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Free Gigs in Bristol

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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

Sell out warning! NYC songwriter-improviser Wendy Eisenberg brings their wildly eclectic twang to town, transforming plainspoken reflections on time and love into weirdo torchsongs. After years of shredding improv with Bill Orcutt, Eisenberg’s live show promises an unpredictable blend of cosmic country and leftfield experimentation FFO: Richard Dawson, Judee Sill, Smog, Ora Cogan. Wendy is a singer-songwriter, improviser, and virtuoso guitarist, the coordinates of their artistry are ever-shifting, from art-rock to jazz to blistering free improv and eloquent folk.

Free entry / PWYC! Zimbabwe 1994: 62 schoolkids spotted silver objects descending from the sky and issuing black-clad humanoids onto the lawn. 32 years later Monde UFO bring their psychadelic jazz punk to the Lanes. Are these incidents related? It's impossible to say. But this is an unmissable visitation FFO: Haruomi Hosono, Yo La Tango, Sun Ra. MONDE UFO live at The Lanes.

A champion of the leftfield folk underground, Johnny Lynch has gone from Fence Collective origins to cult Lost Maps label owner and fabled Howlin’ Fling-er. All while knocking it out of the park with the ever-evolving Pictish Trail sound: lo-fi psych-folk meeting electro-indie-pop in a gloopy, cosmic hinterland. Iconic FFO: Animal Collective, Tunng, Hot Chip, Seamus Fogarty. Pictish Trail is known for his wildly inventive electro-acoustic psych-pop.

A rare AF introspective / esoteric sesh in the hidden wonders of John Wesley’s New Room. SSP have been pulling out some of the most intriguing events in the ambient industrial complex; this one heads deep into the haze with ritualistic folk drone offerings from Mochy Daer, occult electro from L.I.E.S. noise-maker Ye Gods, and Rocheman’s graceful baroque-pop reveries. ...are you healed yet?