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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

The lush melancholy of the classically schooled Blu String Quartet meets the black hole collapse of KAU’s fractured instrumental hip hop hum. You’ll flow from buzz-cluttered headspaces to total serenity so naturally that the seams never show – concentrated high-speed chops FFO: Flying Lotus, Mahler, SHOLTO, Prefuse 73. KAU & Blu/Quartet + D/RK-HUMR at The Jam Jar.

A tightly woven mind-bender from London/Berlin post-jazz quartet Let Spin: built from twisting sax, prowling bass and eruptive percussion, their ambient-smeared holy abrasive hell rackets will make for frenzied improvisational rapture FFO: Nala Sinephro, SML, Chris Corsano, Cole Pulice. LET SPIN at The Cube.

Sell out warning! Crazy intimate solo appearance from THE blues-blister anomaly Bill Orcutt. His lone improv guitar presentations are a cultural exorcism of the ghosts of Harry Pussy, Derek Bailey and Blind Willie Johnson in transcendent shredded shards of notes. The perfect prelude to his trio appearance at Bristol New Music – all the truest avant-blues nuts will need a ticket for both! Bill Orcutt at The Cube.

The majestic trad/not-trad fiddle of Mikey Kenney is a real treat: giddy strings steeped in 1,000 years of rich UK ballads, peppered with Mikey’s own urban Merseyside compositions and influences from bluegrass to Italian folk and beyond. Plaintive delights FFO: Tommy Peoples, Aidan O'Rourke, Aaron Catlow, Band of Burns." Mikey Kenney + Âellin at The Jam Jar.