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Free Gigs in Bristol

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Bristol's Free Gigs Scene

Where to find free music in Bristol Free music's pretty easy to find in Bristol. Whilst most gigs outside of the big venues are usually only a few quid, it's always nice to see some bands for free or a couple of pounds in a bucket (if they're good!) For guaranteed free music with your pint, go to a venue which has a free entry policy.

The Old Duke, The Canteen and The Golden Lion (except fridays) should probably be your first port-of-call to check out Coronation Tap are also very reliable and popular for free gigs. Luckily free gigs can happen anywhere, this means you can keep things interesting and not get bored of rotating the same Bristol venues. Free live music can crop up anywhere from the Grain Barge and Lousianna to Colston Hall and even St Georges.

The economy of free gigs. Can it survive Covid?

Good news: gigs in Bristol are more likely to be free than anywhere else! General ticket prices seem to be more common between free and £5; the £20+ bracket is a rare one compared to the capital’s high-end arts and theatre gigs. Bristol’s pandemic response has opened up some extra local music funding. Will free gigs disappear with the added financial pressures of covid? Indoor gigs may soon be possible, but how many of them will remain free and accessible?

Free outdoor gigs and festivals in Bristol

From mid June to the beginning of September Bristol Council and independent organisations put on some great free music events. Best of all there's something different almost every weekend and they don't cost any money! Significant large events include St Werbergh's Fair, The Harbourside Festival and St Pauls Carnival. In addition there are some great smaller, open air gigs with free entry to be found in places like Queens Square, Stokes Croft and Castle Park.

Buy tickets for free gigs events in Bristol

Our recent free gigs recommendations

An electrifying evening dedicated to global resistance music, raising funds to continue Bristol Apartheid Free Zone’s work across the city. Catch mesmerising oud melodies from Tarek Elazhary, rapper Fedzilla’s fiery flow laced with reggaeton and dancehall swag + Palestinian archival recordings with Mo’min Swaitat. A fundraiser for Bristol Apartheid-Free Zone at Strange Brew.

Free entry! Degenerates to the front! Hotly tipped Liverpudlian five-piece Gen and The Degenerates lead Exchange on a swaggering dance against late-capitalist disillusionment, doomscroll dystopia and TikTok misogyny through pure garage-punk ecstasy. Wry queer anthems FFO: Amyl & the Sniffers, Lambrini Girls, Crawlers, Warmduscher. Gen and The Degenerates at Exchange.

Cuculi returns with pianist-composer Laurie Torres’ uniformly gorgeous post-minimalist piano pieces, shoulder-to-shoulder with multi-instrumentalist James Gow’s flickering cello, bass, and brass shapes. Seductive, intimate and mysterious FFO: Harold Budd, Duval Timothy, Ben Seretan. Laurie Torres + James Gow at The Greenbank.

A delicious left-turn from those crazy IGH kids as they launch a new label for their rotating improv scene collabs and freewheeling live cuts! Grab their first release then dive into: postmodern percussion poetry from wayward bardist Sean Noonan (‘the punk-jazz Alan Lomax’), Horsefair’s potent post-rock convulsions and IGH’s ever-mutating house band packing a special bumper line-up. Celebration of first release + future regular !