Things To Do / Bristol
26 things to do in Bristol this week, March 16-22 2026
Monday: The Boxer Rebellion, Thekla
The London-based fourpiece return to Bristol ahead of the release of their seventh studio album, The Second I’m Asleep.
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Monday: Mezze class, Cooking It
This hands-on adult cookery class in Bristol explores Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern small plates. Participants will learn to craft authentic dishes like baba ghanoush, muhammara, and fresh flatbreads. The 3 hour evening session includes expert guidance, all ingredients, and a social banquet to enjoy your creations with fellow food lovers.
Mezze Masterclass – photo: Cooking It
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Monday & Tuesday:Alfa Mist, Bristol Beacon
Alfa Mist returns with Roulette, his most ambitious project yet. The East London pianist, producer and MC blends jazz, hip-hop and classical influences into expansive, cinematic soundscapes. Expect soulful keys, rich grooves and free-flowing improvisation in an immersive live show inspired by anime, philosophy and speculative storytelling.
Alfa Mist – photo: Bristol Beacon
Monday-March 25: Patterned Minds, Centrespace Gallery
This exhibition brings together Bristol artists Lisa Travers, Atlanta Jo, Graham Allan and Bikebones who work across a variety of three-dimensional media, from recycled fabric sample books to upcycled metal, fractal collage and UV-reactive thread.
EatDrink24/7 Launch Party is back on July 8 2026!Exclusive collabs from Bristol’s favourite food vendors, available for one night only. Be first to grab your free copy of the EatDrink24/7 guide – plus every ticket comes with a free limited-edition beer can.View this post on Instagram
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Tuesday: Lily Allen, Bristol Beacon
Pop icon Lily Allen comes to Bristol with her sharp lyricism, irresistible hooks and unmistakable voice. From Smile to The Fear, her blend of cheeky humour and emotional candour has defined a generation. Expect an electrifying live set full of attitude, heart and sing-along anthems.
Lily Allen – photo: Bristol Beacon
Tuesday: Armand Hammer, Trinity
Brooklyn-based abstract hip hop duo Armand Hammar comprises of Billy Woods and Elucid, whose most recent album Mercy deals with themes including terrorism, war and AI.
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Tuesday: Poor Old Dogs + Georgia Lewis, The Jam Jar
The PODs return with their signature take on traditional folk music, celebrating St Patrick and all things Irish! Supported by Georgia Lewis, musician, songwriter and founder of Call Me Celidh, will be kicking things off with a variety of traditional tunes and songs.
Poor Old Dogs – photo: The Jam Jar
Tuesday: St Patrick’s Day tasting menu, Bank
This one-night-only dining experience promises to be “a fire-led feast rooted in exceptional Irish produce”.
Bank in Totterdown; not to be confused with the Bank in town – photo: Bank
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Tuesday: Flight Of Fancy: An Alternative Comedy Night, The Gaffe Comedy Club
Harriet Dyer (Live at The Apollo, Cats Does Countdown) and Emma Hughes (2025 Bristol Comedy Competition finalist, rising star of the South West scene) bring together some of their favourite weirdos to test out new tom foolery at The Gaffe Comedy Club. How wonderful.
Flight of Fancy – photo: The Gaffe Comedy Club
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Tuesday: Peruvian Cuisine, Cooking It
This hands-on Peruvian cookery class in Bristol offers a vibrant three-hour experience. Master iconic dishes like ceviche and aji de gallina using authentic ingredients and expert techniques. The session includes all equipment and concludes with a social sit-down meal to enjoy your delicious creations. Perfect for food-loving adults.
Peruvian Cuisine – photo: Cooking It
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Tuesday-Saturday: Meet Fred at Bristol Old Vic
Meet Fred, a puppet just trying to live an ordinary life – get a job, find love, be part of society. But with his Puppetry Living Allowance under threat, can he hold on to independence while the system pulls the strings? With biting wit and razor-sharp political satire, don’t miss this hilarious comedy by award-winning inclusive theatre company Hijinx.
Meet Fred – photo: Bristol Old Vic
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Wednesday: Blossom (BIMM Night), The Jam Jar
The dance floor reset you’ve been waiting for. Led by Izzit of the Harmonia collective and followed by some of Bristol’s sharpest selectors, we’ve got cosmic house, hypnotic techno, and pulsing basslines. No gimmicks, no noise, just pure atmosphere.
Blossom – photo: The Jam Jar
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Wednesday: Jayde Adams and Friends, The Gaffe Comedy Club
Bristolian legend Jayde Adams (TV star of Alma’s Not Normal and Ruby Speaking) hosts a special show at The Gaffe Comedy Club this week, celebrating local comedy talent and giving the audience a preview of her new work-in-progress show.
Jayde Adams – photo: The Gaffe Comedy Club
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Wednesday: Beethoven, St George’s
The Bristol Ensemble performs Beethoven’s uplifting Symphony No.6 – the Pastoral, one of classical music’s most vivid celebrations of the natural world. The programme also features Vivaldi’s Springfrom The Four Seasons, Mendelssohn’s evocative Hebrides Overture, and Mozart’s radiant Exsultate Jubilate, brought to life by soprano Chiara Braggion.
Beethoven 6 – photo: Bristol Ensemble
Wednesday-Sunday: 3RD Space Creative presents: Transform, Everything, St Werburghs
Art moves. Art is action. It changes emotions, ideas, stories and perspectives. 3RD Space Creative presents: Transform, Everything. This is a four-day pop-up exhibition featuring local and national artists.
Transform, Everything. Exhibtion – photo: femiPoster
Thursday: William Hogarth’s altarpiece, St Nicholas Church
A rare chance to see William Hogarth’s largest known work: a vast triptych that was painted for St Mary Redcliffe.
