16 things to do in Bristol this week, January 15-21 2024

Monday: Bounce – Open Jam, Strange Brew
Whether you’re a poet, a keen saxophonist or you simply want to come and watch the culmination of creativity, Strange Brew’s weekly open jam is exactly that – open to all and inclusive. What’s more, you get free entry all night long if you bring an instrument, and it’s free before 9pm without one.

Bounce open jam – photo: Strange Brew

Tuesday: Keg Party, Chance & Counters
Part of Wiper & True’s January Month of Fundays, Chance & Counters are hosting a ‘Keg Party’, at which they have multiple kegs worth of the brewery’s new low-alcohol beer to give away pints of for those first through the door. There will also be free gaming all night long, and the W&T team themselves will be there if you fancy challenging them to a game of snakes and ladders.

Chance & Counters x Wiper & True keg party – photo: Chance & Counters

Wednesday: The Duellists (1977), The Cube
Widely regarded as his greatest cinematic masterpiece, the Ridley Scott directorial debut takes place in a similar era to his latest Napoleonic flick, but on more of a swashbuckling tip. It gets a special rare screening at the community cinema this week.

SPONSORED
Thursday: Kronos Quartet, Bristol Beacon
For 50 years, San Francisco’s GRAMMY-winning Kronos Quartet – David Harrington, John Sherba, Hank Dutt and Paul Wiancko – has challenged and reimagined what a string quartet can be, revolutionising it into a living art form. This special evening will highlight the legacy of innovation of Kronos Quartet with new commissions, signature works from its vast repertoire, and pieces from Kronos’ Fifty for the Future project. Honing in on five decades of material, the programme includes performances of Steve Reich’s Triple Quartet, the UK premiere of new works by Angélique Kidjo and Sun Ra/Terry Riley, as well as music by Sigur Rós, Jlin and Laurie Anderson.

Kronos Quartet – photo: Bristol Beacon

Thursday: No Clique #6 by Improv’s Greatest Hits, The Ill Repute
You won’t see a lineup like this ever again, that’s a promise. The leading improv music promoters head to The Ill Repute for a mashup of prominent musicians from across the Bristol live music spectrum, slamming them all together and creating no doubt a mind bending evening that will certainly keep you guessing.

Improvs Greatest Hits presents No Clique #6 – photo: Improvs Greatest Hits

SPONSORED
Friday-January 25: The Holdovers, Watershed
From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school in the 1970s.

Friday: Create a Kokedama, Wild Leaf G Road
A Kokedama is a specific Japanese way of hanging plants, which loosely translates to “moss ball” or “poor man’s bonsai”. It involves combining soil, moss and thread to create a self sustaining ball in which the plant will continue to grow. Learn how to make one at Wild Leaf this Friday.

Create your own Kokedama at Wild Leaf – photo: Yuup

SPONSORED
Saturday: Henleaze Concert Society: Mozart and Mendelssohn, Trinity Henleaze URC
Come and enjoy with us two great works performed by the Bristol Ensemble:

• Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A K.581
• Mendelssohn Octet in E flat major Op.20

Mendelssohn’s piece is beautifully uplifting, and Mozart’s is one of the most sublime and well-loved works in the chamber music repertoire for its exquisitely crafted melodic lines.

Mozart and Mendelssohn – photo: Henleaze Concert Society

Saturday: Danielle B2B Daisy Moon B2B Hodge B2B Yushh, Strange Brew
When you think of DJs spearheading the “Strange Brew” new Bristol dance movement, the above four names surely come to mind. From the co-creators of female DJ workshop Mixnights to one of the leaders of the early Bristol dubstep movement, this one is Bristol with a capital B.

Four of Bristol’s most notorious DJs butt heads at the brew this week – photo: Strange Brew

Sunday: Scrambled Comedy Course, Sidney & Eden
If you’re looking for your sign to get involved in the stand up scene, this is it. Hosted by local rising comic Eva Bindeman, you’ll learn to find your own unique comic voice, and the fundamentals of being funny. Hosted at the always cosy Sidney & Eden (they also serve fantastic cocktails.)

The workshop is hosted by rising comic Eva Bindeman – photo: Scrambled Comedy

And coming soon…

SPONSORED
January 24: Steve Bates MBE – Wild Tracks, Redgrave Theatre
Paralympic gold medal-winning cyclist Steve Bate MBE shares the incredible journey of riding to ascend the iconic mountain of Kilimanjaro, with fellow Paralympic gold medalist Karen Darke MBE. With a diverse team, Wild Tracks explores themes of challenge, diversity and human potential. A rare opportunity to hear, first-hand, a story of resilience, transformation and human connection.

Steve Bates – Wild Tracks – photo: Redgrave Theatre

SPONSORED
January 25: The Anatomy of the Orchestra: Drone Refractions (Paraorchestra with Charles Hazelwood), Bristol Beacon
In The Anatomy of the Orchestra: Drone Refractions, Charles Hazlewood and Paraorchestra turn the orchestra inside-out, charting an immersive drone odyssey via some of Minimalism’s forebears and its greatest composers, including Pauline Oliveros and Arvo Part. This unique performance re-casts the orchestra as a living, breathing installation: thirty-four musicians are arrayed throughout the space as they play. The audience is invited to walk or sit amongst them, to get close to the performers and sink into a deep sonic realm as enveloping drones mix with heady lighting design to conjure a hazy, transcendental atmosphere.

Anatomy of the Orchestra – photo: Bristol Beacon

SPONSORED
January 25: Pete Firman – Triktok, Redgrave Theatre
Pete is an award-winning performer who is not to be missed live. Expect an evening of jaw-dropping magic and laugh-out-loud comedy. TrikTok takes Pete’s magic from the small screen to the stage and gives audiences a chance to see his critically acclaimed magical skills in the flesh.

Pete Firman – photo: Redgrave Theatre

SPONSORED
February 14: The Beatles: Love Songs, St George’s
The Bristol Ensemble celebrate Valentine’s Day with the ultimate Beatles special, featuring their best love songs in an hour-long concert that will give you a Valentines Night to remember! Immerse yourself in the magical atmosphere of St. George’s Bristol, bathed in the romantic glow of candlelight. It doesn’t get more romantic than this!

The Beatles by Candlelight – photo: Bristol Ensemble

SPONSORED
February 27: The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Film and Live Orchestra, St. George’s
An epic experience that combines live orchestra with film! Watch the original Hunchback of Notre Dame film with live symphonic score from the Bristol Ensemble at St George’s Bristol.

Celebrating 100 years since the film was first released in September 1923. Flicker Alley restored and mastered this edition from a multi-tinted 16mm print struck in 1926 from the original camera negative.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame – photo: Bristol Ensemble

SPONSORED
March 9: Einaudi meets Richter by candlelight, Trinity Henleaze URC
This will be a hypnotic evening of music performed by the Bristol Ensemble, featuring mesmerising works by Ludovico Einaudi, and Max Richter’s engagingly refreshing reimagining of Vivaldi’s ever-popular Four Seasons:

• Einaudi Divenire; Primavera; Petricor; I Giorni; Full Moon
• Max Richter: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Reimagined

Einaudi meets Richter by candlelight – photo: Henleaze Concert Society

Main photo: Chance & Counters

Read next:

• 44 things to do in Bristol in January 2024
• The community poetry events lifting the January blues
• Ashton Gate to host new all-day music event

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: