuff out there. Other venues to check for blues include the Cori Tap in Clifton and the Blue Lagoon on Gloucester Rd.

It's always worth looking at what's on at the Canteen in Bristol whose listings vary in style but are usually consistently high in quality - some potential blues gems there...

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Our recent blues recommendations

Faris Ishaq is the undisputed modern master of the ancient sounds of the nay reed flute. The global jazz collaborator returns to Bristol with his new solo endeavour, marrying truly dizzying breathwork with percussive frame drum pulse. An unmissable Palestinian musical expo FFO: Yusef Lateef, Paul Horn, ECM, Nai Barghouti. JASAD Faris Ishaq Palestinian Nay at St Paul's Church Clifton.

Sell out warning! Canadian-American experimentalist claire rousay shapes extended soundscapes from field recordings, found sounds, and ethereal autotuned vocals, mining deep emotion from minimal materials. With stunning support from Lucy Railton’s unsettling electronic-flecked cello carvings, this is sonic cartography FFO: Laurel Halo, Kali Malone, KMRU, Tim Hecker. claire rousay + Lucy Railton + Harry Górski-Brown & Wojciech Rusin at St George's Bristol.

Sell out warning! The Orcutt Shelley Miller trio tear through an avant-rock outer world, as Bill Orcutt’s iconoclastic outlaw shred interlaces with Steve Shelley’s mad percussion and Ethan Miller’s writhing bass. On support: electroacoustic composer Cole Pulice untethers sax and synth into boundless, dreamlike arcs. A fugitive voyage in sound FFO: Jim O’Rourke, Sonic Youth, Nala Sinephro, Pharoah Sanders. Orcutt Shelley Miller + Cole Pulice at Strange Brew.

A full-body recalibration for the DIY noise extremists! Eggy Tapes unites Dhangsha’s warped mutant bass, necrocore ritualist Jena Jang’s abysmal sonic catharsis and the sepulchral doom ambient of Internal Object in an unholy trinity fit for Dis Fig, The Bug, Lingua Ignota and Avon Terror Corps devotees alike. Dhangsha, Jena Jang + Internal Object at Exchange.

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What our editors say

“One of blues rock’s most exciting breakout bands of recent years, Hutchinson’s power trio have been praised for ‘turning a club show into a primal scream’. Packed with hard hitting riffs and gritty guitar solos, his songs bring audiences together with choruses that soar.”
From: Jack J Hutchinson

“Singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer King Zepha presents an all-star band with wailing horns, thunderous double bass, global rhythms, dub delays and stunning 3-part vocal harmonies. Their original music draws influence from rhythm n blues, jazz, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and soul and has been described by Craig Charles (BBC 6 Music) as "breathtaking" and "my favourite album" by the legendary reggae producer Dennis Bovell (Soho Radio).”
From: King Zepha

“Having played bluegrass festivals in England, the Netherlands, France and the USA the band have honed their own take on American music from the 1950s to the present day. With various combinations of the four voices, expect to hear interesting harmony and subtle instrumentation as they play their way around festivals, pubs, Arts Centres music venues and local markets.”
From: The Hogranch

“Those whispers became Where the South Winds Wail. The record doesn’t unfold like a traditional collection of songs so much as a séance with an unknown past. Surf twang draped in shadows, blues exotica wandering into humid night, psychedelic cumbia tangled with echoes like an Afro-Amazon juke joint — each track a ghostly transmission, pulled from the air and reanimated in the present.”
From: Gitkin

“Growing up in between the deserts and refugee camps of Algeria, Ibrahim was regarded as a wanderer and a loner – he was nicknamed ‘Abaraybone’, meaning ‘ragamuffin child’. One day, he remembers, he was watching a western at a makeshift desert cinema and was struck by a scene in which a cowboy plays a song on a guitar. Inspired, he built his first guitar using an oil can, a stick and a bicycle brake wire. He started to learn to play, practising old Tuareg melodies, modern Arabic pop tunes and the Malian blues music of Ali Farka Touré.”
From: Tinariwen