Music / world music
Bristol’s month in World Music – February 2025
The Brick Lane Jazz Festival may happen in East London in April but, it seems, they’re up for seeing a bit of the country beforehand. The BLJF crew arrive in Bristol for two nights at Strange Brew (Fri 7, Sat 8) with former Fela Kuti keyboard player Dele Sosimi’s Afrobeat Experience (pictured above) playing on the Saturday night.
Dele’s is not the only African music on offer this month, of course, and Gnawa master Mohamed Errebbaa returns to the Jam Jar with his band Tagna Groove augmented by Mohamed’s frequent collaborator Justin Adams. Justin’s fluent desert blues guitar style is a fine complement to Mohamed’s resonant guimbre bass lines. Another fine African musician and guitarist comes to the Cotham Club (Fri 28) leading Chris Cobbson’s African Jazz Quartet. Hailing from Ghana, with past experience both in Afro-rock band Osibisa and the original Jazz Warriors, Chris lends a distinctively African flavour to his jazz guitar playing. And Bristol’s long-running Afrobeat-meets-jazz outfit Helele will be rocking The Bell (Wed 5).
If the rapid ticket sales for the two nights of Sambrosa Allstars present The Buena Vista Social Club (Strange Brew, Thur 20/Fri 21) are anything to go by it would seem that Bristol has an unlimited taste for a certain Cuban album and film. There may be a few left but you’ll have to be quick. Of course we do have our own very fine Buena Bristol Social Club tribute led by pianist Jim Blomfield and you can catch the Jim Blomfield Latin Jazz Ensemble at The Bell (Mon 10). And moving on from all that nostalgia, Canteen offer a vibrant taste of contemporary South American pop in the shape of Peruvian vocalist Ludetka (Mon 24).
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Looking for roots closer to home the remarkable Zaho de Sagazan (Beacon, Fri 28) has transformed the French chanson style with her modern production insight and rebellious young attitude but without losing its distinctive lyrical pace and emotional depth. Similar iconoclasts The Olllam (Trinity, Fri 7)have taken the traditional Irish whistle and pipe tunes and added their contemporary take, cranking up the rhythmic drive with virtuoso musicianship. Fans of The Olllam would do well to warm up at Canteen the night before (Thur 6) when folk/electronica project Tenalach display their range of EDM and Irish influenced ‘hedgerow folk beats’. And those fans are probably already aware of the Schwet night welcoming back drone-folk experimentalists Shovel Dance Collective (Strange Brew, Sun 16) – another strong sell-out probability.
Anatolian electro-acoustic duo Oh Voyage (Jam Jar, Wed 12) have an even more explicit leaning into the world of techno and trance than Tenalach. Their club-style grooves propel distinctively Middle Eastern melodies played on the Oud. Pioneers of Turkish psychedelia Oojami are at Lost Horizon (Wed 5) alongside the Bhangra All Stars and others. The event is the official afterparty for the 2025 Festival Congress, an annual gathering of the many wonderful people behind the UK’s thriving independent festival scene – respect is due! The Bell offers a more acoustic – but equally lively – lunchtime take on Middle Eastern, Yiddish and Balkan music with Chai For All (Sun 2).
Bristol has a long history of righteous original reggae bands and The Golden Guild (Jam Jar, Thur 13) are one of the best of the current generation. Faithful to the roots of the music and impeccably tight in the groove they’re worthy successors to the likes of Black Roots and Talisman. And, finally, it’s a case of compare and contrast at The Canteen for guitar fans (Thur 20). Both Latvian Reinis Jaunis and Bristolian ‘would-be Spaniard’ The Flamenco Thief are talented acoustic players who have devised original styles from traditional forms using loop technology to weave more complex solo performances.
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