45 things to do in Bristol in April 2024

April 1: Junior Jungle, Bristol Beacon
The colourful DJ/MC duo known for putting on vibrant daytime raves for tots takes their family DnB to Beacon’s Lantern Hall.

April 2: The Hives, O2 Academy
The indie rock group from Sweden celebrate the release of their sixth studio album with a UK/Europe tour.

SPONSORED
April 3-6 & 10-13: Woodland of Wonder, Bristol Shopping Quarter
Visit Bristol Shopping Quarter’s Woodland of Wonder, a new family friendly community arts festival taking place in Sparks Bristol and John Wesley’s New Room, Broadmead from April 3-6 and 10-13. Expect exhibitions, craft workshops, and photo walks – all activities are FREE!

Woodland of Wonder – photo: Bristol Shopping Quarter

April 3: Supper Club – Masterchef finalist, The Scrandit
The infamous pop up spot launches a series of dinners prepared by Kasae Fraser and Vincent.

SPONSORED
April 3-6: No More Mr Nice Guy, Bristol Old Vic
From the company behind Olivier-Award nominated For Black Boys…, comes an exciting new piece of gig-theatre which explores what it means to be a Black-British man fighting for a dream. Featuring an eclectic mix of rap, R&B and spoken word performed alongside a live band.

No More Mr Nice Guy – photo: Bristol Old Vic

April 4: Ottopia, Sparks Bristol
A new, immersive, monochromatic family experience comes to the Broadmead community arts/creative space.

April 5 & 6: Monochrome: Festival of ugly music, multiple venues
A new festival, celebrating Bristol’s strong DIY culture – think noise, metal and excessive sounds, in the most welcoming of environments.

April 6: Skee Mask & Yushh, Strange Brew
Two stalwarts of the weirdest and murkiest dark beats descend onto the Brew for an evening of mind bending rhythms that will get your legs shaking.

April 7: The Reparium, Sparks Bristol
The weekly repair cafe returns to the converted M&S, fixing up your broken household appliances, so you needn’t buy new ones.

SPONSORED
April 8: Rude Science, Redgrave Theatre
Brace yourselves for TV Gastronaut Stefan Gates’ hilarious, high-tech, highly-explosive new family show, packed with science stunts, spectacular experiments and bizarre props. Expect enormous bottoms, fart machines, snot cocktails, vast whoopee cushions, urine powered fireworks and vomiting mannequins in this celebration of the fascinating bodily science essential to life.

Rude Science – photo: Redgrave Theatre

April 8: Kids crazy cupcakes workshop, Cooking It
Get the kids baking this Easter holiday, as the Chandos Road cookery school delivers a masterclass in baking over the top, super delicious cupcakes.

April 9: Religion, socialism, hope, PRSC
A reading and discussion on the topic of hope, and the many forms in which it comes.

SPONSORED
April 9-13: Doubt, a Parable, Alma Tavern & Theatre
“What do we do when we’re not sure?” A lean, potent drama of suspicion and manipulation. Set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, the severe Principal sets about uncovering truth where there may be none, when she accuses the Priest of the most serious of crimes.

Doubt: A Parable – photo: Alma Tavern & Theatre

April 10-12: Enchanted Tales Workshop: A play in three days, St Werburghs Community Centre
Led by facilitators from the Bristol Academy of Drama, get your 7-11 year olds creating a play in three days, based on the brother’s grimm fairy tales.

April 11: Yellow Days, Trinity Centre
Yellow Days brings his haunting blend of psychedelic indie-soul to Bristol as part of his European tour.

April 12-21: Lyra Bristol Poetry Festival, multiple venues
The annual festival celebrating the spoken word returns, lighting up the city with powerful performances from well known figures and up and coming poets alike.

SPONSORED
April 12: Alice in Wonderland, Redgrave Theatre
Multi award-nominated Immersion Theatre, bring their trademark energy to their biggest, funniest, and most spectacular family musical to date: Alice in Wonderland! Follow Alice and the White Rabbit as they set off on a colourful, topsy-turvy adventure and meet a host of outlandish characters including Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the Queen of Hearts, the Chesire cat and of course, the Mad-as a bat-Hatter!

