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Reggae Nights in Bristol

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Bristol's Reggae & Dub Scene

Is Bristol the capital of reggae & dub in the UK?

With the return of the community led St Paul’s carnival (getting national coverage in the Guardian), Bristol has always had claim to be the capital of the Jamaican diaspora sound. Reggae and dub can be heard on the streets of St Paul’s and Stokes Croft, on the airwaves of Ujima and at venues like Cosies and community-centred nights at Kuumba Centre and the Malcolm X centre. While smoking bans and rapid gentrification have murdered the nightlife of London, Bristol has it’s own problems that are impacting the reggae and dub communities. The recent sale of the Rastafari Cultural centre poses a threat to the beating heart of this vibrant scene in Bristol.

While it's still possible to see reggae legends like Lee Perry and Horace Andy at Bristol's large venues (ie Colston Hall and the o2 Academy), live reggae in Bristol is fewer and farther between. Dub and 'soundsystem culture' on the other hand, are literally huge. For the big dub and roots soundclashes, keep an eye on whats on at the Trinity Centre in Bristol, most notably Unity in Dub who's guest soundsystems have included Irration Steppas and the mighty King Earthquake.

On a much smaller scale look at Cosies listings for their weekly roots and reggae night and check whats on at the Attic (attached to the Full Moon on Stokes Croft). Pure ragga, bashment or dancehall events in Bristol are pretty rare, instead a reggae room is a pretty common fixture at big nights at venues like Lakota.

The rapid growth of dubstep in Bristol has brought with it a rekindled interest in modern dub (aka digi-dub aka future dub) and has led to some unlikely dub bookings like Mad Professor at Shit the Bed in the Motion listings.

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Our recent reggae & dub recommendations

Bristol’s iconic outer-reaches not-dub outpost buries itself with a 10-tonne heavy assemblage of global associates. Inside: the UK debut of astral sampling raggamuffins SKRS and Brazil’s tropicalia psych-dub lion Felinto; plus insane live collabs between Jay Glass Dubs and EP/64’s Dali + Grove and Ossia. Life-changing FFO: Iration Steppas, The Bug, Bauhaus, On U Sound, Equiknoxx, Wackies, Holy Tongue. From 2015 - 2025 there was a place called Bokeh Versions. Join us for this birthday funeral hybrid memorial acknowledging A DECADE of unorthodox practices and life-giving sounds in the dub / not-dub / not-dancehall / psychodubilly / dambient / gothdread / shoejazz / loverschlock, industrosmische / evangelical illbient continuum.

On-U Sound’s peerless AHC return to Bristol for a full-throttle outing at Trinity, delivering thunderous dub rhythms, bonkers polyrhythmic percussion and soaring melodic chants - all riddled with post-punk attitude and dizzying psychedelic catharsis. ON-U-SOUND HEAVYWEIGHT AFRICAN HEAD CHARGE plus GUESTS in BRISTOL

Sell out warning! Distilling the live afrofunk jazz sermons of Fela Kuti with the JA / UK fusion of the Two Tone movement, Soothsayers have been making our hair stand on end for 25 years now. They’re finally taking their rightful place on the Jam Jar stage with killer brass chops and upful steppin’ anthems FFO: Steel Pulse, Hugh Masekela, Prince Fatty, Dele Sosimi, The Hempolics. Afrobeat, soul-jazz and deep dub - Soothsayers make vibrant, socially conscious music with a groove-driven sound that resonates across cultures and generations.

Kicking off EM2025 with a live quadruple threat ft, DJ Python’s subaqueous reggaeton and a highly-anticipated Bristol debut of expressionist Sufi poeticism from the truly stellar Abdullah Miniawy. For starters: Coby Sey's fresh full band take on avant-punk-dub and Mary Hurrell’s spectral sound art meditations. Only the daring brains at En Masse could dream this one up! Opening night, maximum impact

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What our editors say

“Drawing on 1960s–70s funk, reggae, library music, psychedelic rock and global influences, Skinshape creates warm, atmospheric grooves shaped by a deep love of vintage recording and timeless songwriting.”
From: Skinshape

“Fresh from their 2025 tour, Toots and the Maytals feat. Leba Hibbert bring reggae’s true spirit back to the stage. Formed in the 1960s and famed for classics like 54-46 Was My Number, Monkey Man and Pressure Drop, the Maytals remain one of reggae’s most iconic groups. Now led by Toots’ daughter Leba, expect a powerful celebration of timeless hits and living legacy.”
From: Toots and the Maytals ft Leba Hibbert

“If you’ve not been to an Undercover Hippy gig before, you are in for a treat. By the encore you will be exalted and exhausted; entertained and educated; energised and inspired. The music combines meaningful lyrics with upbeat, bass soaked, reggae and hip-hop infused rhythms, bringing like minded people together to both acknowledge the darkness and celebrate life.”
From: The Undercover Hippy + Support

“MEMORIALS draw inspiration from folk, dub, post punk, experimental tape music, 60s soul, garage rock and 70s spiritual jazz, twisting these influences into their own unmistakable sound. The duo of Verity Susman and Matthew Simms (ex-Electrelane/WIRE) recently toured the USA opening for Stereolab and have been called “Stereolab’s evil twin.””
From: MEMORIALS

“Distinguished by a remarkable collaborative interplay between the four musicians, their music is high energy and intense but also intricate and nuanced. Mixing disparate stylistic influences and explosive improvisation into incendiary live performances, they allow the music to venture into territories that are unforeseen even to the musicians themselves – whether kaleidoscopically atmospheric, off-the-wall thrashy, infectiously dub-y, trippily Pink Floyd-esque, or muscularly in-your-face.”
From: LET SPIN