23 things to do in Bristol this week, March 20-26 2023

Monday: Master Peace, Rough Trade
Combining the musicality of indie and pop with the lyricism and groove of R&B and rap, Master Peace is an elegant sight to behold. He brings an infectious live performance to Bristol as part of his “Master Peace of Mind” tour.

SPONSORED
Now-May 1: Jem Southam: A Bend in the River, RWA
Immerse yourself in the hauntingly beautiful work of Bristol-born photographer Jem Southam. ‘A Bend in the River’ displays photographs taken over five years of a location in the South West of England, capturing the ever-changing surface of the water, passing clouds, trees waving in the breeze, ducks gliding across the river and swans flying to roost. Your ticket also includes entry into the RWA’s Photo Open which celebrates a wide range of photographic approaches. The RWA’s Season of Photography is sponsored by MPB.

Jem Southam: A Bend in the river – photo: RWA

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Monday-Thursday: Pearl, Watershed
Filmmaker Ti West returns with another chapter from the twisted world of X, in this astonishing follow-up to 2022’s most acclaimed horror film. The Thu 23 March 17:30 screening is a UWE Thought in Action screening followed by a panel discussion with special guests, chaired by Miguel Prado, Senior Lecturer of Philosophy at UWE.

Tuesday: Dale Vince, Bookhaus
The founder of Ecotricity and owner of Forest Green Rovers will be in conversation with Bristol24/7 Editor Martin Booth, sharing his single-minded and uniquely purpose-orientated approach to business.

Tuesday: Top Gun: Maverick screening, Bristol Aerospace
Bristol Film Festival continues their run of fantastic movie screenings in some of Bristol’s most memorable locations. This time around, it’s the turn of the new Top Gun flick, and it probably couldn’t be screened in a more perfect Bristol location than Bristol Aerospace, sitting beneath Concorde Alpha Foxtrot.

SPONSORED
Now-April 23: PhotoLab, RWA
Unleash your photographic creativity at the RWA. Bring your smartphone and discover  PhotoLab, a free, interactive exhibition where you’ll find objects such as lenses, mirrors, lights, and even a darkroom installation to create experimental photographs, Suitable for all ages. Part of the Season of Photography at the RWA, sponsored by MPB.

PhotoLab – photo: RWA

Wednesday: Sketch Book Club, Clifton Community Bookshop
A once a fortnight session at the cosy intimate bookshop, where creatives are encouraged to come along with or without materials, and have a relaxing making session surrounded by like minded individuals. Art materials and refreshments will be provided, but you are encouraged to bring your own if you have them/want to.

Clifton Community Bookshop – photo: Martin Booth

SPONSORED
Thursday: The Comedy Box promotes: Simon Munnery: Trials and Tribulations, Hen & Chicken
Twenty years ago, in Edinburgh, legendary comedian Simon Munnery was arrested for “being a German in a built-up area”. It wasn’t an early brush with ‘cancel culture’ but it did lead to a trial. For the first time, British Comedy Award nominee, serial innovator and ‘Perennial fringe maverick’ (The Guardian), Simon Munnery tells the tale of this trial.

Simon will also seek to turn various other distressing life occurrences into comedic gold.

“Oh the deep, deep joy of an hour with Simon Munnery” The Scotsman

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Thursday: Vincent Simone – Tango Passions, Redgrave Theatre
Argentine Tango King and Strictly Come Dancing legend, Vincent Simone, returns to the stage in the Spring of 2023, with his brand new show ‘Tango Passions’. Also starring Argentine Tango specialist Paula Duarte as his leading lady.

Thursday: Festival of Sustainable Business Conference, The Bristol Hotel
Future Leap’s annual Festival of Sustainable Business kicks off with a hybrid conference at The Bristol Hotel, boasting five seminar and networking events to inspire businesses to take action on the climate and ecological emergencies.

Festival of Sustainable Business – photo: Future Leap

SPONSORED
Thursday-March 30: 1976, Watershed
1976, the debut feature from Manuela Martelli explores one woman’s struggle with misogyny and corruption in Chile under Pinochet. The Thu 23 Mar 20:00 preview screening will be followed by a Q&A from director Manuela Martelli.

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Friday: Heartwood Chorus: A Folk Choir, The Mount Without
Heartwood Chorus is a folk choir. We’ve been asking ourselves what that means, exactly. What is a folk choir anyway? This concert is our attempt to answer that, or at least to share with you the best answers we’ve found so far.

The Mount Without is a special venue. If you’ve not yet been, we encourage you to pay a visit. After the show come and join us down in the rich reverberance of the crypt bar for a drink and some informal singing.

Heartwood Chorus at The Mount Without – photo: The Mount Without

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Friday: Gary Meikle 2.5, Redgrave Theatre
Most blurbs are written in the 3rd person so they’ll be like ‘Gary is this, Gary is that, you can expect this from Gary’ well I’m writing this myself so, this will be My 3rd show, or 2.5 as I’m calling it.

