The Bristol Gig Crawl

AtBBC Introducing in the West our job is to promote, publicise and support all that’s great about the vibrant music scene for which the West Country is renowned. Our inaugural Bristol #GigCrawl was the latest event aimed at carrying out that mission - by supporting four venues and four gigs on one night!

Myself and Richard Pitt from BBC Introducing in the West made our way down the Gloucester Road into Stokes Croft "crawling" from one event to another. Working with several artists, promoters, colleges, broadcasters and labels, we put on four gigs that we were really proud of, with so much good music.

We kicked off the night with some female-fronted fun at The Golden Lion. Lady Nade, Nuala Honan and Rozi Plain performed and Charlie Taylor, one of our volunteers at BBC Introducing, compered the night.

We then drove onto the Gallimaufry, a venue where George Ezra’s residencies helped build his reputation. Access To Music, a college in Bristol, presented two of their artists: Lionesque and Maddy & The Jazz Hatters (pictured above), and Jess Bracey (another BBC Introducing volunteer) hosted the night for us.

An hour later we were off again, migrating this time by bike, to Bristol’s creative heartland Stokes Croft, where The Canteen hosted Bath's Jake Meeking and Bristol's Robin Mitchell. We were delighted to welcome Laura Rawlings from BBC Radio Bristol as compere for the evening.

Then, as things got late, Richard and I moved on for the last time, this time by foot. We rounded off our Gig Crawl with a Beats Breaks and Bass special at No 51 in Stokes Croft. The music for this night was selected by our regular #tripleB host, Thaddeous Matthews, and included sets from DJ Notion, Allmostt and Paperchase going all the way into the early hours.

Individually, all four events were incredibly successful - with packed venues, good music and big smiles. Combined, the Bristol Gig Crawl was a chance to shout about the diversity of the Bristol music scene and a nice way for us to showcase some of the brilliant work going on. Thanks to everyone who helped with the event!

We turned the whole thing into a two hour radio show, produced by Toby Field. You can follow the journey, by downloading the podcast (parts 1 and 2) right here.

Sam Bonham

BBC Introducing in the West supports unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar artists in the West of England. The programme is broadcast across Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Get listening and find out more here.