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Folk Nights & Acoustic Music in Bristol

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Bristol's Folk & Acoustic Scene

Like jazz, folk is an extremely broad genre. From Joan Baez and Joanna Newsom to Bon Iver and the Fleet Foxes to Sheelanegig and Beirut, the folk field is vast. Fortunately when it comes to catering for such a broad spectrum of live music, Bristol excels.

Was folk & acoustic born in the West Country?

With local venues like Bristol Folk House and Bristol University Folk society, folk and acoustic music has a strong foothold in Bristol. The romantic images of a farmer chewing grass sitting on a hay bale is a West Country classic, English folk music has always thrived in the countryside. While Bristol isn’t as rural as its surroundings, music people have always flocked to Bristol from the surrounding areas, bringing the folk sound with them. So while folk music wasn’t born in the west country, it sure does have a home in Bristol.

Folk venues in Bristol
For off-centre Twee and Anti-Folk, be sure to check out what's on at the Louisiana and check the Lost Horizon listings. Cafe Kino and The Arts House both on Stokes Croft also host occasional anti-folk bands and solo musicians.

For less lo-fi and more straight up folk, key venues include: Lost Horizon, The Lansdown in Clifton, The South Bank Centre and The Folk House.

For more feisty folk bands keep an eye on gigs at The Attic and check out our gypsy jazz listings.

The folk big-guns and pop-crossover 'stars' like Noah and The Whale, Seth Lakeman and Mumford and Sons will be found at the biggest Bristol Venues (Colston Hall, o2 Academy and St George's Hall). For these gigs, arrive early as big folk events (at St Georges Hall in particular) can come packaged with some great (and potentially better) support artists.

Buy tickets for folk & acoustic events in Bristol

Our recent folk & acoustic recommendations

Art punk? Post-folk? Baroque prog? What ARE Foot Foot? And what wizard conjured them from the cosmic realms? Mull on these questions and more as they enchant the Kino basement with Celtic balladry and velvety Americana from Eve Appleton Band + Enabling Behaviour’s haunted primordial post-punk. Foot Foot + Enabling Behaviour + Eve Appleton Band at Cafe Kino.

Unmissable classical guitar from the Mexican maestro en route to international acclaim. We’re lucky to have Morgan Szymanski in town, lending the romantic timbres of South American folk to the refined airs of contemporary composers in dazzling displays of deft fretwork. A revelation FFO: John Williams, Leo Brouwer, Julian Bream, Antonio Lauro. Morgan Szymanski - Guitar Landscapes & Soundscapes at St Stephen’s church.

Free entry! Revival-style Celtic balladry melds with velvety Americana in the hands of former Green Man Rising winners the Eve Appleton Band. Their lush layered harmonies and intricate proggy arrangements ooze with graceful warmth; art folk at its best FFO: The Weather Station, Laura Marling, The Staves, First Aid Kit. Eve Appleton Band at The Canteen.

Incomparable alien balladry taking the fragile beauty of Arthur Russell, Nick Drake or Chet Baker and pairing it with singular guitar gurgles and synth wheezes. Eric Chenaux’s a must-see astral treasure. An exciting double header exploring experimental expressions of the ballad form

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What our editors say

“Joining them in support are Scotland’s, Pupil Slicer, whose mathcore assault has become a staple on bills up and down the country following the release of their albums, ‘Mirrors’ (2021) and ‘Blossom’ (2023).”
From: LLNN

“With a unique blend of jazz and Scottish folk inspired by his country’s sublime landscapes, pianist Fergus McCreadie’s music captures the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide, with an appeal that extends far beyond the constraints of genre.”
From: Fergus McCreadie

“PROJECTOR’s debut album ‘NOW WHEN WE TALK IT’S VIOLENCE’ moves effortlessly between artful derangement, aggression and the pop hooks that have regularly seen the band gatecrash the mainstream rock scene. At times it’s drenched in the dark, industrial brutalism of Joy Division, at others it’s a spectacular of hyperactive, Squid-flavoured rant-pop. The album features climaxes that stagger into acid-soaked country, warped with drum machines and lush harmonies, before leaping into blisteringly paranoid Incesticide-era grunge, topped with melting Lana Del Rey-flavour choruses.”
From: PROJECTOR

“Described as “a breath of fresh air on the swing scene” (Twinwood Festival) Down for the Count’s 10-piece mini big band is regularly found in jazz clubs across the UK and abroad (Ronnie Scott’s London, Le Caveau de la Huchette Paris), at festivals including London Jazz Festival, and on BBC Radio. Now they are bringing the sounds and feels of the best jazz clubs to theatres around the country – with an electrifying show full of incredible energy, musicianship, and their own signature wry wit and humour.”
From: Swing That Music with the Down for the Count All-Stars

“The Mighty High Times are an electric three-piece band delving into the archives of American folk, while bringing blues, country and old-time music into the mix. For fans of Doc Watson, Woody Guthrie and The Grateful Dead!”
From: Mighty High Times