A guide to Bristol's best club venues
Posted on: 07 Aug 2018Bristol's nightlife is what attracts so many students to the city every year, and with good reason. Its bustling club scene is cemented as one of the best in the country for underground dance music by the range and scale of its most renowned venues. See below for details on some of the best, including Motion, The Love Inn, Lakota, Blue Mountain and more.
Whatever you're after - whether it's hard-hitting techno, jump-up drum & bass or easy-going disco groovers - you're sure to find what you're looking for. Below is a list (in no particular order) of some of Bristol's best clubs and nightlife venues, some you'll know well and a couple you might not.
365Bristol Pick: Bristol's Best Club Venue
Of course it had to be Motion to kick things off. The biggest and most established club in Bristol, the venue was rated as the 2nd best club in the UK behind dance music institution Fabric and 19th best in the world by DJ Mag in 2016. With a huge courtyard area, newly reopened riverside terrace and four separate indoor dance floors, Motion is capable of hosting a huge range of events from vibrant summertime terrace parties to dingy techno sets inside. Motion is known to attract some of the biggest names in underground music and their In:Motion series welcomes some huge lineups between now and the end of the year.
Upcoming event pick: In:Motion 24 Hours of Dance Opening Weekend with Jackmaster, David Rodigan, Midland, Floating Points and more on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th September. £23.50 plus booking fee
Best Venue For: Bassline
Regarded by some as Bristol's 'other' big club, Lakota offers the same multi-room space as motion, albeit on a smaller scale. It doesn't attract the same top-level DJs, but makes up for it by showcasing some of the best upcoming talent in the city and maintains good relationships with local promoters. The team at Lakota are known to put huge amounts of effort into decorating the venue space for certain events, exemplified by the yearly Tribe of Frog parties. Lakota's central location at the bottom of Stoke's Croft has it in an ideal spot among the area's other clubs and bars.
Upcoming event pick: Lakota End of Summer Day Party on Saturday 15th September. £5 plus booking fee (First Release)
Best Venue For: Disco
A restaurant-bar by day, come the nighttime The Love Inn is transformed into a vibrant, friendly party hub that should be on your radar for a number of reasons. Located in the heart of Stoke's Croft, the bar attracts some of the greatest selectors from across the land to play their interesting, intimate space. Often selling tickets exclusively on the door rather than traditional pre-event ticket selling, expect big queues for a lot of events here. The venue itself is completely worth a wait though, providing a party atmosphere that I feel is a one-of-a-kind in Bristol. If you like your upbeat, carefree groovers then this is the place for you.
Upcoming event pick: DJ Seinfeld's DJ KiCKS Tour on Saturday 4th August. FREE Entry before 10pm, £4 after
Best Venue For: Live music
While The O2 isn't technically a club, Bristol's leading live music venue hosts a range of different events including DJ sets and live electronic music. While the drinks prices inside the venue are slightly off-putting, a tiered balcony layout and compact dance floor make for a focussed, centralised environment which works to bring the crowd together. One of a number of O2 venues across the UK, The Bristol Academy also hosts a weekly Ramshackle club night every Friday.
Upcoming event pick: Jorja Smith live on Friday 5th October. Price TBA
Best Venue For: Techno
Primarily used as a creation space for artists, filmmakers and more, The Island - formerly a Bristol police station - also hosts dance music events from time to time in the space commonly referred to as The Cells. The venue is just that - converted police cells turned into a dark, ominous space that's just about big enough for a rave. Labels like Timedance manage to draw in some big names to play at the venue, namely Ben UFO in 2017 and DJ Stingray earlier this year, surely intrigued by the opportunity to play a set in such a unique setting. The Cells aren't easy to find, but very easy to get lost in once you find your way inside.
Best Venue For: Drum & Bass
Another mainstay club venue in the Stoke's Croft area, Blue Mountain is instantly recognisable thanks to the the huge mural that covers the rear of the building - you can't miss it. Loved for it's cheap nights and well-designed downstairs room (complete with wall-to-wall projections to give your eyes a workout), the venue also boasts a two-tier roof terrace, perfect for summer day parties and other unique outdoor events. Most commonly hosting drum n bass, bassline and garage events, you'll know what you're about to get yourself into from the way the bass inside the building vibrates the pavement on Cheltenham Road.
