The Canteen
Seriously popular Bristol venue with free gigs every night.
Thankfully surviving lockdown, the Canteen is still a centre point of the Stokes Croft live music scene: 5 nights a week of the best free* music on the most vibrant street in Bristol (*£5 entry fee after 9:30pm Fri & Sat)
Since it's launch in 2009 The Canteen (part of the Hamilton House Arts Space) has become seriously popular, so much so that it's fair to expect queues on both Friday and Saturday nights. The Canteen is a multifunctional meeting space, it is neither predominantly a restaurant nor a music venue, however arguably succeeds in both of these roles.
With regards to gigs at the Canteen you can find some of Bristol's best bands and entry is always free (see our free live music in Bristol page for more).
The atmosphere (gig wise) can depend on whats on at The Canteen in Bristol, bearing in mind that many patrons will not be there specifically for the live music. That said the quality of musicians booked by the Canteen is seriously high so be sure to check the listings.
Since it's launch in 2009 The Canteen (part of the Hamilton House Arts Space) has become seriously popular, so much so that it's fair to expect queues on both Friday and Saturday nights. The Canteen is a multifunctional meeting space, it is neither predominantly a restaurant nor a music venue, however arguably succeeds in both of these roles.
With regards to gigs at the Canteen you can find some of Bristol's best bands and entry is always free (see our free live music in Bristol page for more).
The atmosphere (gig wise) can depend on whats on at The Canteen in Bristol, bearing in mind that many patrons will not be there specifically for the live music. That said the quality of musicians booked by the Canteen is seriously high so be sure to check the listings.
What's On At The Canteen
— The Canteen
tech house
industrial techno
workshops & classes
talks
lgbtq+
— The Canteen
folk
soul
singer-songwriter
folk-pop
gospel
— The Canteen
blues
blues-rock
new orleans blues
delta blues
Get a feel for The Canteen
Our recent recommendations for The Canteen
Free entry! Queasy freak folk gospel from Sheffield’s most bizarre offering to the outside world so far. Ye Woodbeast are gonna twang and weeze their way into your godless hearts, tackling series Biblical themes with a skewed punkish wink to the man upstairs. Time to get believin, all ye disciples of: Akron/Family, Country Teasers, The Mekons, Sun City Girls, Connan Mockasin.
Ye Woodbeast at The Canteen.
Catch the absolute Queen of the Brazillian dancehall scene for £0 at the Canteen; ain’t every day this happens! Let Lei Di Dai’s singular rudegyal style’s light you up with sprinkles of jungle, reggaeton and baile madness thrown into the grinderrrrrrrr. Ladies to the front!
Queen of Dancehall Ragga in Brazil by Rolling Stone magazine
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.
Bible-black parables, nursery rhymes and ballads, played against avant-garde acoustic band music
Free entry dub session featuring two of Bristol’s finest next gen crews in a first time collision of radical roots, rootical dub and year 3000 steppas. It was only a matter of time before Chewing Glass called on 1Relation to meet them in the dance, will Stokes Croft survive?
CGC Sound mark the TENTH Stokes Croft Sub Sessions with a meeting between themselves and fellow Bristolians, 1Relation Sound.
Free entry! British-Americana troubadour duo A Different Thread weave together the roots of Celtic balladry with Appallachian bluegrass and country to create a richly emotive strain of contemporary transatlantic folk – featuring fiddle, banjo, double bass and honeyed vocal harmonies. Timeless!
"British Americana" - The transatlantic collaboration between UK-born Robert Jackson and North Carolina native, Alicia Best