Bristol’s month in World Music – October 2025

It’s Black History Month and among October’s great African and Caribbean rooted evenings the Jam Jar is running Afro Revolution (Sat 4), an immersive BHM event with an Afrobeat soundtrack. The Watershed also has Triangle of Unity (Fri 24), a celebration of Black Bristol culture through music, film and conversation with Roni Size in a Q&A and a St Paul’s Carnival-hosted after party. The Jam Jar is also hosting a World Music for Gaza night (Sun 26) with a fine roster of jazz and world music players taking part.

Trinity starts off the month with a real powerhouse show: The Balimaya Project (Fri 3), the London-based 16-piece band led by Nigerian-Senegalese musician Yaheal Camara Onono. They make a great West African sound with solid percussion and fine brass flourishes and you could say the same about Bristol’s favourite Afrobeat big band No Go Stop who headline a Play For Palestine night at the Jam Jar (Wed 15). The Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Experience is at Strange Brew (Sat 18) and Mr Wolf’s has the Afrobeat-meets-dub outfit Kaya Street (Fri 3). Amazingly it’s been 25 years since Afrobeat-dub-jazz outfit Soothsayers (Jam Jar, Sat 11) first took the festival scene by storm and their distinctive sound is still as fresh as ever, as evidenced by new album Fly Higher.

Vieux Farke Touré’s  show at the Beacon may be sold out but you can get that rolling Mande guitar style at Strange Brew (Wed 15) when compelling vocalist Rokia Koné plays there. One of the awesome Amazones d’Afrique she has established a great reputation as a live performer. The compelling sound of the Senegalese kora is a key ingredient in the elegant Afro-jazz fusions of Les Égarés, a multi-national acoustic quartet (Beacon, Mon 6) and traditional sounds of the DRC return via Baka Beyond (Jam Jar, Thur 2). Their contemporary electro-acoustic fusions are deeply rooted in the traditions of the rain forest dwelling Baka people.

Latin inspirations embellish the Congolese heritage behind singer/songwriter and bass guitarist Marla Kether’s music. She brings her full Afro-Brazilian band to Jam Jar (Thur 23) while Nigerian raised New Yorker Halima headlines Bass Candy at St Dunstan’s House (Sat 18). The night aims to combine live vocalists with ‘heavyweight’ club sounds.

There’s great reggae to be had during Black History Month, of course, and it starts with two real legends of the UK roots reggae scene. Formed in London in the 60s, the Cimarons (pictured at top) can claim to be the first ever reggae band to arise in Europe while Talisman were at the forefront of Bristol’s own reggae scene since the mid-70s. Both bands still feature original players (with a few added youngsters, of course) and their double bill at Jam Jar (Fri 3) should be a classic experience. The lock-tight rhythms of African Head Charge (Trinity, Sun 12) came to notice via the On-U Sound label in the early 80s and they, too, remain a force to be reckoned with. Electro-dub outfit Omega Nebula (Thekla, Sat 11) might lack those decades of experience but they have been a big festival hit as have the brass-embellished dub-ska outfit They Say Jump (Attic Bar, Fri 17).

Dahkabrakha’s WOMAD debut some ten years ago was another festival hit that brought their brilliant Ukrainian art-folk to an international audience. Sadly, of course, the Ukraine has itself been dragged onto the world stage for all the wrong reasons but it is good to celebrate the vibrancy of the country’s culture nonetheless. They are at Electric Bristol (Wed 8). The remarkable voice of ex-patriate Russian singer Polina Shepherd brings the Ballads of Eastern Europe to Cafe Kino (Fri 10) as part of the En Masse festival while vocal ensemble Spartinu perform the mesmerising traditional Corsican polyphonic singing style paghjella at Christ Church with St Ewen (Tue 21).

We used to see Cuban contemporary Son band Asere in Bristol fairly regularly in the late 90s but it’s been a while so it’s good to see them coming to the Beacon (Wed 29). Their energy and rhythmic precision always made them a great dance night. The same can be said for Bristol’s Bossa Nova specialists Zubieta & The Suaves who come, with guests, to Canteen (Wed 22) but for a very up-to-the-minute take on the Chilean music scene check out art-poppers Mattoral & Naomi in Blue at the Exchange (Tue 28).