Alice in Wonderland – photo: Redgrave Theatre

April 13: Up Ya Archive x Save Our Scene, The Underground
Part of fundraising efforts by national nightlife support campaign Save Our Scene, they partner up with junglist Nia Archives for a massive party in a new giant underground venue.

April 14: National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain, Bristol Beacon
A celebration of the talented children from across Britain who’ve picked up orchestral instruments, coming together for an incredible show.

April 15: Inside The Newsroom with Bristol24/7, Watershed
Bristol24/7 is inviting anyone interested in journalism to spend the day with us and other local and national media organisations to learn about what it takes to work in the media and how to start your career.

April 16: Jumpstart’s lunchtime bootcamp, Temple Church Park
Beat the lunchtime office slump with a quick trip to Temple Church Park to shake off those blues with a proper bootcamp session.

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April 16-27: The Last Show Before We Die, Bristol Old Vic
Welcome to the messiest break up you’ve ever been through: live. This Edinburgh smash hit is an existential cabaret about the big things in life. And Death. “Absolutely bonkers and deeply moving” (★★★★★ BroadwayWorld) don’t miss this five-star, “heady, gut-wrench of a show” (★★★★★ Guardian).

The Last Show Before we Die – photo: Bristol Old Vic

April 17: Down for the Count Orchestra, St. George’s
Travel back in time to the 1950s with the 30-piece Down For The Count Orchestra, bringing you a lesson in swing music.

April 18: Strapped, The Island
Drag theatre company Toxic Shock puts on a brutal show of bloodthirsty revenge, soundtracked, of course, by Britney Spears.

April 19: 1 YEAR OF CLUBCØRTEX, Exchange
The techno promoters have had one heck of a first year, and they’re celebrating by bringing down Irish bumpy techno hero Pagan.

April 20: JME presents Grime MC FM, Central Warehouse
If you’re into your grime, this one is sure to be special. Legend of the original grime scene JME curates a secret lineup of some of his best mates from years past.

April 21: Slaughterhaus: Surprise party feat. Banksie, Strange Brew
A “grotesque and glamorous” drag cabaret performance from slaughterhaus – audience dress up encouraged.

April 22: Wild forage with Grow, Cook & Eat, Kingsweston House
Walk through the picturesque Kingsweston House estate with a forager, and learn about the many edible plants that lie right under our noses.

April 23: Bristol Women’s Literature Festival presents: the Future of Women’s Writing, Waterstones
A discussion involving three exciting rising female authors, breaking down themes of character, subject, place and more.

April 24: Music Masterclass: Kesh (AnExperience), Trinity Centre
Known for putting on incredible, hedonistic parties where any music goes, Kesh hosts a talk and Q&A session on the key elements that make his barndances so special.

April 25-28: Bristol New Music 2024, multiple locations
A city-wide festival, celebrating and championing the many unique and interesting contemporary music artists doing things differently in Bristol.

April 26: Portishead – Roseland NYC, Watershed
In celebration of a limited edition new double-LP, there’s a special screening of the band’s incredible NYC performance, paired with a 30 piece orchestra.

SPONSORED
April 26-29: City Nature Challenge, multiple locations
City Nature Challenge is an exciting collaborative mission to record as much wildlife as possible from 26 – 29 April, using the free iNaturalist app. Get involved in the Bristol effort as we come together to collect records of biodiversity across our area, alongside 500+ other cities around the globe!

City Nature Challenge – photo: Natural History Consortium

April 27: The Bristol Commons community gathering, St. Anne’s House
The community building organisation hosts one of their regular meetups at the Brislington community space.

SPONSORED
April 27: Sustainable Pop-Up Market: April, Future Leap Gloucester Road
Our Sustainable Pop-Up Market is back for April, giving you the opportunity to shop from an array of indie sellers! Every market hosts a different selection of stallholders, and you can expect to find photography and art prints, eco-friendly beauty and hygiene products, greener household alternatives, ceramics, handsewn homewares and much, much more.

April Pop-Up Market – photo: Future Leap

April 28: Grey Matter special screening, Bristol Aquarium IMAX
A special one off screening of the heartfelt film, examining the journey and associated effects of dealing with Alzheimer’s.

