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Bristol's Drum & Bass Events

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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

The weird and heavy post-club agenda continues! Realist Alive is on a mad roll, this time descending upon Cosies with an arsenal of 160+ rave wunderkid Synapsefirer, DJ3t13’s scuzzy hyperactive club battery and local abrasive experimentalists ORDERLY ROOM, Yokel and Nahda. It’s gonna get rowdy. Realist A: Synapsefirer, DJ 3t13 & more at Cosies.

Sunshine terrace session with Bristol’s finest (proper) dnb selectors. For our money, you can’t do better than No Nation and Deselecta’s next gen ruffneck junglism and uplifting amen nostalgia + Optimystic’s Reinforced-approved intelligent techstep / drumfunk rollers. This is a Hospitality free zone. Full Spectrum - Jungle Bank Holiday Bash at Dare to Club.

Sell out warning! All aboard the Flower of Bristol for a proper Avon boat voyage thrashing to OG junglism courtesy of Reinforced / AKO trooper DJ Stretch. Then back to the Brew to distill 30 years of amen-excellence into one night of glory alongside Rupture go-to Decibella + Scientific Wax drumfunk devil Dub One. DISSONANCE X 30 YEARS OF AKO BEATZ at Strange Brew.

It’s 2025 and all-male line-ups shouldn’t still be a thing but here we are. Cue this huuuge takeover of femme and non-binary selectors from across the city with a dedicated bass room supplying the dnb, jungle and 4x4 heft and room 2 bringing the house, 140, garage and dubstep grooves. No More All Male Lineups at Basement 45.

What our editors say

“Stretch’s game on the jungle scene is incomprehensible! His remixes of artists tracks include the seminal Firefox’s ‘Warning’, Tom & Jerry’s ‘Maximum Style’. Stretch teamed up with DJ Ron to remix Rebel MC & Top Cat’s ‘Champion DJ’ and also created the jungle hit ‘Papa Lover’.”
From: Beat Alliance

“For nearly 20 years, Motion has been at the heart of Bristol’s drum and bass scene, and for our closing series, we’re bringing some of the genre’s biggest names to the city. Leading the lineup is Dimension, whose unique productions have made him one of the most in-demand artists in electronic music today.”
From: Motion Closing Series: Dimension, Friction, KOVEN

“Sound system culture is a cornerstone of UK music history, a movement that reshaped the way we experience music, from the streets of London to the valleys of the South West. Born from Caribbean roots and community resilience, it’s a culture built on bass, craftsmanship, and connection, one that’s helped shape everything from dub and reggae to jungle, grime, and UK bass.”
From: Bristol Stack Culture: Sound System Meet

“As a founding member of EQ50 alongisde DJ Flight, she’s helped reshape the scene for women and non-binary artists, while her production work with Sofa Sound, Spearhead and AKO Beatz shows her depth across the DnB spectrum — from rollers to jungle pressure! …”
From: SLIPPIN’ - Villem, Sweetpea, Optimystic, Bluejay

“With the podcast set aside for the time being we thought this would be the perfect way to continue showcasing artists and music styles we love and want you to hear. Join us for an unforgettable night focusing solely on bass music culture from 180 to 140bpm. Expect a carefully curated line up alongside like minded enthusiasts in an intimate house party style setting in the heart of Stokes Croft @ No.51. Don’t miss your opportunity to capture the essence of Bristol’s deeply rooted drum and bass culture and witness some of the best rollers, Minimal and classic dnb this scene has to offer. This one really is for the heads out there!”
From: TheDrum&DataBass presents: Faction