What's On / Bristol Gigs / free gigs

Free Gigs in Bristol

upcoming gig

Bristol's Free Gigs Scene

Where to find free music in Bristol Free music's pretty easy to find in Bristol. Whilst most gigs outside of the big venues are usually only a few quid, it's always nice to see some bands for free or a couple of pounds in a bucket (if they're good!) For guaranteed free music with your pint, go to a venue which has a free entry policy.

The Old Duke, The Canteen and The Golden Lion (except fridays) should probably be your first port-of-call to check out Coronation Tap are also very reliable and popular for free gigs. Luckily free gigs can happen anywhere, this means you can keep things interesting and not get bored of rotating the same Bristol venues. Free live music can crop up anywhere from the Grain Barge and Lousianna to Colston Hall and even St Georges.

The economy of free gigs. Can it survive Covid?

Good news: gigs in Bristol are more likely to be free than anywhere else! General ticket prices seem to be more common between free and £5; the £20+ bracket is a rare one compared to the capital’s high-end arts and theatre gigs. Bristol’s pandemic response has opened up some extra local music funding. Will free gigs disappear with the added financial pressures of covid? Indoor gigs may soon be possible, but how many of them will remain free and accessible?

Free outdoor gigs and festivals in Bristol

From mid June to the beginning of September Bristol Council and independent organisations put on some great free music events. Best of all there's something different almost every weekend and they don't cost any money! Significant large events include St Werbergh's Fair, The Harbourside Festival and St Pauls Carnival. In addition there are some great smaller, open air gigs with free entry to be found in places like Queens Square, Stokes Croft and Castle Park.

Buy tickets for free gigs events in Bristol

Our recent free gigs recommendations

The erstwhile emos at ETN call on Aloisius' blown-out improv chaos for an evening of outsider rumblings. The loose AF jam collective takes a euphoric stance on spiritual jazz, no-wave and New Weird America mutation, pairing perfectly with Paling’s mysterious post-rock meltdowns and Lily Montague’s glitch-damaged slowcore. Big FFO: Still House Plants, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Talk Talk, Voice Actor. Aloisius, Paling, Lily Montague at The Cube.

Noise newbies eat free at this super friendly yet REALLY FUCKING HARSH Eggy Tapes offering. Rattling the Shreddies furnishings: Slow Murder’s pulsating pain industrial, Fuck Radio’s plunderphonic power electronics and Romxn x Puddle Brain’s exercise in noise drone excess, Lovers Remorse. Proper tinnitus tickler FFO: Knifedoutofexistence, Pedestrian Deposit, Puce Mary, CT scans. HARSH NOISE AT SHREDDIES at Shredenhams.

A UK debut for Soga’s visceral, solidarity-fuelled hardcore, tearing outta CDMX with the coveted Iron Lung seal of approval! Urgent aural warfare against state violence and patriarchal oppression shoulder2shoulder with Bristol’s only punk band Gimic, femme/themme hellraisers Leashed, and Perp Walk-adjacent powerviolence from Mental Pressure. Unbeatable FFO: Los Crudos, The Nurse, Tercer Mundo, Riña. SOGA , GIMIC, LEASHED and MENTAL PRESSURE at The Golden Lion.

Sell out warning! Cosmic Rock Is Not Dead indeed! Ferocious, meditative, acid-burn riffs, ripping a hole in the Guruguru Brain heavy psych network with Acid Mothers-esque time-dissolving dynamics and a splash of Les Rallizes Dénudés noise corrosion. Kawabata might just materialise from the purple mists, and if they do that cover of Maggot Brain they’ll need to peel you off the walls after. As good as it gets! Dope Purple + Motorik Road Trip at The Old England Pub.