People / My Bristol Favourites
My Bristol Favourites: Ed Rowberry
Ed Rowberry is the founding chief executive of Bristol & Bath Regional Capital, who “invest in real estate, infrastructure and businesses to deliver attractive returns for investors and strong social, economic and environmental outcomes for local communities”.
BBRC have recently joined Bristol24/7’s Better Business network, which helps businesses grow while they create a positive impact throughout our city.
Ed trained as a chartered accountant at KPMG and worked part-time on secondment from BBRC as chair of the One City Office to develop Bristol mayor Marvin Rees’ One City Plan.
is needed now More than ever
These are Ed’s top-five Bristol favourites:
The Blue Lagoon
There is live music seven nights a week at the Blue Lagoon – photo: Martin Booth
“I’ve always been a big music fan, a keen guitarist and someone who’s played the odd gig in pubs in and around Bristol. I have a fairly eclectic taste in a variety of genres and so living in Bristol suits me down to the ground as the music scene here is second to none. So, my Bristol favourites follow this musical theme.
“An old favourite of mine is the Blue Lagoon on Gloucester Road, where at the drop of a hat I can head there to see live music, and let off some steam with bands often covering rock and pop classics from the 60s all the way to current day. Solid singalong stuff.”
The Canteen
Sophie Stockham, Tony Orrell, Chris Jones and Pete Judge at the Canteen – photo: Tony Benjamin
“Moving further towards the centre, I’ve had many a good night in the Canteen on Stokes Croft where you can often find bands playing world music, bringing the best of Bristol’s diversity to the fore in musical form.”
Motion
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“On occasion, as a rare treat, I will also venture right into the centre to Motion nightclub where a recent highlight was Roni Size and LTJ Bukem joint headlining together. I am a particular fan of LTJ Bukem – it’s one of my go-to’s when running on one of Bristol’s many green spaces. This genre has been described as ‘intelligent drum n bass’ and its music that gets the heart pumping while soaking in the beautiful nature that our city has to offer.”
Forwards festival
Aphex Twin and Erykah Badu were among the headliners of Forwards 2023 – photo: Forwards
“Talking of the Downs, I attended Forwards festival last month, with particular highlights being reliving two of my all time favourites: Primal Scream and Leftfield. It is amazing how the Downs gets converted into this space in a matter of days and back again soon after.”
Bristol Beacon
“Finally, back to the city centre and my guitar. I love Bristol Beacon and can’t wait for it to reopen. I recently went to the opening night of the 2023 Jazz Festival there, which was fantastic. Also a UK, Colombian collaboration called Mestizo who were brilliant.
“What is interesting for me is the people that you bump into at these music events. Often I am pleasantly surprised to see people I know primarily through work. I think sometimes they might also be surprised to see me there too. I love Bristol’s music scene and like much that Bristol has to offer I think that we should be rightly proud of what it has to offer and enjoy it when we can.”
Main photo: Strike Communications
Read next:
- Bristol & Bath Regional Capital joins the Better Business network
- Bristol Beacon announces opening weekend plans
- Review: Forwards Festival 2023, the Downs – ‘One of a kind’
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