Friday: Chloe Petts: Transience, Tobacco Factory Theatres
Going on an extensive UK tour in 2023, Chloe Petts brings her hilarious performance to Bristol to kick off the weekend. Expect stories from her struggles with living in the moment, men, and other hilarities from her past.

SPONSORED
Saturday: The Comedy Box promotes: Stand up for the weekend with Stephen Grant & guests, Hen & Chicken
Along with his clutch of awards and critical acclaim, it is not hard to see why Stephen Grant is so popular, he possesses an energy and intellect which, when combined, make for dynamite comedy.  His speed and dynamism create a magical energy which has audiences rapt and hanging on his every word.

“Stephen Grant is an unstoppable, ebullient motormouth” Chortle

SPONSORED
Saturday: Bristol Beacon presents: Hack-Poets Guild: Blackletter Garland, Folk House
Three of the UK’s most innovative and prestigious folk artists, Marry Waterson, Lisa Knapp and Nathaniel Mann, present Blackletter Garland, a brand new album and live tour. Inspired by historic broadside ballads – daily song sheets sold for pence from the 16th to 20th centuries – Marry, Lisa and Nathaniel rejuvenate and reinvent these stories. Fascinating interpretations and original compositions tell intricate tales of birth, love, conflict and death, with all the imagination of the folklore on which they’re based.

Saturday: Holotronica audio-visual weekend – Saturday, Bristol Aquarium IMAX
A truly unique opportunity to experience analogue laser, 3D mastery at a disused IMAX cinema attached to the Bristol Aquarium. Soundtracked by the psychedelic, science fiction downtempo rhythms of Funki Porcini, DJ Cheeba and more.

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Sunday: Bristol Beacon presents: Roddy Woomble, Folk House
‘Lo! Soul’ – the latest release from Idlewild frontman and esteemed solo artist Roddy Woomble continues his unique and restless trajectory, gently stepping away from his previous acoustic/folk intentions in favour of a more explorative light, largely spoken word pieces over an ambient, meditative soundtrack. Across his twenty-five year career, ‘Lo! Soul’ may well be Woomble’s most inventive, creative album to date. From undulating synths and ambient soundscapes in the abstract narratives of ‘Atlantic Photography’ and ‘Secret Show’, the sun-tinged horns of ‘Architecture in LA’, a mellifluous Mellotron or perhaps a piano chime. Here, the path is embedded with Roddy’s words delicately unearthing the known and never known.

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Sunday: Bristol Show Choir Easter Concert, The Mount Without
Bristol Show Choir Easter Concert at The Mount Without. Join Bristol Show Choir’s Southville and Clifton groups for an evening of dazzling show tunes in glorious a cappella! With support from the Magnificent AKs, the singing blokes of Ashton-Keynes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp0ntbBIi6c/

Sunday: Bristol Soundcheck 10, Loco Klub
A perfect end to the week if you’re a reggae/dub/roots fan, four weighty systems make their way to the tunnels under the train station for a post dinner listening session with other soundsystem heads. Not a rave, just a chance to enjoy some bass heavy music with other fanatics of the sound.

One of the soundsystems present will be the mighty Lo Tone soundsystem – photo: Lo Tone Soundsystem

And coming soon…

SPONSORED
April 5: Bristol Ensemble presents: Bach by candlelight, St George’s
The Well-Tempered Clavier is widely regarded as one of the most important works in the history of classical music and second part of the concert features two of Bach’s most famous keyboard concertos along with his famous Air on a G. For this concert St George’s will be transformed into a candlelit auditorium taking us back to St Jakob’s Church in Köthen, Germany, where JS Bach worked and composed many of his compositions.

Bach by candlelight, St George’s – photo: Bristol Ensemble

SPONSORED
May 17: Bristol Ensemble presents: Tubular Bells – 50th Anniversary Performance, St George’s
Mike Oldfield’s groundbreaking album Tubular Bells was released on 25th May 1973 and to celebrate its 50th Anniversary – almost to the day – Bristol Ensemble performs a stirring new chamber orchestral arrangement of the album, fleshing out the now iconic melodies with a bank of strings, wind, brass and percussion.

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May 18-July 1: The Lion King, Bristol Hippodrome
Set against the majesty of the Serengeti Plains and to the evocative rhythms of Africa, Disney’s multi award-winning musical is a unique theatrical experience that you will remember forever. The Lion King, returns to The Bristol Hippodrome for a strictly limited six week run from Thu 18 May – Sat 1 July.

The Lion King at Bristol Hippodrome – photo: The Ambassadors Theatre Group

Main photo: Future Leap

Read next:

• Bristol Jazz Festival returns for the first time in four years
• Celebrating all things dance at The Mount Without
• New group photographic exhibition was inspired by Philip Larkin

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