The big stuff.

St George’s Bristol

The best place in the city to have an uplifting musical experience. The old church on Brandon Hill has grown into a world class concert venue. They regularly book big names on tour (Brad Mehldau, Bill Frisell). Recent developments include smaller gigs in the Glass Room, the smaller space they acquired when they built a fancy new foyer, and Friday lunchtime jazz gigs once a month or so, usually featuring classy duos or trios. (Pic, Linda Bailey, CC)

Gigs listed here: https://www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/

Bristol Beacon.

The city’s renamed flagship venue, recently rebuilt. Hard to forget that the project was grotesquely mismanaged and ended up horrifically (£50m) over budget. But you can now visit to see where all the money went.

Will you see jazz in the main Beacon Hall? Unlikely – the former Colston Hall used to be the home of the Bristol Jazz Festival, but that link is now broken. Most jazz events are in the excellent smaller hall, the Lantern, capacity 300. Indefatigable independent promoter Ian Storror puts on quality jazz gigs there around once a month, usually on Sundays. Details here.

There are also gigs promoted by the Beacon themselves, usually in the Lantern (check to see if it is seated or standing the night you are going) and, very occasionally, down in the vaults. They will be here: https://bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/

The Tobacco Factory

A big venue that doesn’t register much on the jazz calendar, save for the Tobacco Factory Theatre hosting the annual (we still hope) Bristol Jazz Festival. You will find jazz in the Factory bar some Sunday nights, though, as listed here.