46 things to do in Bristol in May 2023

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May 1-31: Take a walk this May with Bristol Walk Fest
One of the UK’s biggest urban walking festivals, Bristol Walk Fest is back 1st-31st May. The festival features walking events across the city for all ages and abilities, with over 150 different walks taking place there’s something for everyone!

Bristol Walk Fest 2023 – photo: Bristol Walk Fest

May 1: Mindful Mermaids: Wellbeing & cold water swim, Clevedon Marina
Kick off May with an invigorating all female mindfulness session, walk and dip in the Clevedon Marine Lake.

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Now-May 21: Artist Network Exhibition, RWA
Discover the breadth and variety of talent amongst our Artist Network Members in their first showcase since the completion of the RWA capital project. The Artist Network Exhibition 2023 presents a unique snapshot of contemporary visual art by local artists, all working in various styles and mediums, at different points in their artistic careers. The RWA’s vision for the future is to create a 21st century gallery for all, providing a unique resource within the South West region. Our Artist Network is key to this ambition. The exhibition will take place in the Youngwood Room, Link space and corridor which are located on the lower ground floor at the RWA.

Artists Network Exhibition at the RWA – photo: RWA

May 2: Connor O’Malley: Research and Development, Strange Brew
The American comic comes to Strange Brew as part of his UK & Ireland tour.

May 3: ‘Waves of change’ Exhibition, Wills Memorial Building
A climate-centric exhibition, amplifying the voices of the youth and creating hope for the future of our planet.

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May 4: The Comedy Box promotes: SCHALK BEZUIDENHOUT: I’LL MAKE LAUGH TO YOU, Hen & Chicken
Schalk Bezuidenhout is fresh from his Netflix Stand Up Special and embarks on his debut UK Tour with love in his heart and jokes in his pocket. Many say that this brand-new show is… funny. I mean, what else can we say? It’s a comedy show. You will laugh. It’s as easy as that.

“His joke-telling is superb… pure and simple stand-up, expertly performed” Chortle

“Fast-rising talent” The Guardian

“Definitely one to watch” London Evening Standard

Schalk Bezuidenhout at the Hen & Chicken Studio – photo: The Comedy Box

May 4: Women in business group coaching workshop, Clifton Community Bookshop
An opportunity for women in business, no matter where you are on the ladder, to get together and get inspired.

May 4-June 5: Journey to Mars, Aerospace Bristol
Marking the 20th anniversary of Europe’s first mission to Mars, artist Luke Jerram will be displaying his Mars work at Aerospace Bristol.

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May 5 onwards: Return to Seoul, Watershed
An unpredictable and refreshingly authentic story of a young woman’s search for identity, and the ever-shifting relationships that shape it, from director Davy Chou.

May 6: PTS 10 ϟ Batu x Kode9 & more, Trinity Centre
Titans of the weird and wonderful bass music world collide at the holiest of Bristol’s rave sites – not one to miss if you enjoy dancing into the wee hours.

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May 6: The Comedy Box promotes: THE KING’S CORONATION COMEDY SHOW with JOEY PAGE and GUESTS, Hen & Chicken
Accomplished and hilarious with a unique take on the everyday, Joey Page’s career so far has been studded with rave reviews, award nominations and TV appearances. Over the last few years, Joey completely overhauled his writing process and comedic style building a reputation as both a circuit favourite and is well on the way to being a treasured regular headliner. What hasn’t changed is his truly captivating stage presence and ability to make an audience feel that they have seen something very special.

“Laugh-out-loud. Page is the cheeky master of the alternative – a genuine master of his craft” Australia Times

“Surreal, charming and hilarious…one of comedy’s most unique and exciting new talents. This innately likeable young man has an instinct for funny” – Chortle

“Absolutely amazing” – XFM

“A leading name in British cult comedy” – ThreeWeeks

Kings Coronation comedy show at Hen & Chicken studio – photo: The Comedy Box

May 7: GAWS Live, The Crown
The punk rock rising stars take to The Crown, supported by a host of local talent.

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May 7: ‘All Cut Up’ Exhibition by DiSect, The Mount Without
Introducing Stroud based, DiSect to The Mount Without, with an incredible exhibition of collages consisting of imagery from old books, magazines and pure imagination. His work is all hand cut and glued giving a rawness to his pieces, escaping the modern claws of the internet when creating his vibrant imagery.

“No Google, No Photoshop, No resizing, No colour adjustment. No computers of printers”

With his work, he aims of telling a story, with every piece consisting of an abundance of clues for the viewer to speculate and decipher with their “hidden subtle stories”. His work holds common themes of mushrooms, space and more, digging into inspiration mostly from music, graffiti and ironic humour.

