What's On / Bristol Gigs / post-rock

Post-Rock Gigs in Bristol

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Bristol's Post-rock Scene

What ever happened to post-rock?

Britannica defines post rock as a form of experimental rock that incorporates aspects of jazz and electronica, so what happened to the genre that was so popular in the 90s and 00s. Bands like Mogwai and Tortoise have gone quiet and local Bristol post-rock acts too. The problem with post-rock is that it’s so loosely defined, that it hasn’t really gone away or at all. Rather than decline, the term has just gone out of fashion. Post-rock lives on in the fusion-ready music of local Bristol acts like Ishmael ensemble. With many kids that would’ve been rockstars in the 90s, now making electronica - maybe we should call this post-post-rock now?

What we said in 2015
Right now Bristol’s post-rock and alternative rock scene is at it’s healthiest for years. In addition to some excellent local venues and consistently strong live bookings, we also have promoters like Simple Things purveying some of the boldest festival programming in the UK. Recent Simple Things events have paired post-rock headliners like Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor with cutting edge electronic music and innovative techno producers. In terms of consistent Bristol venues for alternative rock - The Exchange, The Stag And Hounds and The Fleece (who’s past bookings include Thee Silver Mt Zion and Deerhoof) lead the way. The Thekla also makes solid bookings (past guests include 65daysofstatic, And So I Watch You From Afar) and annual ArcTanGent Festival is not to be missed.

Buy tickets for post-rock events in Bristol

Our recent post-rock recommendations

Marauding Norsemen Agabas charge into town wielding their self-coined ‘deathjazz’: a pummeling uptempo rawk engine with a thrash gallop, horn blasts strafing through the noise, and shredding throat growls atop a storm of riffs and rhythms. A cataclysmic ruin ritual FFO: Kvelertak, Imperial Triumphant, Slipknot, Converge. AGABAS at Exchange.

Sell out warning! Crazed cumbia meets mutant surf, acid champeta and retro-future radiophonic SFX via Bogotá’s most notorious supergroup (ft. Meridian Brothers mastermind Eblis Alvarez). Astonishingly strange new instrumental worlds FFO: Romperayo, Dengue Dengue Dengue!, Ondatrópica, Frente Cumbiero, Fumaça Preta. Los Pirañas at The Jam Jar.

Sell-out warning! Gorgeous, dream-soaked ghost music, refracted through hypnagogic pop lulls and a soulful jazz poise. Tara Clerkin Trio’s seductive sound is rooted in the city’s lineage of smudged trip-hop and experimental forms, with this homecoming gig at Trinity promising something quietly magical that we’ll all look back on for years to come… utterly unmissable. Tara Clerkin Trio at The Trinity Centre.

Sell out warning! Come commune with the music of the stones: TSHNE continues to astound after THAT intimate Bridget St John happening with Incredible String Band treasure Robin Williamson – the arch bard of UK outsider folk – gracing the lil ol’ Microplex. Undiminished by time, he performs with longtime partner Bina on a stunning set of Celtic and Indian traditionals, marked by intricate, eccentric magic. Robin & Bina Williamson + Rosie Brownhill + Fohn at The Cube.

What our editors say

“**Thursday 23rd of July. We've got a gig for ya! The excellent 2 peice; Roar At The Meteor will be playing their brand of planet destroying blistering post-hardcore/alt rock. Supporting are Bristol stalwarts @t.o.d.bandofficial bringing Female fronted atmospheric post rock/punk to get you moving and swaying. And its all at the best pub in the world. The Plough Inn. Easton. BS5 If you came. You wouldn't regret it Free entry.**”
From: ROAR AT THE METEOR / T.O.D

“Joined by Liam O'Connell and Owen O'Neill CHOC ICE is an improv Trio from Bristol that blend the volume and intensity of shoegaze and post rock with the grounded grooves of funk and hip hop Free Entry”
From: CHOC ICE

“POLYGAZE Presents: The Issues & Atlas : Empire A grassroots gig at The Old England, Bristol, hosted by POLYGAZE. Join us this on Friday 27th March for an evening of alternative rock, punk & post rock music from the likes of;”
From: Empire

“Neko Refreshed from a year's meditation and fuelled by a lethal combination of extra strong coffee and those lotus biscuits with the cream in the middle, Neko, the premier act to emerge from Bristol's thriving Japanese language post rock/electronica micro scene (population 1), released Windfall, their second EP, on 22 November 2024, following on from 2023 debut King Louie.”
From: Theo Vandenhoff

“swelt Following the release of their debut album 'Bones', swelt bring their fractured, slow-burning songs to Cafe Kino. Rooted in restraint and release, their sound channels '70s folk, slowcore and first-wave post rock. FFO: Sparklehorse, Acetone, Talk Talk, Low”
From: SWELT + RILEY/RADLEY + ESTHER POLLOCK