Celebrating 15 years of outrageous events in unusual locations

The team behind Alfresco Disco devise their events with a death-or-glory approach. Conceptual, thematic and shrouded in secrecy and surprises, Alfresco Disco is a club night, looney rave and festival all at once.

Whether the parties take place under the sun or moon, they fall under the same format: a TBA lineup and a TBA location. It could spell disaster, but their patrons – some of whom have been flocking to the parties for 15 years – have trust in the Alfresco Disco vision.

But let’s rewind to 2005. Gwen Stefani was at her career peak, and the UK nightlife scene was in a lot healthier shape. The heads behind the house night Buoyancy, which ran from 2004 to 2010 with a residency at Timbuk2, decided to throw a one-off free party that summer. Buoyancy was popular (it was virtually the only house music event in the city back then) and the free party became even more so, birthing the first Alfresco Disco.

“Over the next five years, we continued throwing annual free parties in various places,” recalls co-founder Tom Hodgson. “We had a number of traditions: locations were secret, and we wouldn’t announce lineups. Random DJs would turn up and play at our free parties – there was a community vibe back then.”

Details of each Alfresco Disco party are kept under wraps until the final moment. Photo courtesy of Alfresco Disco

After five years of this, the team wanted to do more than just a yearly shindig. “We needed a bank of unusual places that haven’t been used in an events capacity before,” Tom explains.

“We searched for spots and the first one was Coroners Court, christening the space that club-goers know today. We’ve done countless events in interesting places since – we now do three a year, all with a different concept. Locations are discovered in our everyday lives, just from driving around Bristol or on our commutes. We eye up buildings and approach owners with the idea. Ideas come to us when we move around the city with an inquisitive eye, spotting spaces in plain sight.”

With a decade and a half of parties under their belt, Alfresco Disco have they’ve pulled double-decker buses into Castle Park and taken over a soon-to-be-demolished office block in Redcliffe. “We did one two years ago at St Paul’s Adventure Playground which was amazing,” Tom reminisces.

“The one we threw underneath Temple Meads on Cattle Market Road was up there among the best, as was Rave of the Decade on Weston Pier. We always find the space first, then brainstorm themes to suit it.” The music has also upped its game of late, with memorable sets from Auntie Flo, Laurence Guy and Shanti Celeste B2B Saiorse among others.

Alfresco Disco is a rave, club night and festival all at once. Photo courtesy of Alfresco Disco

Now that Alfresco Disco is officially a moody teenager, there’s got to be something special lined up for their filthy fifteenth, right? Tom’s keeping tight-lipped: “We’ve never been this excited about a space, to be honest – it’s going to be epic. It’s a building – well, a space – in Bristol that everyone knows, with a vast underground beneath. People are going to be absolutely blown away.”

The Underground: 15 Years of Alfresco Disco is currently postponed. For more information, visit www.alfrescodisco.co.uk/events

Main photo by Ross Silcocks

Read more: Review: Alfesco Disco Rave of the Decade II