Thekla celebrates 40th birthday with five nights of live music – and a book
Posted on: 15 Apr 2024The original party boat, Thekla, is turning 40 next month, and to mark the occasion they’re hosting a wild five nights of live music events – as well as a brand new archival history book.
Bristol is a culture-rich city stacked to the gills with brilliant and unique venues – and also has a long relationship with the harbour and water. So, it’s perhaps unsurprising that one of Bristol’s most illustrious venues brings those two spheres of influence into something truly special – a boat that rocks.
After sailing into Bristol in 1983, Thekla (then called the Old Profanity Showboat), launched into action, conjuring up a cultural storm of hundreds of theatre, cabaret, comedy and live music events. With a truly staggering roster of artists featured at the historic venue over the years, and a storied history as the boat passed from cargo ship, to showboat, to underground club, it’s no wonder that after 40 years of operation, Thekla are now releasing an archival history book.
In The Complete History of Thekla, readers won’t just learn about the history of the storied vessel – but the lives and words of the people who made it what it was, like the colourful memories of ‘Little John’, the maintenance man and engineer who left his mark with a circle of tea stained rings on his favourite table.
To celebrate their 40th Birthday and book launch, Thekla are hosting five nights of special live music connecting the past with the present. From Wednesday 1 – Sunday 5 May, the stage at Thekla will first play host to rave faves My Nu Leng (original residents at Thekla’s 51°27' club night when it started back in 2011).
Beyond that, guests will also include chart-topping Strangers singer Kenya Grace, English punk-rock duo Soft Play (DJ set), alternative-indie band The K’s, space-rockers Henge and a special Pop Confessional with Twisted Time Machine. Finally, the festivities will be closed off by the wonderfully offbeat Beatles Dub Club including the Mad Apple Circus horn section, the Bloco B samba dancers and the Binbag Wisdom vocalists.
“Celebrating 40 years in Bristol is absolutely incredible.” said general manager Alex Black. “Thekla stands for so much more than a music venue; it is an institution testament to Bristol’s vibrant culture…celebrating four decades of Thekla signifies the power of culture and arts, and how important it is to the city and for the city.”
Tickets for the birthday programme are now on sale on Thekla’s website.
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Patrick is a filmmaker with so much Bristol in his blood the white blood cells are graffiti'd. Educated at the Northern Film School in Leeds, he’s returned home to be a Videographer and Reviewer for 365Bristol and BARBI. When he’s not messing about with cameras, he enjoys playing guitar, spending far too much time on tabletop RPGs, and being an awful snob about cider. Have a look at his work here, or get in touch at patrickb@365bristol.com.
