Music / News
Guerilla gig drops into secret location
Dog walkers, joggers and picnickers out enjoying the Downs on an unremarkable weekend around this time last year would have been in for a loud surprise.
The Robin Hood tour had rolled into town and, from a makeshift stage set up, flamboyantly dressed performers were blasting out blistering rock and roll to an ecstatic audience shaking their bodies to the music.
While Clifton’s expanse of green with its onsite Iron Age fort has played host to big events with crowds numbering the tens of thousands, this was a gig with a difference – and it’s due to return to a secret spot in Bristol today.
The band, the Gulls, organise the annual Robin Hood tour of guerilla gigs to raise money for the Trussell Trust, reclaim public spaces, and share the joy of free art, creative expression and ‘the liberating power of gathering’.
The tour takes the form of a rolling festival convoy, with musicians, performers and fans travelling together together from one location to another.
“It’s a growing convoy of strangers-turned-friends travelling together from city to city, sharing music, meals, and a sense of purpose,” the Gulls say.
“It’s part gig, part rolling campsite, part spontaneous community. From late-night fireside jams to public parades and massive street performances, we are exploring what becomes possible when people come together to make something happen — freely, creatively, and without permission.”
They have dropped clues as to the location of today’s gig, due to take place at 7pm, and those that want to find out more can request to join the convoy whatsapp group which shares full details.
They have said it will be an outdoor location, with heavy hints pointing to the centre near a renowned jazz pub, and the secret spot to be revealed on their social media ahead of the gig.
Of the ethos behind the Robin Hood tour, the Gulls expanded:
“What began as a DIY experiment has evolved into a bold annual tradition — mobile, musical, and rooted in solidarity.
“We believe it is the people’s right to use public space for positive, communal entertainment and celebration — particularly when it supports a charitable cause.
“We believe the right to occupy public space should not be reserved for the wealthy, but shared by all. In the spirit of Robin Hood, we claim that right to help those in need.
“In a time when much of culture is hidden behind paywalls, The Robin Hood Tour offers something different: music for the people, by the people, in support of those who need it most.”
Main image: @sandro.g.h
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