All Cut Up exhibition at The Mount Without – photo: The Mount Without

May 8: Story Party: True dating stories, Hen & ChickenThe touring story-telling extravaganza arrives in Bristol. The perfect chance to feel a bit better about your dating woes.

May 9: Why have rural communities been ignored by politics?, Waterstones
Part of Bristol Ideas Festival, Natasha Carthew discusses her new book, and the socioeconomic inequalities that have led to rural poverty.

May 10: Games Night, Bristol Improv Theatre
The Clifton Theatre hosts their regular, always popular improvised games night.

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Now-July 5: RWA Annual Open: Submissions open
Calling all artists! Yes, it’s that time of year again, time to submit your work to the RWA Annual Open Exhibition. In its 170th year, we need your help to make it extra special. We welcome submissions from visual artists working in any medium and at any stage of their career. Whether you are an established artist, or just beginning your creative career, this is your chance to have your work exhibited in a world class gallery. You could be in with a chance to win some amazing prizes! Entry is open from 28 April – 5 July. Head to our website for all the details on how to enter. We can’t wait to see what you have been working on!

RWA 170th Annual Open – photo: RWA

May 11: Acid jazz & other illicit grooves present: OMAR, Lost Horizon
If you know your soul music, you know this isn’t one to miss – Omar Lye-fook MBE has worked with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Erykah Badu.

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May 11: Bristol Beacon presents: Submotion Orchestra with strings, St. George’s
Submotion Orchestra return to Bristol for a special, one-off performance to celebrate the release of their ‘Unplugged Vol.ii’ EP, featuring the prism string ensemble, alongside the live band. Since their inception in 2009, the genre-defying Submotion Orchestra have moved seamlessly between deep electronica, jazz and ambient downtempo. Now, to mark their second EP of acoustic reworkings of their back catalogue, they expand their lineup with a specially-formed string quartet for this one-time tour. Performing tracks from across their entire career, the band transport their bass-heavy and soulful sound to intimate sit-down venues, highlighting stunning string arrangements alongside the fragile beauty of Ruby Wood’s celestial vocals. Limited availability remains – don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience Submotion Orchestra as you’ve never heard them before.

May 12: StepTwice x Belters: Phasmid, Longeez & more, Exchange
Two of Bristol’s most exciting up and coming UK garage crews collide for a bass-driven night at Old Markets record store come party spot.

May 13: Stokes Croft Block Party, various locations
Stokes Croft comes alive with music across ten venues – and no doubt a few bonus (slightly less official) ones.

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May 13: Fire in Your Soul: Fire Cooking & Live Music Fest, Woodford Lane
From the creators of Valley Fest, a dreamy mini festival overlooking Chew Valley Lake celebrating sustainable farming and ethical food! Expect live music, live demonstrations, workshops, competitions, and loads of other fun activities!

Cooking over fire – photo: Yuup

May 14: Trinity garden party, Trinity Centre
Trinity’s annual free garden party will keep the vibes alive with music, bands and performers, whilst you enjoy the workshops on offer.

May 15: Art is Magic: Jeremy Deller, Strange Brew
The Turner Prize winning artist sits down with Robin Turner to discuss his journey and influences.

May 16: Tim Key – Mulberry (Final day), Tobacco Factory Theatres
The comic closes out the Bristol leg of his stand up Tour at the Southville theatre.

May 17: BC Camplight: Solo & signing, Rough Trade
In celebration of their new album, Rough Trade presents a special solo performance and album signing from the American songwriter.

May 17: An evening with Tim Marshall, Waterstones
The British journalist and author stops off at the Galleries for a discussion on geopolitics, and how it relates to the final frontier.

May 18-21: Forbidden Worlds Film Festival, Bristol Aquarium IMAX
For three days only, the hidden IMAX theatre in the aquarium comes alive, screening a series of classic flicks, from Terminator to The Wizard of Oz.

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Throughout May: Buskers’ Banquet, various venues
A pop-up supper club that’s also an intimate acoustic gig. Bristol’s sell-out roaming food and live music festival is back this spring for 7 events in Bristol’s best independent venues. Enjoy a two-course meal paired with acoustic sets from Bristol musicians.

Buskers’ Banquet is hosted by Yuup – photo: Yuup

May 19-21: Bristol jazz and blues festival, Bristol Beacon
After a four year hiatus, the place to be for jazz-heads returns, taking over Bristol Beacon’s foyer, celebrating their tenth anniversary.

May 20: Rave On Avon, Old Market
The day that turned Stokes Croft into one ginormous party back in 2019 finally makes a return after COVID, this time heading to Old Market, with the main party at Trinity Centre.