SPONSORED
April 28: Grey Matter screening, Bristol Aquarium IMAX
A chance to watch Stephanie Beacham’s new film, Grey Matter, in the central Bristol IMAX Cinema. A fully accessible venue. Tickets are £15. All proceeds will go to Bristol charity, BRACE Dementia Research.

April 29: Monday night breathwork, The Hideout
An introduction to the powerful world of breathwork, in an open and inclusive environment.

April 30: Hamilton (Opening night), Bristol Hippodrome
The opening night of the award winning musical production detailing stories from the American revolutionary war.

And coming soon…

SPONSORED
May 3: The Breath, Bristol Cathedral
‘Quietly, inexorably, The Breath have become one of the most exciting folk acts’ – The Financial Times *****

Softly-spoken guitar whizz Stuart McCallum (Cinematic Orchestra) and larger-than-life singer/flautist Ríoghnach Connolly (BBC Folk Singer Of The Year) are something very special indeed. Catch their opening concert at Bristol Cathedral.

‘The jaw-droppingly stunning, woozy voice of Ríoghnach Connolly” The Guardian

The Breath – photo: Bristol Folk Festival

SPONSORED
May 5: Sheelanagig + Filkin’s Ensemble, St. George’s
Raise the roof this Bank Holiday with foot-stomping folk & joint-jumping tunes. South West quintet Sheelanagig headline a special concert with support from stunningly beautiful 14-piece Filkin’s Ensemble. Think Penguin Café meets Bellowhead, not to be missed.

Sheelanagig – photo: Bristol Folk Festival

SPONSORED
May 11: Blown Away, Trinity Henleaze URC
A great programme of music for wind instruments performed by players from the Bristol Ensemble:

• Mozart Serenade for Wind in C minor K.388
• Dvořák Serenade for Winds in D minor Op.44

We’ll hear the powerful and characterful C minor serenade by Mozart, a four movement work full of ingenuity, twists and turns.  And also, Dvořák’s Serenade for Winds in D minor, unmistakably Czech, an homage to music-making in Czech palaces and stately homes.

Blown Away – photo: Henleaze Concert Society

SPONSORED
May 15: Einaudi meets Max Richter, St. George’s
A hypnotic evening of music featuring mesmerising works by Ludovico Einaudi, together with Max Richter’s engagingly refreshing reimagining of Vivaldi’s ever popular Four Seasons.

Einaudi mets Richter by candlelight – photo: Bristol Ensemble

SPONSORED
May 24: Gavin Bryars double bill, 1904 Arts Club
Bristol Ensemble performs The Sinking of the Titanic by British minimalist composer Gavin Bryars. The work was inspired by the story that the band on the RMS Titanic continued to perform as the ship sank in 1912 and imagines how the music performed by the band would reverberate through the water some time after they ceased performing.

Composed between 1969 and 1972, the work is now considered one of the classics of British classical experimental music. It was first recorded in 1975 when it became the first release on Brian Eno’s Obscure Records.

Gavin Bryars – photo: Bristol Ensemble

SPONSORED
June 1-9: Festival of Nature, multiple locations
Festival of Nature is the UK’s largest celebration of the natural world, taking place 1 – 9 June across Bristol and Bath. Running for over 20 years, Festival of Nature offers people the chance to connect with local wildlife, learn about the natural world, and take positive action for nature.

Festival of Nature – photo: Natural History Consortium

SPONSORED
June 8: Music for a blue planet, Trinity Henleaze URC
In collaboration with the Festival of Nature, the Bristol Ensemble will take us on a breathtaking musical exploration of our beautiful planet with music from the BBC series Blue Planet by George Fenton together with Schubert’s enduringly popular Trout Quintet. Written by the young composer at just 22 years of age, this Quintet has a freshness and serenity that has engaged players and audiences for nearly 200 years.  This will be the last concert of our season, do come and join us.

Music for a blue planet – photo: Henleaze Concert Society

Main photo: Tony Benjamin, Bristol New Music Festival

Read next:

• 22 things to do in Bristol this week, April 1-7 2024
• Review: Bristol Jazz Festival, Tobacco Factory
• Bristol Old Vic artistic director Nancy Medina commits to new writing

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