Music / News

Free music festival to return to multiple venues

By Milan Perera  Friday Aug 23, 2024

After the success of its first outing, Old City Sounds will return to Bristol on Saturday.

Organised by the Bristol City Centre Business Improvement District (BID), the free music festival will cover a breadth of genres from hip hop to soul to jazz.

Saturday’s music bonanza will feature a day-long jazz festival at the Old Duke and DJ sets at The Mother’s Ruin, 6 O’clock Gin and Mr Wolfs.

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The event will also feature intimate performances at Bristol Old Vic and family-friendly activities at St Stephen’s Church.

The Old Duke, a pioneering venue in Bristol’s jazz scene, will host renowned jazz artists from 11am to 11pm, including the likes of Trudgeon’s Trad Jazz Troubadours, The Jiveoholics, Ruby Jazz and Jack Mac’s Funk Pack.

Anyone interested in alternative music should to head towards St Nicholas Street, which will be hosting live bands and DJs at The Mother’s Ruin – photo: The Mother’s Ruin

Meanwhile, the Bristol Old Vic will be hosting three top secret special gigs at 2pm, 5pm and 8pm.

Vicky Lee, director of Bristol City Centre BID, said: “Old City Sounds is the perfect way to bring music, culture and family together in one big free day party in one of the city’s oldest and most beautiful areas.

“Not only will the event showcase the great musical talents in our city, it will also showcase the wide range of venues Bristol has to offer and we’re excited to get people into these venues to celebrate the incredible talents our city holds.”

“Old City Sounds is the perfect way to bring music, culture and family together in one big free day party,” said Vicky Lee of Bristol City Centre BID – photo: Night Cap

Families can head to St Stephen’s Church which will be offering several workshops, crafts and performances for both the young and young at heart to be entertained.

Workshops on offer include circus skills workshops, Bhangra dance workshops and African drumming classes.

Anyone interested in alternative music is advised to head towards St Nicholas Street, which will be hosting live bands and DJs at The Mother’s Ruin.

Bristol-based music collectives VooKoo and Bristol Zoo will each be doing two hour takeovers at The Mother’s Ruin which will be followed by DJ sets from Variable_self and Sam Lester.

And across the day there will also be a wide variety of musical genres on offer at other venues including the Raven and Seamus O’Donnells.

Main photo: Mr Wolf’s

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