May 21: Ayo Akingbade: Show Me The World Master (Final day), Spike Island
An exhibition showcasing two new films from the London based artist, shot on location in Nigeria.

May 22: Bristol City Leap Roadshow – Hartcliffe, Heart of BS13 – Roundhouse
A free community networking event from the Future Leap team, giving local business members the chance to meet others in their area.

May 23: Vehicle – In conversation with Jen Calleja, Bookhaus
Celebrating the release of her latest novel Vehicle, Calleja sits down with the Bookhaus team to discuss the contents of the book in more detail.

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May 24: Wine & Calligraphy night, The Mount Without
Join us at The Mount Without for a night of wine & calligraphy, led by ‘uklettering’ who has worked with clients such as Dior, Harrods, Jo Malone & Harvey Nichols! This workshop will revolve around the art of modern calligraphy, all skill sets are welcome!

Beautifully curated and put together our Calligraphy workshop designed for all but focussing mainly for anyone who would like to dwell in slowing down and enjoy the art of writing. This course will help you take home an absolutely aesthetic and creative art – Modern Calligraphy. This workshop will open and widen your vision to a solid foundation of Modern Calligraphy detailing different aspects of the art.

In this course we will be focusing on Introduction to Modern Calligraphy, teaching you the very basics, the foundation strokes, drills to practices, lowercase and uppercase letters, words and sentences. A starter kit including a Comprehensive practice worksheet, pen, nibs, inks worth 20£ will be provided as part of the course.

Wine and Calligraphy at The Mount Without – photo: The Mount Without

May 24: Aspects Launch Party, Lost Horizon
Lost Horizon will be transformed into a multi-sensory experience to celebrate the release of the latest album Aspects From Bristol hip-hop/funk and soul producer Vice Beats.

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May 25: Bristol Beacon presents: Siv Jakobsen, The Louisiana
Norwegian musician Siv Jakobsen ushers in a hushed and breathtaking reverence with her songwriting. Her delicate vocals convey an emotive poignancy, underpinned by instrumental accompaniments that take in Jakobsen’s finger-picked guitar playing, soaring strings and striking harp and brass arrangements. Now gearing up to release her third album ‘Gardening’, Jakobsen wrote the recent single ‘Romain’s Place’ whilst touring. The track, taken from her upcoming record highlights Jakobsen’s acute, affecting lyricism and her gracefully haunting folk intonations. Jakobsen has also spent a lot of time on the road, playing shows alongside the likes of Damien Jurado, José González and Susanne Sundfør.

May 25-27: Rachel Mars: Forge, Unit 15
Over the course of three days, Rachel Mars will be attempting to weld together a replica of a “welcome” door once stolen from the Dachau concentration camp.

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May 26 onwards: Sisu, Watershed
An outrageously entertaining Finnish fantasy of WWII payback from director Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports).

May 26-28: Bedminster Beer Trail, Across Bedminster
Celebrating the best in independence from South of the river, the weekend long beer trail will involve over 100 beers, some of which have been specially brewed for the event.

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May 27: Whole Lotta Shakin’ – the Shakin’ Stevens story
The Award Winning tribute to the UK’s biggest selling singles artist of the 1980’s – Whole Lotta Shakin’ is a nostalgic celebration, jam packed with feel-good Rock ‘n’ Roll!

Whole lotta shakin’ at Redgrave Theatre – photo: Redgrave Theatre

May 27 & 28: Love Saves the Day, Clifton Downs
The marking of the beginning of the festival season for Bristolians, Love Saves the Day returns to the downs, providing the vibes with an incredibly varied lineup.

May 28: Sabotage, Wilson St
A mind-bending, heart-stopping circus performance, self-dubbed “darker and grittier, with a more subversive edge.”

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May 28: The Young’uns, Redgrave Theatre
The Young’uns live shows are renowned. With heart-on-the-sleeve storytelling, beautiful lyrics, warm harmonies and relentless repartee, Sean Cooney, Michael Hughes, and David Eagle (the award-winning stand-up comedian) sing life-affirming folk songs for today.

The Young’uns at Redgrave Theatre – photo: Redgrave Theatre

May 29: Arctic Monkeys, Ashton Gate Stadium
The internationally-renowned touring band kick off their latest tour at Ashton Gate stadium.

May 30: Amity & friends all night long, The Crown
The forward-thinking Bristol promoters host a family affair at The Crown, bringing down friends of the label for an all night knees up.

May 31: Netwalking, Bristol Cathedral
An opportunity from Future Leap to take a lunchtime walk with other like minded business members and make new connections.

Main photo: Soul Media

Read next:

• Much-loved South Bristol community event cancelled for 2023
• ‘World-First’ immersive sensory exhibition coming to Bristol
• An evening of cooking at the newly expanded Pony

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