The triptych depicts Christ’s Ascension on a central canvas flanked by The Sealing of the Sepulchre and The Three Marys at the Tomb – photo: Bristol Museums
Thursday: Nell Phoenix: Uncanny, Cube
Performance storytelling by Nell Phoenix, who “paces a path from dusty Mesopotamia, to ancient Egypt, through London’s Bloomsbury, along a dingy road in Guatemala at dawn, and back to her own kitchen table – gathering up disturbing, unsettling, baffling, bewildering, sinister, uncanny stories”.
Thursday & Friday: Creaking Oak, acta
Pick N Mix Theatre present a play about the a year in the life at Bristol’s most chaotic nursing home.
The residents of Creaking Oak Residential Home are not growing old gracefully – image: acta
Thursday-Sunday: Bristol Gallery Weekend, various venues
Bristol galleries and art spaces come together to offer a special programme of exhibitions, activities and events.
Bristol Gallery Weekend is taking place at 37 different locations – photo: Bristol Gallery Weekend
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Friday: La Grazia, Watershed
Italy’s outgoing president, Mariano De Santis (Toni Servillo), navigates moral and personal crossroads with the help of his confidante and daughter, Dorotea (Anna Ferzetti). Tickets £5.00 – 11.50
La Grazia – photo: Watershed
Saturday: Lyra Bristol Poetry Slam 2026: Qualifying Heats, Arnolfini
More than 20 poets will be competing for just ten places in the slam finals in April.
Come along and cheer on the poets, and cast your votes as the audience too – photo: Arnolfini
Saturday: Bushbaby, Saw Mills
Brighton-based DJ and producer Bushbaby heads to Saw Mills in St Jude’s, “an industrial space for underground sound”. He will joined by Ozzie Guven, Rennie Peters, Veritas and Ava.
Saturday & Sunday: Open days, Ashton Court Mansion
Explore the parts of the mansion that are still accessible, and learn more about its past and present.
Historic England is concerned by the “slow decay” of Ashton Court Mansion – photo: Friends of Ashton Court Mansion
Sunday: In The Dark: After Dark – The Sleepwalkers Guide To The City, Wardrobe Theatre
Nocturnal audio-fiction vignettes by sound designer Dinah Mullen, and writer and actor Michelle McMahon.
A collection of short audio fiction takes you on a journey “through a sprawling landscape of real and unreal lives, of dream states, feasting and flying under night lights” – photo: Wardrobe Theatre
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Until April 12; The Everyworld, Watershed
In The Everyworld exhibition, artists Andrew and Eden Kötting invite you into an exuberant kaleidoscope of visions, snippets, memories, and collisions. Opens Fri 23 Jan. Tickets pay-what-you-can starting from £5.00.
The Everyworld – photo: Watershed
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Until May 10: Poster Power! at Victoria Art Gallery
Discover 200 years of British poster design at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath. Poster Power! showcases an exceptional range of British advertising posters from the 19th and 20th centuries, promoting everything from theatre shows, events and travel to political campaigns and World War One recruitment.
Bath official guide book – photo: Victoria Art Gallery
And coming soon…
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March 24-28: Rock of Ages, Redgrave Theatre
Welcome to the Sunset Strip, 1980’s L.A, where the rock bands are big and the hair is even bigger! BAOS presents Rock of Ages, a musical with more rock than you can shake a stick at. Featuring face-melting tunes from the likes of Poison, Def Leppard, and Joan Jett, we guarantee you’ll have Nothing But a Good Time.
Rock of Ages – photo: Redgrave Theatre
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March 29 & 30: A Squash and a Squeeze, Redgrave Theatre
Join us for the musical adaptation based on the best-selling book A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. This heartwarming and hilarious adventure, full of beautiful puppets and enchanting songs.
A Squash and a Squeeze – photo: Redgrave Theatre
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April 1-4: The Liar King, The Wardrobe Theatre
Phenomenal storyteller and Blindboy Podcast guest Clare Murphy (The Spanking Goddess & Other Discarded Tales) weaves a witty satire on the nature of power and stupid kings. Clare blends contemporary reporting and folklore with her playful wit to unmask who has the real power in the world. Evening performances at 7.30pm with a matinee at 2pm on April 3. Age 12+.
The Liar King – photo: The Wardrobe Theatre
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April 18: The Improv Gauntlet, PRSC
The Improv Gauntlet has returned for its third instalment! Four teams will take to the stage on April 18th, but only one can be crowned champion. To take the crown, the performers must first appease Queen Rhiannon of the North, our iron-fisted ruler. Who will be crowned? Will it be I Know What I Saw, G.O.D.S, After the Interval, The Grims Brothers? Any one of these troupes could be crowned the Champion of the Gauntlet!
The Improv Gauntlet – photo: Live In Da Hive
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May 2: Jam On The Horizon, Sawmills
Five venues, eight stages, and a full day and night celebration of music from around the globe. Adding a vast Victorian Sawmill to the list of venues featured.
Jam On The Horizon – photo: Sawmills
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May 12: thistle. Rough Trade
thistle are a Northampton, United Kingdom-based indie rock band that blends shoegaze with indie rock and hardcore punk. They play Rough Trade on Tuesday 12th May, tickets are on sale now!
thistle. – photo: Crosstown Concerts
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October 11: DeVotchKa, Bristol Beacon
DeVotchKa are coming to Bristol’s Lantern Hall on Sunday October 11th to celebrate the music from the classic 2006 movie ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ . The tour marks the 20th anniversary of the film’s release and will see the band performing music from the soundtrack and other favourites! Tickets are on sale now.
DeVotchKa – photo: Crosstown Concerts
Main photo: Upfest (step into the world of Lucas Antics at the Upfest shop on Friday as part of Bristol Gallery Weekend)
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