What's On / Bristol Nightlife / drum and bass

Bristol's Drum & Bass Events

upcoming clubnight

Bristol's Drum And Bass Scene

Is Stokes Croft a drum and bass Mecca?

Drum and bass in Bristol needs no bigger homes than Lakota and Blue Mountain. Both on the same street in Stokes Croft - they’ve continued Bristol’s drum n bass lineage from DJ Krust and Roni Size through to Intrigue Music and the more experimental UVB76 crew. Bristol’s place in the history of drum n bass is assured. Figureheads like DJ Die draw the line between the jungle and drum n bass scenes, jungle is key in Bristol - a city with so much Caribbean heritage, roots reggae’s influence on drum n bass comes through the language of jungle. But with both Lakota and Blue Mountain closing their doors soon to developers, is Bristol in a drum n bass crisis?

Drum and bass in Bristol encapsulates the genre in the wider world. Big venues play host to big acts with nights such as Bedlam, One Nation and Shit the Bed offering International stars including Pendulum, Chase and Status, Andy C and Noisia on a regular basis. In addition to this, alternative venues like the Dojo Lounge, Basement 45 and the Black Swan foster the rarefied sounds of dnb's many sub genres offering the city a unique depth to its plethora of drum and bass music. New years eve in Bristol clubs sees the city's venues rammed to the brim with all of the drum and bass's big players djing somewhere in Bristol.

Agro, Dissident and Mongrel offer dnb of a techy, dark variety while the bastion of the deeper sound, Intrigue, continues to push artists such as Marcus Intalex, Calibre and Fabio. Torque, straddling the line between dark and deep is a drum and bass monthly of significant recognition, hosting label nights and affiliated artists from Club Autonomic to Critical and Shogun Audio.

With drum and bass such a popular genre in Bristol, most clubs present dnb of some description at least once per month. Basement 45 has emerged as a consistent venue, with Torque, Abstraction and Nine Tree all on regular rotation at the club. Dojos plays host to the aforementioned Intrigue while Lab is home to Signal which runs as a bi-monthly event.

Of the larger venues Motion has a throng of events that are less frequent but larger in scale. Although many of these nights are multi-genre affairs, Run and Shit The Bed routinely promote dnb artists as their headline acts.

Lakota is another important dnb venue, housing Concrete Beat, Agro and since September 2010, Bedlam. Hospitality's residency at the Thekla ensures dnb is consistent fixture on the ship, while the rave-ready Black Swan is the spearhead for the harder jungle-tek sounds of the dnb genre.

Buy tickets for drum and bass events in Bristol

Our recent drum and bass recommendations

YES WE DO…..and who better to serve you a Wednesday night amen platter than Jigsore’s raggatek soundbwoy Humb + Asha Binx in total tearout mode. We Need Jungle - Humb - Asha Binx - Kymeric at Cosies.

Sell out warning! Stadium-grade dnb supremacy comes to the Jam Jar in a DIY victory for liquid revivalists Slippin’, netting London Elektricity for a mahooooosive set with Hospitality sparring partner MC Ruthless pon the mic. Hands in the air, feet flailing, 5am crew, this one’s for you! SLIPPIN’ - LONDON ELEKTRICITY & RUTHLESS MC +++ at The Jam Jar.

A steamy affair for techno lovers at the next Queerky as Klub Verboten resident TSUNIMAN comes to town bringing their brooding mix of cosmic techno, carnal tribal and cavernous trance. Queerky w/ TSUNIMAN at Loco Klub.

Footworkin junglism and bleeping hardcore in the Crown with revered Dutch underground mistress Rayven Lux. She’ll be preaching breakbeat excellence from the pulpit with Da Demolition Squad’s Sierpinski and a hush hush Super Sonic Booty Bangers special guest. Trust in USB! USB Presents: Rayven Lux, Muna + V Special Guest at The Crown.

What our editors say

“Ray Keith is one of the UK’s most respected names in jungle and drum and bass, regarded as the Godfather of D&B. Renowned for his bass-heavy yet soulful productions and seamless skills, this iconic DJ, producer and record label head has remained at the pinnacle of the scene since helping to pioneer the genre nearly two decades ago.”
From: Ray Keith + support | Attic Bar

“Head down to The Crown on Tuesday 13th May for a night of multi genre madness with nothing but high energy jungle, garage and dnb with TEXT on headline duties!”
From: Rogue Frequency: TEXT, Lportt, Crashie + more

“WonderBelly presents an electrifying night of dubstep and jungle vibes! Mystic State, Bristol’s renowned DnB duo, delivers a unique 140/174 hybrid set. DJ Gaw, a true icon in the DnB world, spins an exclusive 140-180 performance. Rounding out the line-up is Lokal, Manchester’s finest, bringing their signature 140 sound with a new school edge”
From: 140x180bpm

“Introduced to d&b at 14, Whiney has become a true master in deep rollers, techy minimal and jungle-influenced drums. Having signed to Hospital Records at 18, his top-notch productions speak for themselves, reflected in a stacked back catalogue on respected labels and a long list of collaborations under his belt, such as P Money and Unglue. You know this one’s gonna go off.”
From: Wide Eyes: Whiney + Benny Page

“Bringing a fresh and electrifying energy to the UKG scene, NUFFSEDD is making serious waves with heavyweight tracks like Be Faithful Dub, which has already racked up over 90,000 streams. His signature production style fuses classic UK Garage with cutting-edge sound design, drawing inspiration from bassline, drum and bass, and beyond to craft high-impact, dancefloor-ready anthems.”
From: sad 2 see u go | NUFFSEDD + More