Upcoming event pick: FREE Tokyo World Afterparty on Saturday 22nd September. FREE ENTRY with Tokyo World wristband/ticket.
Best Venue For: Indie
Pretty individual in that it's the only major club venue in Bristol that isn't based on land, Thekla plays host to a great range of parties that will suit anybody's taste. From the now-discontinued Thekla Thursdays for indie lovers to a Banoffee Pies night with Bradley Zero for dance fans, Thekla's got all the bases covered in an interesting water-borne setting. The unofficial standard-setter for Freshers events, new students will surely be familiar with the decks of Thekla if by the end of Freshers' Week if they aren't already.
Upcoming event pick: Ross From Friends (live set) on Tuesday 2nd October. £10 plus booking fee.
Basement 45
Located on Frogmore Street, just around the corner from the O2 Academy, Basement 45 has been hosting some of the world's best and brightest DJs for almost a decade since its opening in 2009. The intimate venue has a capacity of 300 and boasts two dancefloors and two bars. As well as championing local artists, labels and promotors as often as possible, Basement 45 has also welcomed some huge names through its doors over the years including Skream, Eats Everything, Loefah, Joy Orbison and more. Ideal for residents at the Culver House halls building, which is located just up the road from the club.
Upcoming event pick: Fuck About with Data3, Revaux, Energy and more on Friday 21st September. £5 plus booking fee.
Cosies
Cosies' Facebook page declares the Portland Square venue to be "BRISTOL'S BEST-KEPT SECRET!" and to be fair, they're not far from the truth. This is probably one that you haven't heard of before if you're completely new to the city, but you should be hoping to be very familiar by the time your first year comes to a close. Cosies hosts a huge range of musical styles and genres, known best for their reggae nights, drum n bass, afrobeat and a sprinkling of dubstep. The intimate space and ideal city centre location make this one a must for newcomers.
Upcoming event pick: Level the Vibes Basement Party on Saturday 11th August. £3 entry before 11pm.
The Black Swan
If you hadn't heard of The Black Swan before coming to Bristol, chances are you'll have heard a few stories about it once you've been here for a couple of months. The pub/club on Stapleton Road in the Easton area is known for throwing huge dub, drum n bass and bassline parties, but perhaps better known for being the favourite venue of some of the nuttiest people in the city. If you get the chance to go to a night at The Black Swan, take it - you won't forget the night in a hurry.
Upcoming event pick: Bris-Tek 21 on Saturday 22nd September. £15 plus booking fee.
Trinity Centre
Put simply, the Trinity Centre is one of Bristol's most interesting and unique venues for a number of reasons. The obvious one is that the venue is a converted church which still boasts pretty much all of its originals (including most of the stain glass windows), but what really makes it great in our opinion is the sheer variety of events that it hosts. The inside space is spacious yet intimate, and, as you can see from the picture above, the labels that host nights there are known to deck out the interior as best they can. Trinity Centre also boasts a huge outdoor area, perfect for vibrant Summer parties when the weather's right.
Upcoming event pick: Alternate x Gutterfunk present The Archives with DJ Die, Alix Perez and more on Saturday 22nd September. £8 plus booking fee.
Mbargo
Mbargo is a favourite among hundreds of Bristol students, and it's no surprise given that they're open seven nights a week until late, offer some of the best drinks deals and prices in the area and play a constant stream of feel-good party tunes from start to finish. Part of the infamous Bristol Triangle, Mbargo's is certainly one to check out if you're new to the city.
Gravity
Another of the three venues that make up the Bristol Triangle, Gravity offers a unique club experience in that its basement main room is feels completely isolated from anything that goes on outside of it. The club is located on Queens Street and is one of the most popular venues among new and returning students - definitely one that should be on your radar.
Upcoming event pick: Bank Holiday Summer Soul on Sunday 26th August. £13 plus booking fee.
All venue and ticketing information is correct at the time of writing, but is subject to change. For more information on individual venues or to see what else is on in the coming weeks, follow the links above to their respective venues and check out their What's On guides.
Article by:
Editor - 365Bristol.com & LOUD Magazine
Matt is a Journalism graduate and writer, passionate about supporting Bristol music, art and independent business. Get in touch via email at matt@365bristol.com.
